Edwards: Still Dancing (con't)

As a young girl, she knew that dance was her calling. “It’s a feeling,” she explains. Eloise was born in 1925, growing up during the Great Depression. Her family didn’t have much in the way of finances, so she went to work at age fourteen in order to pay for her own dance classes. But working at such a young age felt normal for her. “We didn’t know we were poor because everyone else was!” she laughs.

As she continued dancing and taking classes, it became clear to Eloise that dance would be a persistent figure in her life. “I didn’t do it with any thought of money,” she muses. She established herself beyond dancing; she went to school, found a career, and even raised a family. But she never stopped dancing. One day, someone asked her if she would like to teach a class; and, as they say, the rest is history. She has taught anyone and everyone from age three to eighty. Now, she focuses on classes for seniors, inspiring them to live actively and to do what they love. “You need to have a passion… You’ve got to move that body!” she advises. She believes that dancing cannot only keep her students healthy, but can give them a sense of pride and contentment. Eloise explains that after her daughter’s death, she relied largely on dance to help her push through the grief, and she hopes to offer this same relief to her students that may be struggling in their personal lives.

While she loves teaching her regular classes, Eloise glows with pride as she discusses the Now and Then Dance Ensemble, a group of senior women that performs around the Richmond community at hospitals, nursing homes, church clubs, and festivals. Eloise is the leader of the ensemble and choreographs all of their dances. “I want to be where we’re needed,” she explains, bringing her energy, music, and dance to those who can no longer be active on their own. The ensemble specializes in Alzheimer’s units and nursing homes, but Eloise’s favorite place to perform is the McGuire Veterans’ Hospital trauma unit. Seeing the patients who have fought for America inspires her just as much as her dancing inspires them.

Not only does she find joy in her ensemble’s performances, she has also established close relationships with the three women in the group, Fran Shinholser, Mary Moran, and Alli Mintor. Her favorite aspect of teaching is her students. “They’ve all got a story,” she says, claiming that she learns just as much from them as they do from her. While Eloise focuses her instruction on seniors, she does exclaim, “As I’ve gotten older, I like young people more!” She teaches dances from all eras and even some from today such as the Wobble or the Cupid Shuffle, which she likes to call the “Stupid Cupid.”

Besides dancing, Eloise considers herself an animal activist. In her free time she loves to bird watch and to meditate. It settles her down and keeps her mind occupied. She also likes to rest and catch up on well-deserved sleep. She explains that some days she doesn’t feel like getting out of bed and would rather lounge around the house spending time with her cats; but she never gives in and continues to push herself to stay active every single day. She believes that the level of fitness she maintained when she was younger is what has kept her so healthy and active in the later years of her life.

Eloise is determined to keep dancing as long as she can, and she loves helping her students too much to give up teaching anytime soon. “They think that if I can do it at eighty-seven, that maybe they should stay active, too,” she explains. Eloise continues to inspire women locally with her buoyant passion and her commitment to not only her own health, but the health and livelihood of everyone she meets. But despite her strong character and remarkable accomplishments, she is extremely humble and self-aware. “I’m still learning,” she claims; and as long as there’s a new dance to learn, you can bet that Eloise will be teaching it._______________________Catherine Green, a graduate of Maggie L. Walker Governor's School for Government and International Studies in Richmond, Virginia, is currently a student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.