You Make Me Feel So Young
So...I will get to the "You Make Me Feel So Young" part of the story. But first, I will share a short story about someone named Gillian Lynne.
Some of you will recognize the name of the famous dancer/choreographer from London, probably best known for her choreography for the musical Cats, as well as Phantom of the Opera and countless other productions.
I remember hearing Sir Ken Robinson speak of her in his must-watch Ted Talk, "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"--a humorous and thought-provoking talk. In it, Sir Ken tells the story of a young Gillian Lynne who was thought to be mentally disabled by her school's administrators. They recommended that her mother take her to a doctor. Lynn's mother took her to a specialist who, after observing and talking to the fidgety young girl, asked the mother to come with him to the hallway as Gillian stayed alone in his office. He had turned on the radio for Gillian before leaving. The doctor and mother watched Gillian (unaware that she was being observed) in the office through a window in the hallway. She was dancing. The doctor told the mother, "Mrs. Lynne, your daughter is not sick, she is a dancer."
Dr. Stuart Brown also recounts the same story in his excellent book Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul.
This week I was attending a Theater Jazz dance class at Steps on Broadway when my teacher shared that he was in the original cast production of Cats on Broadway which, as I mentioned above, was choreographed by Gillian Lynn. He said that though Lynne had been choreographing in London for years, Cats was her very first Broadway show. She was close to 60. Imagine that, he said...Gillian was just getting started as a Broadway choreographer at age 60. My teacher worked with her periodically in the many decades that followed and said that she always did everything in their rehearsals. She taught all of the movements while wearing tights and a G-string style leotard! Remember those? The 1980's style high cut leotards? And Lynn never stopped working and creating and could be found dancing on stage into her 90's, until she died from a bad bout of pneumonia. She danced until she died, basically.
My teacher told us this story before he taught us a routine to Frank Sinatra's "You Make Me Feel So Young." Actually, it might have been the Barry Manilow version, but either way, his point was this: He (my teacher) is no spring chicken. He has his good days and bad days, just like everybody, but dancing makes him feel young. He does the warmup with us, does the across-the-floor work and the routine with us. He does it full out--and with feeling! The spirit of Gillian in her G-string inspires him to this day. No--it is not about the G-string; it's about the person who does what makes them happy and fulfilled, stays creative and lives life to its fullest, no matter what society says is the "age appropriate" thing to do or wear or whatever!
What makes you feel young, or full of life?
Do you ever feel like you are just getting started--at 50, 60, 70, or beyond? What are the experiences in life that seem to transcend time and help you tap into that which is timeless, ageless, and full of wonder? What fills you with delight, even when challenging?
Dance is one of the things that makes me feel this way for sure. So does music, playful movement, mindful movement, yoga, and strength training. Creative endeavors and learning new things do too. So does sharing what I learn with other enthusiastic life-long learners.
In case you have not seen it, here is a link to Sir Ken's Ted Talk.
