Ballet is booming among Minnesota's older adults

CATHY WURZER: OK, this is going to be an interesting little turn here from hard rock to, what, ballet. [LAUGHS] We're going to talk about ballet growing in popularity, not just for the young or especially limber anymore. Interest is especially soaring among older adults.

Since 2017, the Royal Academy of Dance in London has certified more than 1,000 instructors to teach ballet to adults 55 and older. That's according to a recent New York Times article. One of those instructors is on the line with us right now. Jill Lile teaches ballet at Macalester College and the St. Paul Ballet and recently started a program for folks 55 and older. Oh, gosh, Jill. This sounds interesting. Welcome to Minnesota Now.

JILL LILE: Thank you so much.

CATHY WURZER: You started a program in St. Paul at the St. Paul Ballet called Boomer Ballet. What's the response been like?

JILL LILE: It's been crazy. It's been very, very popular with both men and women. And it's just been a lot of fun. I've been actually kind of surprised.

CATHY WURZER: Well, I would think-- ballet, to me, seems like something very difficult, and you've got to be pretty stretchy. Why is it a good fit for us older folks?

JILL LILE: Well, I just really can't think of a better way to nourish the body, both physically and mentally. I mean, I feel it's a really holistic approach. You get everything. You get stretch. You get strength. You get balance. You get cognition, proprioception, this ability to know where your limbs are in space, where your body is in space, as well as the community that goes along with it. So I think a lot of people when they think about doing ballet, they kind of remember maybe if they've ever seen a performance, it's very highly skilled, very elite dancers.

And so what we do is we start right from the beginning with fundamental movements and things that help support and strengthen the body. And yeah, we start at kind of a basic level. So it's very appropriate for adults.

CATHY WURZER: How long have you been dancing?

JILL LILE: My whole life. My mother was a dancer. She got me into it, and I've just been doing it ever since. So yeah, it's been a lifelong habit.

CATHY WURZER: So take us through a typical class for boomer ballet. How do you begin? What's it like?

JILL LILE: Well, so this is another thing. I know the article talks about the 10 second challenge of standing on-- balancing on one leg as a marker of longevity. There's another mark of longevity that the medical community has talked about, which is the ability to get up off the floor without hands. So at the beginning of our classes, we often start down on the floor, doing things like foot exercises, abdominal control, shoulder stabilization, just basic strengthening exercises.

But again, just that these students can get up and down off the floor, that in and of itself is a pretty amazing thing. So we start on the floor, and then we go to the ballet bar. And we just start learning the very basic movements of ballet, which you got to be able to bend your knees correctly. You have to be able to go up on your toes correctly. And you have to be able to stretch your feet and your legs. So we basically focus on those.

And then we come to the center, and we start to move our arms in a beautiful way. And then we progress to very, very light jumping. It's very good for the bones to pick the body up and kind of put it back down to the ground with a little bit of force. It helps to build bone. And then we start to move across the floor. And it is, for me, it takes me back to being eight years old on the playground and kind of running around the playground with my friends. So we do skips and gallops and things like that, basic, fundamental locomotive movements. It's a lot of fun.

CATHY WURZER: Oh. I'm still back on getting up off the floor. I mean, I'm trying to think of how I would do that. Probably roll over on all fours and attempt to struggle up. That can be a little awkward.

JILL LILE: Yes, but very important to be able to pick yourself off the floor, so.

CATHY WURZER: Right, exactly. I'm wondering, it sounds like you've got probably a fair number of individuals in class. And because we know that loneliness is an epidemic for, well, for many, many people, but especially among older adults, I'm betting there's probably a community component to the class.

JILL LILE: It's the very, very big component to the class. The students who stay with the class make very good friends. We've tried to organize dinners together, seeing ballets together. Yeah, and just kind of hanging out afterward. It's just a lovely, lovely community.

CATHY WURZER: I always think about performing. I guess, that's where my mind goes to right away. If you start to learn something, do you have recitals or something like that for others to see your craft?

JILL LILE: This is interesting. I have often polled my adult classes, would anybody like to be in a performance? Or even invite just your friends and family. And most of the people are like, no.

[LAUGHTER]

CATHY WURZER: Not so much.

JILL LILE: So it's really just an activity for themselves.

CATHY WURZER: It sounds, given what you just described about the effect on the body, you're right about-- of course, I was only joking. Getting yourself up off the ground, of course, is a good skill to have, building bone, balance, and all of that. It sounds like it is a really healthy thing to learn ballet, even at-- so it can be 55 and older? How old are some of your students?

JILL LILE: I have had students in their 70s in my class. I would even venture-- now, I don't ask people's ages, but I would venture to say, I've got some people maybe even close to 80, if not 80. So it definitely, it's never too late to start.

And the other thing is, we have great pianists. So we have live accompaniment, which is just such a wonderful thing. And the music, of course, is very motivating, but our pianists have a full range, a repertory of show tunes and popular tunes and classical music. So that's a really big piece of the class as well. I think the students are there maybe for the music as well as the movement.

CATHY WURZER: And what is the time commitment?

JILL LILE: Oh, currently, we offer-- each class is one hour. And currently, there are two classes offered, one on Tuesday and one on Thursdays. And we are thinking about adding some more. So--

CATHY WURZER: Hmm.

JILL LILE: Yeah, it's been a really popular class.

CATHY WURZER: And I bet you probably get a lot of pleasure seeing your students when the light bulb goes on, and you see the smiles and the increased level of physical activity, perhaps, as you watch somebody who might be a little bit awkward at first kind of come into their own.

JILL LILE: It is so wonderful to see the progress. For me, it almost feels like tending a garden, you know? Just kind of scratching and watering around and just seeing the results from that. And it's just really such a lovely thing to see the adults enjoy themselves.

CATHY WURZER: Well, Jill, thank you for the time. Best of luck.

JILL LILE: Thank you so much. It's just been my pleasure.

CATHY WURZER: Jill Lile teaches ballet at Macalester College and the St. Paul Ballet. For more information on her boomer ballet classes, check out the St. Paul Ballet online.