Boomers are Boomin’

By Susan Goff 

“Why would you do that at your age?” or “That is so cool!” or “That is so YOU.”

Those are just a few of the responses I get when I tell people that I, a senior citizen old enough to be grandmother or even great-grandmother to most other students, am taking hip hop classes at Richmond Urban Dance. So why did I begin ten months ago, and why do I keep going to classes?

1. It keeps my body moving. And moving. And moving. Although my body can’t do what it once could, it is still an amazing and beautiful thing - and it needs movement to stay that way.
2. It keeps my mind moving. Remembering the sequence of steps, remembering how to make transitions, remembering to engage arms and hands and head as well as legs and feet - all that remembering keeps my brain fluid and flexible. It’s so much better than Wordle or crossword puzzles for brain fitness.  
3. It keeps me laughing. In the Seniors Only class that is taking off this fall, we laugh and laugh and laugh together as we learn and try and learn some more and try some more. There is such great joy in learning a minute and forty five second routine, finally getting it mostly right, and leaving class soaking wet and only a little sore.

4. Mandy continually pushes us to learn and engage while leaving room for our own unique styles, experiences and limitations. She creates, and we all share, a true no-judgment zone.  
5. That no-judgment zone is still there when I take a class with much younger dancers. I am inspired by the great racial and ethnic diversity in those classes, as well as by the energy and delight of the dancers. I am welcomed and included fully by them, even if I hang out in the back corner doing my best to keep up.  
So come on, all you boomers. Hip hop began when we were young. It will help us stay young even now, even as we age with laughter, movement and grace.