Dancing
grannies defy gravity
by Jim Crawford
CAVE
CREEK – The people in the North Valley have a reputation
for being health and fitness minded.
On
any given day joggers from 8‑80 can be seen
hitting the pavement along with cyclists and anybody
else who wants to avoid a sedentary lifestyle and
keep the dreaded love handles difficult to
grasp.
In
Cave Creek, a league of ladies takes a different approach
by dancing their way to good
health.
The
group of “dancing grannies” calls itself the Desert
Cactus Kickers and performs all over the area for
different organizations to demonstrate their determination
to defy gravity’s effects.
Founded
by Arlene Kamarata in 1993, the grannies maintain
a membership of around 17.
“The
main criteria to join is you have to be at least 50
years old or be a grandma,” Kamarata says. “Our youngest
member is 56 and we have two in their seventies.”
Besides
the obvious fitness benefits derived from dancing,
the ladies use the group as a social outlet as well.
“We’ve
all become good friends,” says Jeanette Doyle, the
only remaining original member, aside from Kamarata.
“If somebody comes in feeling bad, we all try and
pick them up.”
The
grannies practice for 2 ½ hours every Wednesday in
a dance studio in Cave Creek.
“We
don’t have a professional teacher or choreographer,”
Kamarata says proudly. “It’s a group effort to work
up our routines.”
The
two most recent numbers were arranged by seven‑year
member Jan Board.
“We
come from all kinds of different dance abilities,”
Board says. “We all love to dance. It’s a social group
as much as anything.”
The
group practices and performs from October through
May and then are left to keep up their chops on their
own.
“The
summers are spent practicing on our own with our instructional
tapes,” Kamarata says. “Any donations we receive during
the year are spent on costumes.”
Keeping
a full performance schedule is not a problem.
In
January, the Desert Cactus Kickers traveled to Laughlin,
Nev. for Senior Winter Break, where the group performed
at the Aquarius Hotel. On Feb. 2, the Kickers entertained
at the Troon Country Club for Musicfest, and the dancing
grannies have several more upcoming events on the
books to keep them busy.
