What's the secret to being able to dance in up to nine 3-hour, high-energy shows each week at age 85? More specifically, where did the oldest performing showgirl, Dorothy Dale Kloss, get the stamina and vitality to perform in 240 shows over a nine-month period last year as a featured dancer in The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies? In last year's show, Dorothy performed several numbers with the show's chorus line, danced solo, and even participated in a hilarious comedy routine with the Follies impresario, Riff Markowitz.
On days when there was a matinee and an evening show, that meant a 10-plus hour gig, when warming up, multiple costume changes, dancing and everything else involved in doing a show are taken into account.
Dorothy has been doing this -- loving this -- for the past 14 years.
Dorothy Dale Kloss, however, is anything but a johnny-come-lately to show business and dancing, as she started dancing at age three and has been dancing ever since.
By age 13 she was proficient enough to teach tap dancing classes, and one of her students was 10-year-old Bob Fosse, who went on to become one of the greatest dancers, choreographers, filmmakers of all time.
As a 15-year-old, Dorothy hit it big, performing in the famed Empire Room at the Palmer House in Chicago.
Through the years she has shared the stage with such greats as Liberace, the Mills Brothers, Frankie Lane, and Mel Torme among others.
At age 64, with the help of surgery and chemotherapy, she overcame colon cancer; concerning this battle she says that as a result, she changed her diet and "changed my thinking.
" A few years later her only son moved across the country, taking her grandchild with him, and Dorothy was left with the question: "What am I going to do with the rest of my life?" Immediately the answer came to her -- dance.
This led to her auditioning for the Palm Springs Follies at age 71.
She's been kicking up her heels as an integral part of this variety/burlesque show ever since.
The Follies is no small-potatoes production.
The show, which changes each season/year, regularly performs to sold-out audiences, as attested to by the fact that almost three million folks have seen the show since its inception 18 years ago.
Having covered that background information, that brings us to answering our original question: What's the "secret" to dancing in a chorus line at 85?
Through her exemplary life, Dorothy has shown us the "secrets" to our living life to the fullest, no matter our age.
On days when there was a matinee and an evening show, that meant a 10-plus hour gig, when warming up, multiple costume changes, dancing and everything else involved in doing a show are taken into account.
Dorothy has been doing this -- loving this -- for the past 14 years.
Dorothy Dale Kloss, however, is anything but a johnny-come-lately to show business and dancing, as she started dancing at age three and has been dancing ever since.
By age 13 she was proficient enough to teach tap dancing classes, and one of her students was 10-year-old Bob Fosse, who went on to become one of the greatest dancers, choreographers, filmmakers of all time.
As a 15-year-old, Dorothy hit it big, performing in the famed Empire Room at the Palmer House in Chicago.
Through the years she has shared the stage with such greats as Liberace, the Mills Brothers, Frankie Lane, and Mel Torme among others.
At age 64, with the help of surgery and chemotherapy, she overcame colon cancer; concerning this battle she says that as a result, she changed her diet and "changed my thinking.
" A few years later her only son moved across the country, taking her grandchild with him, and Dorothy was left with the question: "What am I going to do with the rest of my life?" Immediately the answer came to her -- dance.
This led to her auditioning for the Palm Springs Follies at age 71.
She's been kicking up her heels as an integral part of this variety/burlesque show ever since.
The Follies is no small-potatoes production.
The show, which changes each season/year, regularly performs to sold-out audiences, as attested to by the fact that almost three million folks have seen the show since its inception 18 years ago.
Having covered that background information, that brings us to answering our original question: What's the "secret" to dancing in a chorus line at 85?
- Is it her diet? Dorothy says she doesn't have any restrictions on what she eats, but she doesn't fill up on "banana splits," either.
She likes to joke, "No health food ...
I need all the preservatives I can get.
" - Is it her exercise? Dancing is great exercise for her because besides keeping her fit, it keeps her happy.
- Is it her mental focus? In this regard, she says, "Focus on life ahead of you -- not behind you.
" She has also said, "I believe every day is a day worth living and get up and live it...
I don't believe in negativity.
"
Through her exemplary life, Dorothy has shown us the "secrets" to our living life to the fullest, no matter our age.
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