Fitness instructor still going strong at age 93: 'Don't want it to stop'
It’s a snowy Monday morning, and a group of seniors arrive early for a weekly fitness class.
Next to a stereo and a pile of CDs with tracks to make everyone “get physical,” a dance teacher awaits her students – a 93-year-old dance teacher, no less.
Dolores Niskanen is a “demanding” fitness instructor but tries to make it fun for everybody, she says, while the group brings out chairs used for the exercises during the free classes offered to residents in her downtown London condo building.
“I believe in volunteer work. I believe in giving to people as much as you possibly can. My mother did volunteer work. My grandmother was in volunteer work. It’s part of our heritage,” she said.
From her chair, Niskanen, who’s been struggling with arthritis for a few years, gives attendees directions in each segment of the class. “I can’t teach the way I used to teach, but I’m still teaching. And people still enjoy my classes, and it creates something different in their lifestyle.”
