Dancing Grannies

Several years ago I had the good fortune of stumbling upon one of my best thrift store finds to date- a video tape entitled “Dancing Grannies.” The film was of a handful of septuagenarians starring in an aerobics video for geriatric viewers. The ladies were dolled up, complete with risqué leotards and sweatbands, as they worked through their low impact routine. (Low impact in the sense that 50% of the moves were performed while seated in a chair.) The video was comical, there’s no denying, but it was also admirable the way that the women were entrepreneuring and committed to health. They actually looked to be in pretty good shape.

I was reminded of the Dancing Grannies on Saturday when Scott and I attended the birthday party of our neighbor, 74-year-old Bia. I can say with certainty that this was the hippest 74th birthday party that I have ever been to.

As is the custom here, the bash got started around 10 pm with the arrival of guests, followed by a Happy Birthday serenade and cake. Next came the wine, the beer, the grog and the dancing. The grandkids had cleared the living room and kitchen of all furnishings and wheeled in a couple of giant speakers, a generator for when the electricity went out at 11:00, and a DJ to pump the jams.

It was a great party. Practically everyone in town showed up ready to have fun and dressed in their most ‘buzz-off,’ or stylish, clothes. The dancing was non-stop. Our partners were patient with Scott and me as we learned steps to the more complicated dances. When we took off at 2 am, the party was still going strong and so was the birthday girl. She was working it on the dance floor as energetically as a teenager.

Although we had to duck out early on this one (both of us were recovering from a couple of sleepless, digestively challenging nights), the party continued until dawn. Dinner was served around 3, and the last of the guests headed home about 4:30.

The great thing about Bia and her birthday party is that it was not considered unordinary by local standards. No one thinks anything of a 74-year-old woman dancing the night away at a party. Just a couple of weeks ago, we attended a festa where Scott’s most enthusiastic dance partner was nearing her 70’s as well. She was a force to be reckoned with on the dance floor, and later she helped grill the chicken that was served to us at 4 am.

I’m lead to believe that there may be some truth to Steve Miller’s words: “ if you keep on dancing you’ll never grow old.” Here’s to all the dancing grannies out there!