Be ‘Fit for Longer’
By Lynda Cookson
This article was written at the end of 2006 whilst I was living in Ireland. Twelve years have passed since that time, but this fun way of keeping fit in your senior years will never cease to apply.
‘Put your right foot in, put your right foot out, do the …..’ – no, the Hokey Cokey it is not; and neither is it line dancing, ballet or ballroom dancing; but you may dance in a line and you may dance with partners … although partners are not necessary. It involves some repeated exercises that may be familiar to fitness and movement class attendees; it uses a lot of popular dance music and a lot of specially choreographed sequences in keeping with the sound of the music. What is it?
With a huge grin on her face, dance teacher Philippa Donnellan says: ‘It’s contemporary dance. But please don’t ask me to define contemporary dance because it encompasses such a lot of different styles! Just follow what I do and enjoy the music.’
We’re in the Carlton Hall in Shelmartin Avenue, Dublin 3 where the Marino Active Retirement Group has gathered to experience a ‘Keep On Your Toes’ class, a free taster session to introduce the ‘Fit For Longer’ classes. Coats and scarves are happily being discarded as the group prepares to lunge and shimmy in time to swing and foxtrot music. A large circle is formed and the class starts with simple exercises like circling hands from the wrists, rubbing arm muscles and reaching to the ceiling. One of the exercises involves a hugging movement which elicits bold ‘Ooohs’ and laughter each time it happens
‘Keep On Your Toes’ is for people interested in staying active and agile, aimed at existing active retirement groups, and people who meet together on a regular basis, to encourage them to join ‘Fit For Longer’ classes. Another option for participants to consider is running a regular class in their own environment with Philippa coming to them to teach. The class combines easy stretch exercises to music which helps maintain flexibility, balance and co- ordination; and dance sequences which are simple to learn and fun to do.
Regular ‘Fit For Longer’ dance classes, are scheduled to run for two eight-week terms from the beginning of February 2007 until the end of April 2007 on Wednesday afternoons. Each session is an hour-and- a-half long, with a break in the middle, costs five euro per person per session, and is held in the centre of Dublin in St Teresa’s Church, Clarendon Street, Dublin 2. Classes are taught by Philippa as part of CoisCéim Broadreach for people in the over-50 age group.
The comfortable thing about these classes is that the dance and exercises can be done whilst either sitting or standing, accommodating people from all levels of health and conducted at a pace which allows participants to grow into the movements without feeling stressed or overworked. Emphasis is on enjoyment rather than ability and it’s a very social event. Philippa explained further: ‘Dance movement is an activity which brings people together, promoting well-being and a sense of togetherness even for those watching from the sidelines. The most benefit comes from regular attendance but if you can’t manage to be there once or twice, that’s not a problem. St Teresa’s has a café downstairs where after-class get-togethers take place - it’s a fantastic venue.’
She is a very able teacher who trained at the Martha Graham School of Dance in New York as a contemporary dancer and has many years of freelance dancing, teaching and choreography under her belt. She’s worked with a wide cross section of people – professionals and non- professionals; different groups and communities whether in dance, theatre or school; and many young people. In July this year she joined CoisCéim DanceTheatre in Sackville Place, Dublin as Community Dance Director and set up CoisCéim Broadreach.
Philippa told me a delightful story about ‘Gut Busters’, a large group of Dublin Bus employees, mostly bus drivers, who volunteered to participate in a two-month health programme recently. ‘They met once a week and we produced a show called ‘The Story of Joe’ about a man who was given a pair of red shoes and how he started to dance. He met a beautiful woman and then lost a shoe to the bad guys, but it all ended happily when the beautiful woman got the shoe back and found Joe! Some of these people had never performed or danced before and never thought they would get to learn about choreography, costumes and dance. Some of them made a fantastic mafia involved in a fight and others were very impressive as angels with silver wings. They were brilliant!’
CoisCéim Dance Theatre is a contemporary dance company with a mission to break new ground in creating and presenting dance theatre to Irish and International audiences. ‘Keep On Your Toes’ and ‘Fit For Longer’ are part of CoisCéim Broadreach, the new outreach programme designed to provide access and opportunity for people to experience dance as participants, creators, performers and observers.
