Former counselor dances like everyone’s watching with the Stayin’ Alive Crew.
I didn’t start dancing until I was 18 years old. I grew up in Sandy Springs and was previously a gymnast, along with my identical twin sister, Josette. While she continued with the sport into college, I stopped pursuing it during high school after I broke my arm. Instead, I ended up taking a jazz class when I was a senior and loved it. That led me to sign up for dance classes when I went to the University of Georgia, where I landed a spot in the UGA Dance Company.
By 1983, I wanted to see what else I could do with my dancing. I auditioned to be a cast member at Six Flags Over Georgia. At the time, the shows were really big, and hundreds of people auditioned when the scouts came to UGA to find new talent. I knew I was in way over my head when everyone started using ballet terms, so I decided to just copy the person in front of me. I was packing my bags to go, and I couldn’t believe it when they called my name. I ended up dancing at Six Flags for two years, and then I got a job dancing on a cruise ship for three years. Eventually, dancing injuries caught up with me, and I came home. Fortunately, I had an opportunity to choreograph for Six Flags. I continued there for 10 years, even after I earned my master’s degree, became a school counselor for Fulton County Schools, got married and started a family.
I stopped choreographing as my family and my full-time job took precedence until several years ago, when my sister and I decided to join an over-50 dance troupe founded by a former Atlanta Hawks cheerleader. I missed dance terribly, and it seemed like a great opportunity to get back into it. Josette and I danced with that group for two years, but some issues with the way it was managed prompted us to leave. We wondered if we could start our own group. Five years ago, we founded the Stayin’ Alive Crew.
We started small with 12 members, and I used my connections at Six Flags to get us some dance gigs, including at Fright Fest. We officially launched the group as a nonprofit organization and began dancing at all kinds of locations, from senior homes all the way up to State Farm Arena for Hawks games. We did 58 shows last year alone, and we now have 63 dancers, including a couple of men. And while we do all types of dancing, our forte is hip hop because that’s what the audience, especially young people, likes to see. It’s funny to see their reactions; they start to laugh when they first see us, but by the time we’re done, their jaws have dropped.
No one in our group is shy about sharing their age. We’re proud of it. I’m 60. I retired from my career last June, and I can now focus on dancing and choreographing for the Stayin’ Alive Crew. The creativity keeps me going. It helps my brain, and I see so many other benefits to doing it. I stay very active; in addition to our rehearsals, I play tennis and stretch regularly. Some members even work out together. We also get to give back to the community with our performances, and I get to see the friendships that have formed within this group. It has had such an impact on our members’ lives. That’s what I used to try to do with my students, and this fills that hole for me since my retirement. I get emotional thinking about it.
Our mission is to prove that age doesn’t limit you. You just have to find your passion, and it will bring you more joy than you could ever know. When people turn 50, they think it’s all downhill. In reality, it’s only going to get better. We’ve broken that stigma and showed that you have to take advantage of every day and every moment. You don’t have to settle. To me, attitude is everything. I just want to keep putting smiles on people’s faces and bringing them joy. You just have to keep moving forward and do what you can do.
STAYIN’ ALIVE CREW
stayinalivecrew.wixsite.com/mysite
@stayinalivecrew
As told to Amy Meadows
PHOTOS: Erik Meadows
