MILWAUKEE – The Dancing Grannies continue to defy expectations for elderly people with dance and community. The First Congregational Church in Wauwatosa was filled with dancers on Wednesday as they prepared to practice.
Maria Hollingsworth has been part of the Dancing Grannies for several years, and said she wanted to find an activity to fill free time in retirement.
“I needed something because I went from being a project manager to being retired,” said Hollingsworth. “I was at an exercise club and there was a poster from the Grannies saying they needed members. I thought ‘why not?”
Hollingsworth said she looks forward to seeing the looks on the faces of her grandchildren whenever they see her perform. Kathy Gurzynski said she enjoys performing for other elderly people, too.
“The crowds just go wild, thinking that a group of older ladies can do that,” said Gurzynski. “I’ve been to a couple of nursing homes and it is just so rewarding when you see the smiles on their faces. We sometimes bring along pom-poms. It makes them feel good and makes us feel good.”
Pushing through hard times
The attack on the 2021 Waukesha Christmas Parade left scars on many in southeast Wisconsin, but particularly on the Dancing Grannies as they lost three members and a helper on November 21st, 2021.
Donna Kalic joined the group earlier this year, and says every Grannie has supported one another in remembering Virginia Sorenson, Leanna Owens, Tamara Durand and Willhelm Hospel.
“We have shed a lot of tears together and had lots of moments remembering them,” said Kalic. “We still grieve. We still process all of that.”
Following the attack, the Grannies say they received support from all over the greater Milwaukee area, and national support too. The group was invited to New Orleans to dance with the 610 Stompers, a male dancing group concentrated in Louisiana. After performances in New Orleans, the 610 stompers came to Milwaukee to celebrate the 4th of July. Kalic said she took the group to the street in Waukesha where the attack happened. When they saw it, Kalic said there was “not a dry eye in the group”.
President Jan Kwiatkowski says to this day, the group is still learning to move past the tragedy.
“We’re still working through it,” said Kwiatkowski. “It’s forced us to make a lot of changes, and stretch way beyond anything we thought we would have to.”
And Vice President Jean Knutson said they owe it to those who passed, Virginia Sorenson in particular, to continue dancing.
“If we would have let the group go and dissolve after the tragedy, I don’t think she would have been happy about that.”
Kwiatkowski and Knutson were emphatic about where to see the Dancing Grannies next. The Grannies will be dancing at the 60th Waukesha Christmas Parade on Sunday, December 3rd. Knutzen said their Facebook page is the best method to reach out to the Grannies, and that they are already being booked into 2025.
Kathy Gurzynski said the Dancing Grannies are a group that defies expectations, and shows that no one is too old to express themselves.
“Some people are old at forty, some people are going gangbusters at 80. It just depends on what you want to do.”
