There’s a group of seniors in Colonie who like sequins, fishnets and dancing. And twice a month, they strut their stuff around the Capital District as the Timeless Tappers.
“It’s very sparkly; we have a sparkly show. We try to make our costumes as bright as possible. … They are all kinds of tap dance tunes,” said Kathleen Engelhardt.
Engelhardt, 67, has been a Timeless Tapper since 1998 when she sneaked her way in. Now, the age range is 50 and older, but back then, you had to be 55.
“I was the youngest at the time,” said Engelhardt. “When I was 50, I saw (they) were doing the New Year’s Eve festival in Albany … I said, ‘I’m going to join this group when I’m old enough’ and by the time I was 54, I was chomping at the bit.”
The group is part of Colonie Senior Services. Members take one of three levels of tap dance classes for seniors, though not everyone who takes the classes is required to perform. Those who do want to show off their moves present a high-energy performance at places like Beltrone Living Center, Bright Horizons or St. Margaret’s.
“We use older tunes … swing genre, standards, Broadway shows. We do military songs for the holidays and have specialty duet numbers,” said Engelhardt. “We like to learn all the nice kicks and Rockette moves, and the people we dance for remember the old tap dancing routines and kicklines.”
Janet Murphy, a former Radio City Music Hall Rockette, heads up the classes and performance choreography.
“I do all my own choreography and (it) tends to be more toward the Rockette line so a lot of the things you see are synonymous with the Rockettes,” said Murphy.
Murphy was a Rockette on and off in the ’80s and still performs for special fundraisers or alumni events.
“My time as a Rockette was very enjoyable,” said Murphy. “One of the costumes I had worn was designed by a designer for Cher. … We did 300 kicks in one dance.”
Sharing her experiences and skills with the Timeless Tappers is special, she said.
“I think they do a wonderful job. I’m very proud of what they’ve done during my time with them,” said Murphy. “For a maturing population, I think they show how you can really mature gracefully and still be able to do a lot of things.”
Up until a few months ago, the oldest Timeless Tapper was 79. Engelhardt said it’s something members do until they physically can’t do it anymore.
“The exercise itself is habit forming. Once you start on a regimen you really want to keep it going because it makes you feel better in the long run,” said Engelhardt. “We’re all in pretty decent shape because of the tap dancing, and sometimes you just can’t tell how old everybody is.”
It’s a good excuse to socialize, too.
“The camaraderie is very nice,” said Engelhardt. “As you get older, your circle of friends shrinks and the tap dancing is a way to embellish the senior years that you have.”
Engelhardt still dances when she can, but sometimes health issues make dancing too painful. Instead, she’s taken up the role of doing publicity for the group and had a friend create a website, which has brought the Timeless Tappers some surprising attention.
“The website gets roughly 2,000 people a day on average visiting it. My friends tells me that the website itself is very popular in Europe. He says sometimes something cute or charming or camp like that goes over big,” said Engelhardt.
Timelesstappers.com gives all the performance dates, bios of dancers, pictures and general information.
Engelhardt said the group welcomes and encourages newcomers.
“If you like to dance, please come join the class,” said Engelhardt. “It’s a fun thing because we don’t have one of those heavy-handed teachers. She just likes to have as much fun as we do.”
For more information about becoming a Timeless Tapper or to check out a class, visit www.colonieseniors.org.
