By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
This is not your grandma’s prim and proper ballroom dancing class.
These ladies shake their booties, hoot and holler, and gyrate in ways that would make some dancers blush.
They are the SILKI dancers. The acronym stands for “Seriously Incredible Ladies Kickin’ It” – though there was some debate during a recent class about changing the “seriously” to “sexy.” The class meets on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m., in the Wood County Senior Center in Bowling Green.
At the end of a recent class, the dozen dancers listed off those with hip and knee replacements. And they pointed out their oldest member, Alta Diehl, 87, whose age hasn’t stopped her from getting her groove on.
“Don’t let the gray hair fool you. We still have moves,” one dancer said.
The class is taught by Sheila Brown, who inspires the dancers to move their bodies to pop music and rhythm and blues.
When the music comes on, some of the dancers giggle and can barely contain themselves. This was an important practice, since the group would be performing a few days later at the Firefly Nights festival in Wooster Green.
“We’ve got some work to do,” Brown said with a smile.
The dancers took their first run through the “Boots on the Ground” line dance, warming up their bodies to the beat.
Brown encouraged the women to let their bodies move. “On the pop, I didn’t see a lot of poppin,” she said gently. “Get your arms involved. Pop that hip out.”
Not literally, of course.
The more daring dancers offered tips. “Work it,” one said. “Shake it like you never shook it before,” another urged.
On the second run through, some of the nervous faces were replaced by smiles of guilty pleasure.
Next came the “Cuban Shuffle.”
“I think we’ve got a very good command of this one. You’re looking good ladies,” Brown said.
Brown used sound effects, shouting “boom” with the hip thrusts.
“Let’s get some sexy on. They aren’t going to know what happened,” she said of the audience at their upcoming performance. “Give a sexy walk. I need to see the sexiness in your faces.”
The less inhibited dancers urged on the more Puritan performers.
They wrapped up with the “Me Too” line dance, leaving the seniors sweaty and satisfied from the workout.
Brown gave them last minute instructions to wear their hot pink SILKI shirts, black pants, and a little make-up for their performance.
“We want to look super cute,” she said. “Don’t forget to look up and have fun. Smile – the biggest smiles you can muster.”
As the students gathered around Brown at the end of class, some shared why they joined the dance program.
“So we can hang out with Sheila. She’s cool,” one said.
Many want to keep their bodies moving as they age.
Often seniors fall into sedentary lifestyles, one dancer said. “It’s robbing us of the beautiful golden years.”
The class also helps with balance, memory, socialization and mental health, Brown said. The classes are free and open to men and women.
“We have a lot of what could be perceived as challenges, but if we don’t move it, we will lose it,” Brown said.
And these ladies appear ready to fight sedentary lifestyles with one hip thrust and fist pump at a time.
