Jazzercise class leads to healthy friendships

They are part of an exercise class that's more than a fitness opportunity, it's a group of supportive friends.

In the front of the class at Studio Arts for Dancers is Kathy Roberts, a Jazzercise instructor for 28 years.

In the back of the class is Loretta Crowder, a student for 19 years.

"There's something about coming to class that starts the day off right," Crowder said.

Roberts agreed. "It never gets boring."

Ten years ago, Kathy Roberts had a scare.

"I just remember having a little bit of a headache but I thought I was just hungry because I sometimes forget to eat," she said with a laugh.

She doesn't remember what happened next.

"They said I had a grand mal seizure and had this aneurysm that they said was congenital," she explained.

She clenched her jaw hard enough to require extensive teeth and gum work and she suffered memory loss. But Roberts was out of the hospital and back at Jazzercise six weeks later.

"By the grace of God I was very fortunate that I really didn't have a whole lot of after effects," she said. "It really strengthened my faith. I thought I had faith before that ... uh uh. "

Her faith, family and friends certainly helped her recovery, and so did her students in class.

The Jazzercise format allowing all fitness levels to participate made it easy to come back.

"A person whose been taking 28 years, fifteen times a week and is high high impact with the person who is 72 that's taken two classes -- they're both going to benefit but they are not competing with each other," Roberts said.

Loretta Crowder agreed: "We have people in the class who have knee problems, people who have had knee surgery, they have back problems, some of the people in the class are almost as old as I am -- not many," she said. "If you can't jump, if you can't run, if you can't hop, whatever, it doesn't matter. Just walk through it and keep the beat."

Crowder keeps the beat, and her balance, with the help of a ballet bar in the back of the class, her usual spot.

"I have a lot of strength, I think, but my legs are still kind of wobbly," she said.

She was perfectly healthy and a regular at the Studio Arts Jazzercise class in Rocky Hill until about three years ago.

"I had this tingling in my feet. And I thought that seems kind of strange. I thought maybe it was the shoes I was wearing," she said.

It was something much more serious. "In fact it was transverse myelitis."

That's an inflammation of the spinal cord that can cause disabilities, including paralysis.

Her recovery included months of physical therapy. That's when it hit her...

"All these exercises that I'm doing, it's just like Jazzercise," she said. "I should go back to Jazzercise."

She's back, a regular at the 8:00 a.m. class Monday through Friday.

"It makes me feel good to know that I'm going to be at Jazzercise. It makes me feel good about myself after I've been to Jazzercise," Crowder said.

Kathy Roberts expressed the sentiments of the rest of the class members. "I just love her. I mean, I look at her and think, gosh, she's here again today."

"I'll never be back to where I was to begin with but I'm just happy to be here," Crowder said.

She's happy to be dancing with friends.