June 18, 2024

Brookdale's Ballroom Dance Champion

About Brookdale Senior Living

Brookdale Senior Living offers multiple care levels for seniors in more than 600 communities nationwide. Brookdale helps you find the right care plan for yourself or your loved one. With amenities such as transportation services, salons and private dining rooms and activities such as gardening, fitness classes and trivia nights Brookdale caters to a wide range of interests and needs.

Meet Nancy, a former nurse who has started a new chapter at Houston’s Brookdale Galleria—as a ballroom dancer. For her, it’s a way of staying active, confident and connected with her late husband. “Right now, it means everything to me,” Nancy says of her newfound love of dancing. “[When] I lost my husband ... I didn’t want to go out, and I didn’t want to do anything. And right now, I can say, ‘Hey — this is the new me.’ I don’t have the same partner, but this young partner treats me like a princess.”

Twice a week, Nancy goes to “Fred Astaire” dance classes led by her instructor and dance partner, Jhondarr. And several times a year, the dance team packs up — with Jhondarr kindly carrying the bags — and travels the country to celebrate everything they have learned together in dance competitions that are attended by hundreds — sometimes thousands of participants and audience members.

But Nancy didn’t exactly waltz through her first dance lessons. With an injured neck, a herniated disk and a bad case of nerves, the idea of dancing was daunting.

“I used to shake like a leaf,” begins Nancy, “but [Jhondarr] helped me build up my confidence and believe in myself — which I never did before.”.

With her newfound confidence in tow, Nancy now wakes up around 4:30 in the morning on competition days to get her hair and makeup done.

“It’s a very expensive hobby, but the feeling of being there [tops] everything,” says Nancy. “Yes, I can still do it! I’m a senior citizen, but I can do it! Some [competitors] are as young as my grandkids — but that’s OK!”

At one competition, Nancy faced the challenge of landing a new move: the snake. When performed correctly, one dancer makes their way to the floor before gliding between their partner’s legs.

“Really, at the beginning, I really shook before I got on the [dance] floor,” says Nancy. “But once I got on the floor, [my worries] were gone, and people said, ‘Oh, you did so good!’”

And Nancy didn’t just do “good” — she did great. That day, Nancy walked out with not one, but two gold medals!

“I [couldn’t] believe it! I got two golds the first time! And Brookdale people [came and] made masks of my face and were screaming,” laughs Nancy. “Some stayed the whole day, some stayed half a day, but they all came.”

It wasn’t just Nancy who walked out a winner that day. All of Jhondarr’s students earned medals, and he himself was named Best Male Teacher.

From the dancing itself to the glamour and the fun of it all, there are many things Nancy loves about the world of dance that she’s found through Brookdale. For one, there is an in-house coed dance team at Brookdale that puts on shows by residents, for residents, with themes for every occasion from Valentine’s Day to Funny Fashion Day.

Nancy is also part of the affectionately named “Off Our Rockers Ensemble,” which consists of residents aged 69 to 102 all playing kazoos! The Off Our Rockers Ensemble takes their show on the road to schools, churches, parks and other senior living centers to make people smile all throughout the Houston community.

But even with all the events and ensembles that there are to love here, there is one thing about Brookdale that stands out as Nancy’s favorite above all — and that’s the people.

“The people are my favorite part. Wow, I can’t believe that I’m among all those wonderful dancers and people. They are so warm,” says Nancy. “I feel love. I feel support. I feel that I can still do it!”

If you have never tried a dance class, or if there’s something new for you to try at your Brookdale community, Nancy has these words of advice: “Get involved.” She adds, “Last year, we invited some people to the studio to dance with Jhondarr, and they were so happy. They were on walkers, but briefly getting up to dance with a professional, they felt really, really good.”

“Don’t just go for three meals and play mahjong for the rest of your life,” advises Nancy. There are other things to go out and enjoy. If there’s a performance, buy a ticket!”