News - Friday, July 13, 2012 Keep on dancing Aerobics instructor Joan Rabin going strong after more than 30 years

by Emily Efland

Rabin, 67, owns the Mountain View franchise of Sorensen's program, where she has been teaching aerobics classes for more than 30 years. Apart from the dance routines and music, Rabin notes one other striking change in aerobics there are more older students enrolling in the classes. Rabin attributes this trend to research on the benefits of exercise in old age, even for people heading into their 80s and 90s.

"People used to get to age 50 and they would drop out; now people are staying longer into their 60s and 70s," she notes.

Yet she does not only teach senior citizens. Rabin offers childcare during her hour-long classes, and says that contributes to the large turnout of young mothers. She describes her childcare as a "little preschool" for the children, who paint, draw, read and socialize while their mothers exercise.

Rabin's students praise her positive attitude and enthusiasm for teaching. One student, Debby Hagenmaier, has been taking Rabin's classes for 25 years.

"What happens is that it really becomes a support group for a lot of people," says Hagenmaier, 62. "There's something contagious about being with Joan, and everyone picks up on that and supports one another. Some people are amazing dancers, but we also have people who have never danced. It doesn't matter what you look like in that class, it's completely free."

Florence BeGole, who began taking classes from Rabin five years ago, uses her childcare services.

"I can go to any exercise class, but I stay with Joan because of her personality," BeGole says. "She does it because she loves it. There's no other instructor who does it with such enthusiasm."

For Rabin, the range of age groups speaks to Sorensen's flexible dance routines. Her class contains 20-year-olds and 70-year-olds, and students exercise at their own pace.

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Keep on dancing