When the curtain opens, the Steppin’ Seniors are ready to perform a holiday show. All they need is their music and they’re ready to dance—but the tape is playing the wrong tune.
“That’s okay. Let’s go anyway.’’ Annette Hubbard calls out.

Hubbard, in a bright green sequined vest and matching earrings, leads her troupe in a line dance—a routine in which all the dancers move in sync. So what if they have to improvise a bit? Hubbard and her friends, all age 50 and over, can handle it. After all, they’re here to have fun.

Beaming, her white boots tapping out the rhythm, Hubbard and her 20 dancers perform in front of some 100 members of the Modern Maturity Center in Dover, Del. As they dance, Cate Lyons, the center’s marketing director, says, “They amaze me. My daughter always has to re-teach me the electric slide, and look at them!’’

Shortly after the half-hour performance, Hubbard spots a woman sitting down with her cane propped up next to her chair.

“You guys were great,’’ the woman tells Hubbard. “Next time,’’ Hubbard says, “you’re dancing, too . . .’’

Hubbard knows that exercise is the key to health at any age, and while she doesn’t expect all seniors to exercise at her level, she tells anyone who will listen that even moderate activity is good for you—both mentally and physically.

No signs of slowing down

At 70, Hubbard shows no signs of slowing down. Each morning, she wakes at 6:30 and heads to the center to swim for an hour. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, she line dances, and on Thursday afternoons, she and her husband, Clifton, 75, take ballroom dancing classes.

It’s little wonder that Hubbard is so active. Her father was a physical education major who lived to be 98, and her mother was an elementary school teacher who loved to dance. Hubbard’s father taught her how to swim along the beaches of Ocean City, Md. Once she decided to become a physical education teacher herself, she learned almost every sport, from football to volleyball. Even if she didn’t participate, she learned the rules and is an avid fan of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.

Hubbard keeps a daily log of all of her exercise as part of a program called “Get Up and Do Something,’’ which was created in 2002 by Delaware’s Lt. Governor John Carney. Designed to increase awareness and physical activity among everyone in the state, the program is part of a larger state goal to increase the proportion of adults who engage in regular, moderate, and sustained physical activity.

“I just love the activity,’’ Hubbard says. “I love the exercise.’’ Then she smiles and adds, “And I just enjoy being with all these young people.’’

She also loves what line dancing does for audiences. While she’s exercising, she’s also entertaining others. A few hours after she participated in the line dancing performance with the wrong music, she and the rest of the Steppin’ Seniors headed to a nearby nursing home to dance for a former troupe member who has been ill. “I just know it will make her smile,’’ Hubbard says.

A passion for dancing

It makes her smile, too. After teaching for nearly 40 years, Hubbard retired but was looking for a community activity to keep her active. She went to the Modern Maturity Center and signed up for an aerobics class. Shortly afterward, she was introduced to line dancing. A decade later, she’s still kicking up her heels.

“She just enjoys it so much,’’ says Doris Delong, who teaches the classes with her husband, Bill. “It’s good exercise and it’s social, too.’’ Line dancing has become quite a phenomenon in Dover. When Steppin’ Seniors was first formed, there were only five members. Nowadays, there are more than 100. They have danced in the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dover and have even been featured in a documentary film to promote better fitness. Their numerous trophies and awards are on display in the Maturity Center.

“Annette wasn’t the one who started the line dancing program here, but under her guidance, it’s really, really grown,’’ says Carolyn Fredericks, executive director of the center. “Not only has she proved that when you get older you don’t have to slow down, but we’ve got other line dancers who have as well. We have line dancers who are 90.’’

Thinking young

Fredericks refers to the line dancers as the center’s “goodwill ambassadors.’’ Not only for the entertainment of others but for themselves, too. “The more active you remain,’’ Fredericks says, “the younger emotionally you remain and you’re going to have a younger outlook on life, too.’’

Hubbard and her friends at Steppin’ Seniors perform about 30 times a year in hospitals, schools, and churches. Hubbard has even participated in line dancing in the Senior Olympics, and has earned gold and silver medals for her efforts.

The goal is not just for her personal well being, but to prove that there are senior citizens who are active. “There are no rocking chairs here,” she says as she shows a guest around the center.

Hubbard’s dedication to exercise is key to her health. But senior citizens don’t have to exercise to the level that she does to keep in good shape. Denise Bender, an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, works with community resources to help get seniors involved in exercise programs.

“We want people to know that exercise is for everybody.” Bender says, “Our goal is to keep people in the community and in vital parts of the community. We believe that keeping people fit is crucial for their mental health.’’

Many elderly people seem fearful of exercise, especially older women, Bender says. They tend to believe that exercising means they have to be competitive or lose weight or that they have to use machines in a fancy health club.

“We try to let people know that exercise doesn’t have to be a gym. And the effectiveness of their exercise shouldn’t be tied to a scale. It should be tied to how they feel,” she says.

“We’re not trying to turn them into Arnold Schwarzenegger. We’re just trying to get them to exercise.’’

There are some precautions that seniors should take before they start an exercise program, Bender says. First, they should consult a health provider. They also should try to exercise with a friend or a group of friends and be cautious of where and when they exercise. For example, they should not walk late at night in dark areas. Community centers, local YMCAs, and churches are excellent places to seek out programs.

And it’s not just older people who need to learn about such programs. Younger people need to be around active older people to realize that the stereotypical senior citizen doesn’t have to be the norm. Bender had some of her students become partners with senior citizens in Oklahoma for that very purpose.

“They basically developed friendships,’’ Bender says. “And the students came out with the understanding that just because you’re older doesn’t mean you’re ill.’’

Hubbard tries to do the same thing—only in reverse. Sometimes, her line dancing group performs in front of sororities and fraternities at Delaware colleges and universities.

Hubbard has become politically involved as well, helping lead the charge for other seniors to exercise. She keeps regular contact with several politicians in Delaware and is a member of the Governors’ Council for Lifestyle and Fitness. Often, she travels to Wilmington for meetings. She is also a former president of the Delaware Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

“Our whole aim is to maintain our health and fitness and to encourage others to get involved,’’ Hubbard says. “You can’t just stop because you get older.’’

In fact, Hubbard won’t allow it.

Amy Rosewater writes from Timonium, Md.

first appeared: 4/6/2003