Los Gatos Weekly-Times Photograph by George Sakkestad Bev Myers is the fuse that ignites the Sizzling Seniors. Seniors Bev Myers brings boundless energy to the Sizzling Seniors By Mary Ann Cook If any of the Sizzling Seniors were asked who puts the sizzle in their dance group, the response would be instantaneous--loud, clear and unquestioned: Bev Myers. Saratogan Beverly Myers has been heading up the dance aerobics group for more than 10 years now. The Sizzling Seniors are an offshoot of the dance aerobics classes Myers leads, offered through Los Gatos-Saratoga Recreation Department and Santa Clara Adult Education. The Sizzlers' average age is 72, and they recently won first place in two different parades: the Children's Christmas and Holiday Parade in Los Gatos and the Veteran's Day Parade in Santa Clara. The SSers perform for all ages but are particularly in demand with those at either end of the age spectrum. To that end, they entertain at retirement centers, mobile home parks and adult day care centers, as well as at schools throughout the Bay Area. The list of places where they've played is nudging 100. Besides their age, one thing that distinguishes this dance group is that they visit with their audience after each performance. One of the perks of performing is getting to know their viewers on a personal level. It's an aspect that Bev Myers stresses and takes much to heart. Because of her troupe's intergenerational work in the community, Myers was chosen to carry the Olympic Torch in Santa Clara in 1996, a source of much pride to the longtime teacher and choreographer. None of the Sizzlers has professional dance experience; they are there strictly for the love of movement and music, the feeling of well-being that comes with regular exercise, and the opportunity to entertain others. For Myers, her work is a mission. She's even written a mission statement: "I have a no-holds-barred attitude to get people excited about exercise." A highly motivational teacher, Myers is the human spark plug who rallies her troops. Myers has been a teacher nearly all her life. After college, she taught elementary school for five years, then quit to raise four children. She ran a mail-order business selling arts instruction for a number of years in Salt Lake City. Painting, crafts and sewing remain favorite occupations for Myers, ranking right behind exercise and dance. Her husband, Frank, was plant manager for the National Semiconductor plant in Salt Lake City. He recently retired from Xilinx, where he was vice president of operations. "Thank heavens we didn't sell our house when we were transferred to the Boston area. We never would have been able to afford to move back here," Myers says. Though her family is not Mormon, Myers says, all of her children and her nine grandchildren (including one due in February) live in Salt Lake City. The Myerses are not immune to tragedy: One son drowned in a scuba diving accident in Hawaii a couple of summers ago and a daughter has chronic health problems. In a Bev Myers aerobics class, the emphasis is definitely on wellness. She's an avid reader and keeps up with the latest medical discoveries and applies them in the classroom. She keeps the dance routines varied, so monotony doesn't set in. "Got to keep the mind as well as the feet nimble," she states firmly. "If you have to think about what you're going to do next, your mind is stimulated too. I want there to always be some surprises in the routines, even though the steps may be the same." Statistics show that 90 percent of those who start exercise programs drop out after six months. Those statistics don't hold true for her class members. The music used can be from any recent decade, but oldies are the emphasis. "You Make Me Feel So Young" is one that could serve as a Bev Myers' theme song. Her enthusiasm is perhaps her strongest attribute, the characteristic most would mention when describing her. It's an enthusiasm that stands her in good stead as a leader in a discipline where it's easy to get bogged down in boredom, because repetition of dance steps is essential to the game plan. Indeed, it's called a dance "routine." Making the routine not routine is the challenge. Somehow her enthusiasm makes a routine seem ever fresh, as though the same territory has not been covered dozens of times already. "She's so enthusiastic she makes exercise fun," says longtime Sizzler Lesley Dinette. And men are part of her classes, too, though in smaller numbers. There are four males in the Los Gatos class of about 30 members. The class meets at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Recreation Center on Main Street in Los Gatos. Earlier, her aerobics classes were held at Faith Lutheran in Los Gatos. A church organist at the Lutheran Church of our Savior in Saratoga, Myers has a strong faith in God that can be readily seen both in her conversation and her personal credo. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, January 6, 1999. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.