By Kelly A. Goff
From
the first, Phyllis Patterson was hooked. It all started in 1974 after
she graduated from college, when she attended a Jacki Sorensen Aerobic
Dancing class with a couple of friends. "The first night we were in the
back row," recalls Patterson. "I liked the music and movement so much
that I moved to the front row the second night and my friends stayed
behind." After taking aerobic dancing classes for two years, Patterson
moved to the front of the class ... permanently. She became a certified
instructor and hasn't looked back for 30 years.
"There was nothing else like it at the time," says Patterson. "It
wasn't like it is now with 24-hour gyms and a big variety of fitness
classes from which to choose."
In fact, when Patterson caught the aerobic dancing fever, the program
was still in its infancy, having only been developed and introduced in
1969 by Jacki Sorensen. At the time, Sorensen's husband was in the U.S.
Air Force, and they were stationed in Puerto Rico. With a broad
background in dance and a talent for teaching non-dancers, Sorensen
taught all forms of dancing to dependents at Officer's Wives Clubs on
various Air Force bases.
At that same moment in time, an Air Force exercise physiologist,
Kenneth H. Cooper, M.D., had published the book, Aerobics. The book was
a result of his quest to find out why some seemingly fit, muscular
people had difficulty running, swimming or biking. His research focused
on measuring sustained human performance in terms of the ability to
utilize oxygen. In 1970, he published, The New Aerobics that solidified
his place in history as the father of aerobics.
Jacki Sorensen knew about Cooper's research and wanted to see if her
dancing was keeping her cardiovascular system healthy. She took his
bicycle ergometer test, and her high score reinforced her belief that
dancing was just as good as running when it came to staying fit.
Aerobic dancing was born when she was asked to develop a television
fitness program for Air Force wives. She choreographed a set of
vigorous dances to upbeat music. After moving to New Jersey, she
introduced the concept at a YMCA, and instantly it became popular.
Today, Jacki Sorensen fitness programs are offered throughout the U.S.
and Puerto Rico, as well as Australia, Japan, Vietnam and Russia.
For the past 30 years, Phyllis Patterson has kept aerobic dancing alive
and kicking in San Antonio. She's seen the rise and fall of Jane Fonda
and Richard Simmons in the 1980s, noted the '90s popularity of Billy
Blanks TaeBo (aerobic kickboxing) and has added strength training to
her own fitness regimen. But throughout it all, Patterson has remained
enthusiastically faithful to aerobic dancing.
"Music motivates me like nothing else," says Patterson, who teaches
five, one-hour classes each week at the Jewish Community Center. She
quotes the founder, "Aerobic dancing whispers exercise but shouts lots
of fun. It's dancing for non-dancers."
Aerobic dancing classes last one hour. The first 30 minutes are
dedicated to flexibility and stretching, warming up the body for the
next half hour, which is a cardiovascular workout using choreographed
dance steps led by an instructor who gives cues throughout the song.
Each session lasts 12 weeks and has a theme such as, "An Invitation to
Dance." It's a progressive format, with students learning one new dance
each week.
"I like that each session brings something new," says Patterson. She
and another franchise owner and instructor, Elaine Gardner, who teaches
night classes, schedule a week off in between each session so they can
learn the new choreography and coordinate around holidays or missed
weeks. A serious testament to the popularity of class is the fact that
students will schedule their own vacations or surgeries during the down
week so they won't miss any classes. Patterson has students who have
been taking her class faithfully for 20 years. "When you see someone
two or three times a week, you really start to share each other's
lives," she says. "We listen to each other and offer all kinds of
support and camaraderie."
Clearly the regimen is safe as Patterson has never been injured during
class and to this day has no joint issues. She taught in the morning
before she had her first son and did sit-ups the night before she gave
birth to her second son, 21 years ago. She only took two weeks off from
class with each child, coming back strong each time. One of her
students marveled at Phyllis' dedication, commenting that she took
vacations that lasted longer than Phyllis' maternity leave.
An even greater comment on the program comes from various doctors. "One
of my students had hip surgery, and her doctor said she wouldn't need
any physical therapy so long as she kept coming to aerobic dancing
class," shares Patterson. "Another student with back problems had a
doctor tell her he would only treat her so long as she kept coming to
class."
Aerobic dancing, like most exercise, boasts the benefit of not only
being good for the heart, but also the soul.
"I've had women who lost a husband or child and they came to class the
next day, just looking for a little escape. Others have cancer and
continue to come during their treatments, doing the best they can,"
says Patterson. "But we also share each other's good times and
triumphs." A perfect example is the time Patterson sewed a bridal veil
for one of her students who was getting remarried. "We made her wear it
the entire class!" laughs Patterson.
Teaching also proved to be extremely flexible and family-friendly. She
retired from her career as a speech therapist when she had children but
continued to teach aerobic dancing. She switched her teaching schedule
from evenings to mornings.
"When my boys were babies, I would just bring them to class with me
because the gym offered babysitting. I hated to give up my boy's last
morning bottle because I knew exactly how long it would take him to
finish it before we had to leave for class in the morning!" she
remembers.
She tried to learn her routines while the children were napping, but
sometimes they just didn't cooperate. When her first son Clint was a
baby, she used to learn the routines while he played in his crib. "I'd
jog three steps forward to his crib and jog three steps back. It's so
much easier to learn the dances when the kids aren't around," she
laughs. "I was fortunate that my husband had his own legal practice
because he drove the kids to school in the morning so I could teach. He
was such a trooper all those years that when my second son Sam
graduated from high school, we did a little presentation to thank
'Driver Dad.'"
During one vacation when the family rented a RV, Patterson remembers
going to the back of the vehicle and thinking through the dances so she
wouldn't forget the routine by the time she got back. "I'm sure the
people driving by thought I was having spasms of some sort. I like to
tell people I've danced across the country," she says with a wink.
The benefits that have come with teaching aerobic dancing are numerous.
Not only was Patterson able to forge a balance between family and
career, but also her children witnessed a daily dedication to fitness.
As a result, both of her boys are athletic and enjoy sports of all
kinds. Fitness has brought the family together with regular golf games
and now family golf trips. Her youngest son is so sports-minded that
he's currently the men's basketball team manager at Baylor University
and is working on becoming a basketball coach.
"My father grew up on a farm and felt strongly that the key to a
healthy body was exercise," says Patterson. "That philosophy rubbed off
on me. Plus with aerobic dancing, I'm constantly challenged, encouraged
and inspired by my students. I've never dreaded going to work; instead
I wake up excited to teach. I tell my students, 'I don't know if you
were nice before aerobic dancing or if it's the dancing that made you
nice. Either way, I'm glad you're all here!'"
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