Jim Ferris and Thea Sturm smiled and chuckled Saturday afternoon as they swung around their Havanese dog, Penny, to avoid stepping on her during their waltz.
Though the living room provided ample room for the proper amount of boogying, Ferris, 82, and Sturm, 89, yearn to dance at the Luepke Community Center again. They often fondly recall the Sunday afternoons where they would float in unison, sometimes among 100 other people, while listening to a local band play jazz, rock or the blues, Ferris said.
As the center halted its events in 2020 to comply with COVID-19 guidelines, many seniors lost access to their favored social activity. Ferris and Sturm continued to dance with one another every Wednesday and Sunday, but it wasn’t the same without the additional social connection.
“You miss your friends, and you miss the social life,” said Sturm, who has participated in the activity for more than a decade. “Of course, you miss the dancing. We dance here, but it’s not the same.”
“It’s a real loss. It’s like somebody died,” Ferris added.
Occasionally, the pair will speak on the phone or get coffee with friends, she said, but they feel distanced from the camaraderie the dance hall provided.
Studies show that dancing has physical and mental benefits that are critical for overall health in all generations. As someone glides across a ballroom floor, they are improving their strength, flexibility and agility as they step and spin with their partner.
Most notably, the activity encourages sociability and combats feelings of loneliness. It’s an important factor in decreasing social isolation among the elderly who live on their own or away from immediate family, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, according to the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
Ferris began dancing at the Luepke Center a few years after his wife died. The social event revived him as he developed a new skill and additional connections, he said, and it’s also where he met his current partner.
“(Thea and I) just danced then, and I was smitten, to tell you the truth,” Ferris continued. “We’ve been dancing together ever since.”
Another regular, Mark Melchert, 85, said the social exchange makes ballroom dancing “the most fabulous activity you can gauge.” Seeing a 6-mile marker on his pedometer during the two-hour event is an added perk.
“Music is coming into your head and out of your feet,” Melchert said. “(It’s) constant beautiful dancing with equally beautiful women.”
However, the return date for the waltzes, foxtrots and quicksteps is still unknown despite Washington mask mandates being lifted Saturday, making dancers frustrated with the ambiguousness in the process.
Melody Burton, Vancouver Parks and Recreation marketing manager, said the city is beginning to workshop the reintroduction of activities that were halted during the pandemic, including ballroom dancing, but staffing concerns are preventing them from starting the programs.
“The recreation staff are trying to figure out what serves the most people at this time,” Burton said. “Unfortunately, the answer is frustrating because we don’t know yet.”
Still, the Luepke Center offers opportunities for people to play games or stay fit. Some club programs that encourage an active lifestyle are available, such as Vancouver’s 50+ Forever Young Hikers, Burton said.
Ferris asserted that the option is tempting but isn’t accessible to everyone like ballroom dancing is — some push a walker as they groove to the music.
“There’s no prerequisite except to be alive,” he said.
