Most of the approximately 500 students at the Medina Centre for Dance Art are youth or young adult dancers. But the owner saw an opportunity to serve older adults.
“We had a grandma here that was bringing her granddaughter to class at night, and she said, ‘You need a class for grandmas,’” said Kelly Parks, owner and CEO of Medina Centre for Dance Art. “I said, ‘Okay, give me some time. I'll figure it out.’ And we did.”
Tap and ballet classes for adults 55 and over are held once a week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
Parks said she gets a lot of interest around the classes, but people also often feel nervous about what’s expected or worried the physical aspects of dancing will be too difficult for them.
“We encourage them to come and try it, that it’s going to be fun … they’ll make great friends and they’ll learn things,” Parks said. “Once they’re hooked, they stay around with
us.”
The Medina Centre for Dance Art will expand this summer to a new facility just down the road from its current building near Medina Public Square. Parks said she hopes to expand programming for seniors once classes move to the larger space.
Benefits for senior dancers
Instructor Connie Laettner teaches both senior tap and ballet and works to create a welcoming and comfortable environment for all the students.
“If you have a bum knee, if you have an injury, please tell me so this way I’m not trying to correct something that is injured or recovering,” Laettner said.
During classes, she explains the benefits of each movement and exercise.
“I love it when they come in and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I noticed I can reach stuff on the floor easier, I notice that I’m switching my weight from side to side easier,’” Laettner said. “They notice the flexibility. They notice their balance is better.”
Flexibility was a concern for 66-year-old Kathleen Tompkins of Medina, a participant of the ballet class for more than two years. She said she has osteoporosis and has suffered from a broken hip.
“The movements are fluid, not where I have to worry that I’m going to hurt myself,” Tompkins said. “I love it. I feel like it’s been transformative for me.”
Laettner said dance is a workout for both the body and the mind, and some students said they see improvements in their memory and mental agility.
“We talk a lot about if you’re practicing, you have to practice three times correctly,” Laettner said. “If you get it wrong once, you have to go back and do it three times correctly for your memory.”
Guide: Aging with art: Get involved around Northeast Ohio
‘No judgment’
Strongsville resident Toni Seng took ballet as a young adult and loved it. She’s 69 now and wanted to get back into dancing, so she started looking for adult classes in the area.
“When I looked for ballet classes, usually anyone over high school is in it, so a lot of 20-year-olds, 30-year-olds,” Seng said.
Her search eventually led her to Medina.
“I’m just very thankful that someone thought of having ballet class for seniors,” she said. “We can all relate to one another, and we’re all just kind of doing what we can, no judgment.”
Seng signed up for the class along with her friend, Adele Fernandez of Strongsville, who also participated in various forms of dance earlier in life. Fernandez said she appreciates the range of benefits she gets from the class and recognizes that at this point in life, it’s not about striving for perfection.
“It’s for your own self-enrichment,” Fernandez said. “I would encourage people to just let loose of any preconceived ideas because there’s no wrong or right way to do it. You just come and participate and enjoy it.”
