With reporting by Chris La Pelusa
SUN CITY – The old adage is, “Sound body, sound mind.”
“You keep your mind and your body active, you’re going to have a better quality of life as a mature adult,” says Sandy Oldham (N. 12), who volunteers her time as tap teacher of Hoofers and Hunks tap group, among a range of other dance classes.
Oldham, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, majored in dance and minored in physical education and taught dance and gymnastics in high schools for 34 years before moving to Sun City in 2002, where she became a volunteer dance instructor.
“I started [teaching] with one class, and now I’m up to seven classes a week, which I love because it’s great exercise for me…” says Oldham, “…in the sense that I absolutely love doing it for the adults in Sun City because I believe so strongly in physical exercise for mature adults.”
Oldham’s teaching style puts a sharp focus on the fitness aspect of dance, rather than just the performance aspect.
“My philosophy is to have fun,” says Oldham. “We have a good warm up before we start, and we do a little bit more of Broadway-Jazz style tap, which includes moving your arms and body posture, which I think is so important for mature adults [who may start] to walk with poor posture and [walk] slower. I try to do everything to keep [people] standing tall, walking fast, walking strong.”
A fun and engaging alternative to walking or running, dance in Oldham’s classes is a true aerobic workout. A female student brought a stepometer, a device which counts the number of steps taken, into a recent class and counted 1500 steps in one 50-minute class. “You are getting aerobic exercise,” says Oldham. “Anytime mature adults move, it’s important…get your heart rate up. Exercise.”
Oldham hears a lot of women say, “We love to dance.” “So they dance,” says Oldham, “and don’t even realize they are getting a good workout.”
But the benefits of dance aren’t just limited to fun aerobic exercise. “I don’t just teach tap,” Oldhams states. “I teach posture, balance, coordination, alignment, so many things that are important to seniors,” including Kinesthetic sense, which is awareness of where your body is. When you are dancing, “You have to feel if your body is in the proper alignment,” Oldham explains. “Tap develops it, and it will help you with your body and balance.”
And, dance can also help you become more mentally balanced. “Dance,” says Oldham, “whether it be tap, line dance, or anything, you involve your brain because you have to remember the steps. You have to get the message from your brain to your feet to do what needs to be done.” When you do a shuffle in dance class, you have to get the brain to get the body to do a shuffle, “so it takes effort for the brain, and it’s the increased activity, and it’s something new and different,” Oldham says. “And what do they tell seniors to do? ‘Keep your mind engaged and do different things’…tap engages your brain…so it sharpens the brain.”
Oldham treats her students to routines that she personally choreographs and to music that she handpicks which she thinks people will enjoys tapping to.
“The way you become fit is the type of activity that you enjoy doing and will continue to do,” says Oldham. “There’s no question [that dance improves mind/body health], there’s absolutely no question. There’s scientific data to support this.”
If you are getting ‘jazzed up’ by the thought of dancing and would like to join one of Oldham’s classes, Oldham assures that you will be accommodated. “One of the classes began in November [of last year], but a lady joined this week,” says Oldham. “Anybody can start [the classes] at any time. We will take the time to help them get involved and get into the dance.” And you needn’t worry if you don’t have your own pair of tap shoes. “We usually send people to a local place in Lake in the Hills [for tap shoes],” says Oldham. “But for people just trying it for the first time, I say, ‘Don’t buy shoes. Just bring hard-soled shoes into class and give it a try, and if you like it, then buy the shoes.’”
Oldham says, “I’m volunteering to teach these classes because I know the benefits of these classes, and hopefully my women and men will appreciate the benefits too.”
