DANCING ALONE: A SENIOR CENTER KEEPS CLIENTS UP AND MOVING
Dance instructor Lola Jaramillo switches the
radio to an uplifting salsa song.
“My students love this one,” says Jaramillo,
dancing to the rhythm of “Life is a Carnival” and
encouraging her class to follow her steps.
But her students -- mostly older Hispanics -- are
not around. Instead, a video camera records her
in an empty room.
Her elderly students are huddled in their homes,
following orders to protect themselves from
the new coronavirus, which hits older people
especially hard. And in their homes, they can
dance along with Jaramillo, getting the exercise
that is so important to maintaining their health
and mobility.
The dance lesson was shared on the social
media accounts of a nonprofit senior center in
Washington that has been serving the capital’s
older Hispanic community for over 50 years.