My sister, Gay, who is only a couple of years younger than I, is showing us what she can do on the dance floor.
She has a marvelous young man as an instructor in the Atlanta area and she loves dancing with him. Click on the link above and go to the Facebook page where you will see a video of her waltzing with Chris, her instructor.
When we were young girls growing up on a farm in southwest Georgia, Gay wanted to take dance lessons like so many other girls. But we did not live in town where it would be convenient and she never felt she could ask our parents to let her take lessons. I had piano lessons for a short while until I proved I was not going to learn and Mother let me quit. I wish the money that went for my piano lessons could have been spent to give Gay dancing lessons.
But she never gave up her dream. As a teenager, she danced all the time. She learned any new dance that came along and she seemed to always date boys who were good dancers. Maybe that was a prerequisite.
In college, she danced in the UGA Modern Dance group. She loved it and she was good. One summer she went to Connecticut to a summer dance camp.
After college, she opened a dance studio for children but the location of her studio was not good. Families who lived in the area did not have money to spend on dance classes. Closing the doors was disappointing to her.
However, she danced with the Albany Ballet Company after being discovered in the Miss Albany Contest. She made her own costume and choreographed a dance for her talent. She soon left her hometown and moved to California. There was no more dancing in her life for a while.
But now in her third act, she decided to take ballroom dance classes so she could dance with professional partners. After a few years with Chris, he talked her into taking part in a competition a few weeks ago. She danced for three days and was so nervous before the event, she could hardly sleep. But she performed wonderfully and gained a huge amount of self-confidence.
In the video above, she was at a different event. She said she felt like she was floating. She had many, many compliments from other dancers and when she watched this video, she was happy with what she saw.
I am happy for her and so proud of her. She dances three times each week and often she and Stu, her husband, dance on Friday nights. Dancing is great exercise no matter your age.
When we get into our seventies and older, we often feel we cannot follow our dreams. People put us in a box where they put all people of certain ages.
We can't let that happen to us.
Gay worked hard to get ready for the competition. I admire her self-discipline. She is healthier than she was five years ago, strong, and able to physically do more than most people her age. I wish I had begun dancing years ago. It is wonderful exercise and a great way to socialize with like-minded people.
To learn more about Chris, visit his Facebook page. He is in the Atlanta area.
