Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Dancing Dreams

Pauline Clark has got it goin' on.

Today's post is about holding on to a dream that you know is good for your soul.  Pauline Clark is my inspiration today and she is featured in the story below that I read in the New York Daily News about how Pauline's lifetime dream of dancing with the Rockettes finally came true.
 
I think Pauline Clark, who is 87, has definitely heard about the idea of "use it or loose it" and has taken it to heart as a lifetime philosophy.
 
The idea behind "use it or loose it" is essentially this:  if you don't use the strength and mobility of your body on a regular basis as you grow older, then you might loose those functions.   I try to practice it as much as possible.  If I don't walk or move around every day, I just don't feel right and neither does my body.
 
Pauline Clark must feel the same way because she has been dancing since she was a young child and has always wanted to dance with the infamous Rockettes, New York City's iconic female dancers known around the world for their kick line.

Her age is definitely not holding her back from enjoying life to the max and it just goes to prove that it is never too late to make a dream come true:
 
Florida woman, 87, lives dream of dancing with the Rockettes

Pauline Clark, 87, from Clearwater, Fla., realized her lifelong dream of dancing with the world-famous steppers Saturday after the Wish of a Lifetime foundation teamed up with her senior center to bring her to the Big Apple.



Pauline Clark in New York City
Photo Credit: Enid Alvarez: NY Daily News

 

The Rockettes had better watch their step, because this great-granny is hot on their heels.

Pauline Clark, 87, from Clearwater, Fla., realized her lifelong dream of dancing with the world-famous steppers Saturday after the Wish of a Lifetime foundation teamed up with her senior center to bring her to the Big Apple.

“I feel like a celebrity,” she gushed, giving a gleeful kick while gripping her walker under Radio City Music Hall’s iconic marquee. “I have marveled at the Rockettes ever since I first saw them on TV.”

Clark, who has been dancing since her brother insisted she get lessons at age 7, enjoyed a matinee performance of the 85th annual “Christmas Spectacular” (which is two years younger than she is) before taking a backstage tour.

She had never seen the Rockettes live before.



Pauline Clark dances with the Rockettes
Photo Credit: Geoffrey Hauschild/Camera 1

 
“I loved it from the beginning to the finish,” she said. “It’s much better in person.”

Of course, the highlight was becoming the oldest person to dance with the long-legged lovelies during the Rockette Experience, when about 50 guests took a dance workshop and posed for photos with three Rockettes.

“They’re just gorgeous girls, and very nice,” said Clark. “It was a lot of fun!”

A choreographer walked them through the troupe’s signature kick line.

“They were telling us to kick with the left foot and then to kick with the right, and so forth. I made out OK!” she said humbly. “I can always kick. I’m always dancing and using my legs.”

The silver-haired siren has eight decades of dancing under her feet, including her years teaching at the Arthur Murray School of dance in Tallahassee, Fla.

Clark still tears up the dance floor at the Brookdale Senior Living center’s senior happy hours on Saturdays.

“We do the jitterbug; we do the old waltz,” she said. “I’m just one that loves dancing.”

npesce@nydailynews.com

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