Tap Dancing at Age 74
Interview with Marie Castle
By Christine Trask
After one sunny Sunday church service, I had the pleasure of meeting Marie Castle, a lovely, spirited, slim-figured seventy-four-year-old mother, wife, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Our connection was prearranged from another fellow church member who read one of the previous stories I wrote for Sheer Dance.
Marie and I talked about our passion for dance for about an hour, and within one week I found myself watching her tap dance with her fellow tappers at one of her classes.
“Step turn walk walk walk, turn ball change, lunge hold two, shuffle ball change, step releve hold, step turn step, hold sway sway," her teacher, Jan Johnson, called out to her students. As I sat there watching, I couldn’t help but start tapping my own feet.
After the class, we chatted about her dance history:
Sheer Dance: Tell us about your dancing experience as a young girl through college.
Marie Castle: At age four, I was dancing with my mother in our little kitchen as she sang “Dance with the dolly with a hole in her stocking." In kindergarten, a friend performed an acrobat dance for our class that enticed me to start taking tap, ballet and acrobat at age six. By age ten, I began Adagio lessons as well, partnering with a boy three years older than me. Together we continued both Adagio and acrobat until he left for the service. In high school, my dance and acrobatic skills helped me branch into gymnastics and cheerleading. In my college years, dancing led me to pursuing a major in physical education.
Did your parents dance?
My mother and father were always dancing. Whether it was square dancing, ballroom, or folk dancing, their feet kept moving well into their eighties. Their Finnish folk dance group performed in the U.S. and in Finland. A highlight for me was watching my mother and father perform with their group in full costume at their fiftieth wedding anniversary.
How is tap dancing a healthy sport for you?
Besides being so much fun, it is social, brings poise and confidence, and is a great workout, which makes me very happy. The ReCreation Tappers club that I belong to has linked me to about one hundred twenty other women in Naples, Florida, who love to dance. Daily practice and classes continually keep my brain engaged. Having osteoporosis and being a twenty-six-year cancer survivor, I’m staying tuned in to health. Since Alzheimer’s runs in my family; studies show that the most important tips to prevent Alzheimer’s are to stay active physically, socially, and learn something new every day. One recent study indicates that dancing is the number one way to ward off Alzheimer's and dementia. Most of all, when dancing, you can’t focus on worries. One of my favorite quotes: “There are shortcuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them!"
Tell us about your achievements.
I was a regular dancer on a Milwaukee bandstand-type show on TV while in high school. During college I danced with L Bar X (ballroom and square dance) at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and danced with Orchesis (a modern dance) group as well. At Richfield High School in Minnesota where I taught physical education, I was coach of the Tapaires danceline. They won first place in our division, and first place overall. After I retired, I was a danceline competition judge for the Minnesota state high schools from 1971 through 1973. I also performed as a dancer with the Choralaires singers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and perform currently with the ReCreation Tappers of South West Florida, mostly performing between October and May at the Sugden Theater, Naples, Florida. Two of our biggest shows are performed in front of the Sugden theater on a portable stage. One show is “Lighting of the Trees" in December when we perform Christmas numbers, and the other is for Mardi Gras celebration in February. Our free performances also include dancing for nursing homes, condo associations, and other groups. Any donations we receive are used to provide scholarships for young, promising dancers.
Another achievement of mine is being a mother of my beautiful daughter, Nicole, who danced with Loyce Houlton’s Minnesota “Nutcracker" for two years. Nicole was a photographer of Minnesota’s musical star, Prince, for two years when he was with the New Power Generation. Nicole now lives in London where she continues to do photography. I am also blessed with my beautiful step-daughters, Sheri, Marsha, and Cyndi, who took dance lessons as little girls.
Do you have any future goals?
Yes indeed! Take ballroom dancing lessons with my husband.
Happy seventy-fourth birthday this July, 2016! Marie Castle, you are an inspiration to all of us. Keep on tapping and happy ballroom dancing with your husband.