We didn’t compete in it, but we had several other line groups that came in and danced,” Cain said, with Montoya adding they hope to attract and encourage more line-dancing groups in the years to come. While line-dancing is not one of the official events that Valencia County Senior Olympics offers, the group hosted a dance competition last May and plans to make it an annual occurrence. All participants have to be at least 50 years old. New Mexico Senior Olympics was founded in 1979 with the county chapter establishing shortly after. We just want everybody to join, have fun.” “We have cards we can give, we have brochures. “We want everybody to come on out, come see what VCSO is doing and get-involved,” Montoya said. The group still wants more performances to continue to promote the Valencia County Senior Olympics.īoth Cain and Montoya also serve as event coordinators for Senior Olympics, and are planning a kick off to the season in October.
Montoya said Steppin’ Line is now being invited to perform with a senior center in Albuquerque’s South Valley, asking them to show off their moves. ‘We can’t get up in front of everybody,’ they say,” Cain said with a small laugh. “We keep thinking about it, but every man we ask, they are too shy. While the group currently consists solely of women, Cain said they have been attempting to recruit men to join since its inception however, it has been unsuccessful and they have been met with resistance from those they have asked to join. Gradually, it grew enough that we were able to have eight of us.” “If you remember, we were limited to how many people you could even have in a space at the time.
“We were very fortunate we got a great sponsor that let us use their room to start with - Anytime Fitness,” Cain said. Makayla Grijalva | News-Bulletin photo Barbara Cain, one of the founders of Valencia County Senior Olympics Steppin’ Line dance group, dances with others following a performance at the Valencia County Fair Senior Day. It started out rough with regular practices occurring at Anytime Fitness in Los Lunas, complete with masks and social distancing, but now, two years later, the group performs across the county at assisted living and senior centers. “And Senior Olympics, that’s what we’re about, that’s our purpose to everybody moving, motivated, physically and spiritually healthy,” said founding member Yvonne Montoya. In early 2020, Cain said a group of women, who had all participated in Senior Olympics, needed an activity to keep moving during the pandemic-fueled shutdowns, so they began line dancing. There’s not that many men out there, to be blunt about it.” It’s really hard, especially when you’re a senior to find a partner to dance with. “I actually have done a lot of other dancing, but line-dancing you can get up and dance by yourself,” said Barbara Cain, one of the founding members of the group. The Valencia County Senior Olympics Steppin’ Line Dance Team are encouraging seniors to get up and get their feet moving - whether they have a partner to dance with or not.
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