Let's Dance stories - Jennifer James, Suzanne Tarlin and Pol Marson

Jennifer, Suzanne and Pol are all very active members of our Over 60s dance community, and were all invited to perform at the press launch event for Angela Rippon's Lets Dance campaign, aimed at encouraging people of all ages to embrace the joy and benefits of dancing.

Here, they tell us more about their path in dance and what dance means to them:

Pol (Pauline) Marson (72), a former drama teacher, discovered contemporary dance during the pandemic where she tried The Place’s online dance classes for over 60s, to give structure to the endless days and to feel connected to others while living isolated on her own. While the pandemic is largely over, Pol still lives on her own and appreciates the community she has found, now regularly attending our in-person classes.

“Dance helped me on several levels, it was a routine that gave me structure when all the days felt endless, and secondly the physical experience of dancing itself, the learning of something new and the wonderful teachers made me feel seen and acknowledged as a human being while I was isolated.”

Pol has always been active in her life, but while the physical aspect of dancing plays a part, she finds it particularly helpful for her mental health.

“When I am absorbed in the moment, my worries and anxieties and whatever else is going on, go away for a moment because I am absolutely focused on my body. And for me the sense of belonging to a group is another huge aspect. I have found a community through dance.”

Suzanne Tarlin (80), a member of The Place’s Over 60s dance company, did childhood ballet like many little girls, but then didn’t dance until retirement. “Ten years after retiring I just felt I had to move, and a friend recommended classes at a local community centre. That was about 9 years ago and it's taken off from there. Classes and workshops in London and the southeast and even Sweden. I have been part of a couple of performance groups and appeared in several stand-alone projects.”

“The classes and rehearsals bring structure and order, occasionally a sense of perceptible achievement, and sometimes the feeling that I've actually created something. Sometimes there is a sense of immense well-being after a good session. There have been social benefits too. I've made new friends, something which doesn't happen that easily after you stop working.

I think I'm physically quite fit and generally pretty alert. My only regret is that I didn't start doing this stuff the second I retired.”

Jennifer James (63) only started dancing when she retired. Having worked her whole life while raising two children, she never had the time and space to do something just for herself before. Suffering from asthma all her life, Jennifer remembers when she was active as a child, running around or being a girl guide, she was always the one wheezing and out of breath. Asthma tends to get better in adulthood but often returns in older age.

“Dancing has had a dramatic effect on my ability to control my breathing and my body, and helps me feel on top of it. I am in control of my illness and much more capable.”

However, dancing has never been suggested to her on her medical journey and the immense health benefits Jennifer is reaping now are something she had to discover by herself.

“As you get older and your body starts to ache more and arthritis sets in, what you learn is that you have to move more in order to not seize up. In fact, the more exercise you do the less you pain you have.”

Jennifer also lights up at the mental health benefits she has discovered.

“Dancing to music really moves me and lifts my spirits. I listen to the music and I can feel the beat of the drums inside my body and it lifts me away from myself and I stop thinking about what hurts.”

“When I stopped working, I noticed how much of my time and energy had been focused on my job, and so when I retired there was a moment where I did kind of lose myself. I had to really think about who I wanted to be going forward and what I wanted to do. And then thinking further, what would I really like to try that would bring me somewhere different to where I am now? What would create a new part of me, what would embolden me, what would I dare to try? I don’t want to be just an old person sitting around. What did I want to do when I was younger that I never had the chance to try?”

"What I found in my dance class are men and women of like mind, who all loved moving to music. It was a joy to meet people my own age and older, and see them still enjoying their lives. What I have found through my dance class is a group of real friends, and a social life.”

Join us for our Let's Dance weekend 28 Feb - 2 March