They say that age is just a number. Everyone grows weaker and more tired with each passing year. But for many elderly people, that’s no reason to stop doing what they love.
Just take Mathilda Klein, the 93-year-old ballroom dancer who blew all the judges away at a dance competition.
As she shuffled slowly onto the dance floor with her partner, Klein didn’t look like she could manage to dance. She was bent over a walker and wearing a rain slicker and hair cover. In short, she looked the way most of us picture a 93-year-old woman — slow, weak, and tired.
“Now judges, we go to our next solo presentation,” said the announcer. “It’s a Gold Quickstep Presentation, and we have Mathilda Klein and Danny Maloney joining us on the dance floor, from Florida.”
Klein leaned heavily on her walker, following her dance partner.
Maloney, a much younger man, helped guide her slowly onto the dance floor.
“Now ladies and gentlemen, Mathilda Klein was 26 years old during World War II,” said the announcer. “She danced during the Big Band Era. She may not be as vibrant as she was back then, but Mathilda is now into her 94th year and loving it.”
If you’re doing the math, going into her 94th year means that Mathilda was 93.
Most of us wouldn’t have the stamina to dance professionally even in our youth. The crowd waited with bated breath, watching her move step by step.
Then the music started with a bright intro into Gene Kelly’s classic “Singin’ in the Rain.” Maloney opened an umbrella and danced around Klein for a few bars, much like Kelly does in the movie. Then he helped her take off her coat and hat, revealing a shimmering white dress with fringe, reminiscent of the 1920s style.
But when he tried to take her walker away, that was when the fun part started.
First, Klein and Maloney played as though they were fighting over the walker. He took it, she snatched it back, before finally surrendering it.
The music suddenly changed from the gentle melody of Singin’ in the Rain” to a classic Big Band song.
With an upbeat tempo and lots of brass, it exemplified the energetic dance numbers of the Second World War. Then the two of them launched into a dance that had people cheering.
It’s amazing to see how limber and athletic Klein still was at her age. Her years of dancing had served her well. She looked nothing like the frail lady she’d pretended to be when she first walked onto the stage. Instead, she looked as energetic and graceful as she likely did when she was dancing to Big Band music in the 1940s.
At last, they concluded their dance number with a deep dip.
The two of them were smiling broadly as they took their bows to a standing ovation.
If only we could all be so lucky to still be dancing this well at 93!
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