PARRAMATTA seniors are testing the old adage that you are only as old as you feel.
Every Thursday morning about 200 seniors tactically select their dance partners to rock Parramatta Town Hall.
The Sydney Youth Dragon and Lion Dance group is a fountain of youth for people from all over Sydney.
Watch the video of the dancing group, shot by Carlos Furtado and Callan Lawrence below:
Linda Ma, 57, of Granville, was fighting breast cancer and depression when she first shuffled into the hall to find a dance partner.
That was almost five years ago, and now Ms Ma is in remission, smiling from ear to ear and praising regular dancing for her health.
‘‘Dancing makes me happy, every day,’’ she said.
Ms Ma’s dance partner, John Chan, 73, is 16 years her senior.
But it matters not how old the beau is, only how smoothly he pirouettes his lady.
Mr Chan, travels from Sutherland every week for the exercise and fun it gives him.
‘‘I’m diabetic so I must exercise every day,’’ he said. ‘‘I enjoy it.’’
The dance group was started by William and Jen Ho about nine years ago as a social event for retired Chinese migrants who felt isolated.
But it is now a meeting place for people of all ages and ethnicities.
The one thing they all have in common is that they love to shake their tail feathers.
Jim Elderidge, 68, travels from Jannali, also in the Sutherland Shire, by train every Thursday morning.
He said the dance group was one of the few activities he could find for retired people that didn’t involve sitting in a club surrounded by pokies
and beer.
Mrs Ho, whose favourite style is rock ‘n’ roll dancing, says the activity gives people a reason to leave their homes, meet other people, smile and live a little longer.
Contact: William and Jen Ho for more information about dancing on 0417275325.