At 93, she infuses life into movement
Dance can help keep you young and fit forever and this is something I truly believe in. But you will be surprised to know that it goes beyond that, it is a belief in the truest sense and the person who lives up to this belief is none other than the world renowned Latin and ballroom dancer Ms Tao Porchon Lynch.
Ms Lynch is the world’s oldest ballroom dancer, yes she is 93 years young and mind you she still dances with high stiletto heels and short radiant dresses. Watching this amazing lady dance is a delight — she is full of energy and enthusiasm that can give a 20-something dancer a run for her money.
When this lady dances she exudes radiance and her experience of being a Hollywood actress in the 1920’s comes across. The confidence in her walk explains that she was indeed a super model in her hey days and the designer brand Chanel was sensible enough in choosing her as their launch model in 1930’s. This is one lady that all Hollywood actresses look up to as she was not just a trendsetter in the film world but also a leading light in the world of dance.
The dance community in India is lucky that this legendary lady graced our dance floor last week at an event to felicitate dance teachers who made ballroom dancing popular in India. This event was especially for dance lovers who came from all over India just to meet Ms Tao Lynch and see her spotless moves. She showcased her dancing skills with one of the fastest dances — the Brazilian samba and I feel fortunate that I got to dance the samba with her for the demonstration.
Yesteryear sensation Ms Zeenat Aman was the chief guest for the evening of inspiration and she too was astonished to see Ms Tao’s dynamic moves and stamina to dance at this age. Dance teachers who made Ballroom dancing popular in India Mr J.J. Rodrigues, Ms Salomi Roy Kapoor and D. Martin De Costa were the centre of attraction at the evening as Ms Tao Porchon Lynch and Ms Zeenat Aman felicitated them for their contribution in ballroom dancing in the country.
My life and dance partner Jessy Randhawa and I opened the evening with the sensual Cuban Rumba followed by a Cha Cha Cha by Kitu Gidwani, Paso Doble by Smiley Suri and Greek Zorba by television beauties Rupali Ganguli, Sweta Keswani, Jassi Kaur and Mouli Ganguli.
We dancers always fear about not being able to dance after a certain age and start worrying, but this evening proved all of us wrong.
Not just me, but all the dance lovers present there saw a ray of hope, a light at the end of the tunnel in ourselves when Ms Tao showcased her dancing expertise.
This is one evening that we will remember forever, an evening of pure inspiration and self-motivation.
After seeing Ms Tao Porchon Lynch I pray to God that she can dance till she lives and all dance lovers for whom dance is life, we should be able dance like Ms Tao forever.
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