We elderly ladies like to get out to tango, too

Her fluid movements were constantly dynamic, and at times she seemed to be floating, twirling to quick and complex cadences.

At 83, Sung Yu-heng is more than alive and well. She is truly kicking. With the figure of a teenaged girl, she dances like a pro.

The retired Chiayi school teacher, who is a widow, began to dance only seven years ago, but has since wowed audiences all over Taiwan, shattering stereotypes and traditional beliefs about the kind of life elderly people should lead.

While many of her counterparts in Taiwan spend their days chatting in parks, taking care of grandkids or shopping and cooking for their families, Sung practices complicated dance steps for two hours during most days of the week. Through her lifestyle, she has encouraged her peers to get out there, if not to hit the dance floor, then to live their golden years to the fullest.

“I never thought my life would turn out this way ... so energetic and happy,” Sung said.

Sung came in contact with dancing accidentally, at age 76. After her retirement, she said she worked in the morning as a quality control worker at one of the electronic factories owned by her daughter and son “to keep an eye on the children.” She also spent a lot of time trading stocks by phone “to make some petty money,” and played mahjong with friends into the evening “to prevent from developing senile dementia.”

When her health began to decline and her wallet began to thin from all the stocks trading and mahjong playing, Sung told one of her mahjong partners that she probably needed to “overhaul” her lifestyle once and for all, such as by doing some physical exercises which were also fun.

Several days later, her friends took her to a dance club, where people danced social dance and made friends. In the beginning, she was not fascinated by social dancing at all.

“It was nothing but two people pushing and pulling,” Sung said.

After about a year of on-and-off social dancing, a teacher of international standard dances, Shih Ta-chien, who later became her coach, realized Sung was potentially talented and “can be carved into a piece of jewel.”

Shih, a professional ballroom dancer, persuaded Sung to be his student, recognizing that Sung had the conditions to be a good dancer, despite her age.

Partly because she was attracted by the 41-year-old Shih’s charms, Sung became a good pupil, taking two-hour courses, four times a week.

She later proved Shih right.

After studying with Shih for several years, Sung said she progressed from “having two left feet” to a respectable level, albeit with a lot of hard work and money too.

“Sung has a good physique with muscles and bones that were much younger than her age and first and foremost, dancing is so natural for her like it was all in her blood,” Shih said.

Shih’s encouragement and spectators’ applause at small dance events gave Sung a huge source of confidence, spurring her to want to learn more to master the steps and push herself.

Amazingly, Sung said, after putting in the effort and enjoying the process, she has become healthier than she was six years ago. And most importantly, she feels carefree and lighthearted every time she walks away from the dance studio after two hours of sweating.

“You expect more and more of yourself; it’s something like an addictive feeling,” she said.

Fame came naturally as Sung gained increased attention.

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