Remembering Stephanie Greenbury
Category Archives: dancers posts
Posts by various dancers
My Osteoporosis Story
My Osteoporosis Story.
Kate Morrissey
Just to set the groundwork for those who don’t know me. I have been attending Jacki’s Aerobic dancing for the 26 years. As well as that, I walk at least 3 kilometres every day. I am a fit 65 year old woman.
3 months ago, much to the shock and horror of my dance mates, I fell and broke my leg. It was awful, as much for everyone who was there, as for me.
For the next 6 days I was a captive of the hospital system. It was a very steep learning curve, not just for me, but for all those people who knew me. I now have a 30cm rod and 8cm pin in my leg. These will remain in my leg for the rest of my life.
All of this I got through with, I hope, a reasonable sense of self and some humour. The next 6 weeks was a painful period. I know that I was doing well, exceeding benchmarks for healing and flexibility.
Aerobic dancing was the key. Without all those years of exercise I would not have made the progress that I did.
The next hurdle for me was to discover that I had osteoporosis. I could say it, but it didn’t process. Me, fit healthy, weight bearing exercise all those years. What a shock. Another steep learning curve, one that challenged all my assumptions about myself.
Once I had processed all of this I had to deal with it. I went into solution mode, which I think women excel at.
I have now had a calcium infusion, which like a heat seeking missile goes straight to those areas in need of repair.
Nothing else has changed. I am still the strong person I was, I am still able to do the things I want to, I will still go to aerobic dancing.
I am really lucky. My broken leg has mended, my osteoporosis has been diagnosed and attended to, and I am going back to class after a 3 month break. That is my story.
[July 2017]
Farewell Roslyn Gemeren
“Mourning is one of the most profound human experiences that it is possible to have… The deep capacity to weep for the loss of a loved one and to continue to treasure the memory of that loss is one of our noblest human traits”.
~ Shneidman (1980)
One of our former instructors, Roslyn Gemeren, passed away on Friday March 30. Ros had suffered from an eating disorder for many years and her death has been attributed to complications arising from this.
Ros started teaching for Jacki’s in June 1998 and over her years as an instructor she taught at Hornsby, Carlingford, Ryde East and St. Ives. Students from many other classes would have met Ros when she filled in for sick or injured instructors. She was generous to a fault and never said “no” when asked by another instructor to take over a class at very short notice.
Ros was open, honest, sweet-natured and a truly “good” person.
After she stopped teaching for Jacki’s in late 2005, we kept in touch from time to time. She always enquired after everyone in my family, and was famous for posting handmade cards for birthdays, Christmas and, touchingly, Mothers’ Day.
I visited Ros when she was staying at a treatment facility in Ashfield, and on some occasions I brought her back to my house for afternoon tea. Instructors Jennifer Lee and Sue Pretty both accompanied me on various visits and I know that their support meant a lot to Ros.
I’ll miss Ros, and my heart goes out to her family – her sister Meredith, her father Joost and her stepmother Helen.
Ros was 42 years old.
If you have a memory of Ros please feel free to share it here.
Diana Royds
Your Posts
I’ve posted below the great story Mel sent to Head Office earlier this year. It’s a perfect opener for your posting place in Jacki’s Blog.
Leave a reply at the bottom of this page to tell us your story, or anything you want to share with other Jacki’s dancers. Don’t forget to tell us about your first class at “When Did You Join Jacki’s?”
Diana
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I’m happy to say that I returned to Jacki’s Aerobic Dancing after an absence of 15 years; previously attending classes at Epping. I stopped dancing when I became newly married.
What inspired my return to Jacki’s Aerobic Dancing after such a long hiatus was seeing the movie, ‘Burlesque’. After viewing the cheesy chick flick, I realised that I loved to dance and had been away from doing something creative and active for too long. Who could have guessed that Christina Aguilera would be so inspiring!
I have since joined the Saturday morning group at East Ryde and have thoroughly enjoyed my reacquantaince with, not only the way dance and movement makes my body feel, but also some of the original attendees from the previous Epping class a very pleasant surprise!
After an absence of over a decade, it’s true that the songs are more Justin Timberlake and Taio Cruz than Rod Stewart or Bryan Adams and the instructors wear microphones to ensure that they are clearly amplified throughout the dances – all very modern!
However, what hasn’t changed is the buzz I get from mastering a new routine while using dance movement to sculpt and tone my body. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my return to Jacki’s Aerobic Dancing and I’m sure that it will continue for many years to come.
Mel Krenmayr
April 2011
When did you join Jacki’s?
When did you first experience a Jacki’s Aerobic Dancing class?
Do you remember the name of your first session? Click here to see a list of all of them.
Who was your first instructor?
Why have you stayed with Jacki’s program?
Tell us your story.
I’ll go first to get the ball rolling …
In 1981 I read an article in the Sunday Telegraph about Jacki Sorensen and her
Aerobic Dancing program which had recently started up in Sydney.
I had been a dance student for ten years (ballet, jazz and tap) through my childhood
and adolescence, and although I’d attended traditional “aerobics” classes for fitness,
I had really missed the “dance” in my life.
I attended a class on the top floor of the old RSL building in George Street in the city.
The instructor was Wendi Eston (ex Australian ballet), and there were only six of us in
the class. I loved it and was thrilled to discover that there was a class running near where I lived at Drummoyne.
I joined up there where Holly Muggleston was the instructor and never
missed a class. Subsequently Holly suggested that I might want to consider instructing.
I did and my first class was in Balmain in September 1983 with four students!
That session was called Harmony.
Diana Royds
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