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Guys who started dance study as 'creaky' adults speak out! I'm looking for new stories. If you have one to tell, please e-mail me.

The Women's Page
Tales from the adult dance student avant garde

Jetés in the Wal-Mart Parking Lot
My back was killing me one day at work, so I asked a friend, a professional dancer, if she knew any stretches to help. She taught me arabesque.

That awakened the dancer within.

I went to a few classes in New York. Like many others, I wanted to take dance as a child, but couldn't. Ballerinas weren't "chubby" (Their word, not mine.), and Mom didn't have time or money to take me to dance classes.

Then, a move to Atlanta put my "dance career" on hiatus. It took two years to find a good school. Now at 33, I've been taking class about once week for about four years. Although I've improved, I'm not good. I'll never be
a professional, and I probably won't perform. It doesn't matter, though. Those aren't my goals. Dancing just makes my soul come alive.

After a long plateau, I've had a couple or recent breakthroughs. My teacher helped me discover a God-given talent for jumping. I get a lot of "hang time" when I jump. And, after a few years of bashfulness during
floor exercises, you'll now find me practicing grand jetés in the parking lot of my local Super Wal-Mart. Now, if I could only get into those pointe shoes before 35!

Another epiphany occured with a salesperson I met through work. Somehow we started talking about dance. She told me how she'd been a professional dancer on Broadway -- at one time even working with Ben Vereen -- but she stopped. I asked her, "Why? If you can dance and love to dance, how can you not let that out?" and told her my story. Somehow, that convinced her to start up again.

One day not too long ago, she sent me a little package. When I opened it, I found a gold star, the kind they put on stage doors, inside. It says, "DANCER." -- Subelle

Update 6/02: "I'm starting pointe classes --ouch!-- in the fall, so I will achieve that pointe-shoes-by-35 goal. :)"