![]() ![]() Dancing with this group of people has been the best therapy for Karla after her surgery. The Hemet line dancers are family, the most fun and loyal group of people we have been associated with. “Line dancers are very positive and fun people. They continue to include us in all their classes and socials,” her husband said. “All the dancers have been and still are very supportive. The couple has taken a break from teaching their own classes since Karla Dornstedt’s back surgery last year, which caused nerve pain in both arms and hands, the inability to use her hands and imbalance. They have also taught at a resort in the Dominican Republic and on several dance cruises. “Since then it became routine that we would teach his class the new dances we had learned during our summer travels.”Īfter Gunn left the Hemet area in 2003, the Dornstedts took over his class but have been guest instructors in many places around Southern California and have taught at events in Las Vegas and at The Hague in the Netherlands when they visited relatives there. “When we showed our first choreographed dance to our instructor, Russ Gunn, he gave us the opportunity to teach it to the class and Karla and I were both hooked,” Paul Dornstedt said. Moving to Hemet from Fullerton in 1985, the couple started line dancing in 1992. We instantly enjoyed the camaraderie and the challenge of having to remember many dances to all kinds of songs/genres.” “That changed when we were introduced to line dancing. We went through the fads of the ’60s and ’70s but mainly stuck to social ballroom dancing,” he said. “We have danced ever since we started going together – just for fun. But he learned from a very good friend and from observing other good dancers at school. “Karla loved to dance and she was a terrific dancer then, still is, and I was not a dancer,” Paul Dornstedt admits. The couple met in high school when they were both 16 years old. I was almost 10 when I went to school for the first time.” During the camp years we did not receive any education. “We both spent the war years locked up in different concentration camps, like thousands of women and children. “Both our fathers were taken away,” said Paul Dornstedt, 82. The two were born in the Dutch East Indies on the island of Java, which was invaded and occupied by the Japanese during World War II, when the majority of the Dutch men were separated from their families and sent to labor camps across the Pacific Ocean. “We are fortunate that instructors have taken some of our dances all over this country and the world.” “Instructors take dances they like and teach them at events where they are invited to teach,” Paul Dornstedt explained. It was the title of one of the first dances the couple choreographed that was taught and danced outside their own group. John the Baptist Parish if it weren’t for certified instructor Susan Bailey.Many of the Dornstedts’ students have adopted the name “Keep the Magic” for their classes. She said the exercise increases mobility without joint damage, aids in weight loss efforts and promotes positive social interaction with others. In addition to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels, line dancing also works as a muscle toner and a stress reducer, according to assistant instructor Erica Cola. One of the newest members of the group said she would certainly be back for next year, noting the workout she received from line dancing was more comprehensive than what she experienced in Jazzercise. Other participants have lost as much as 40 pounds from dancing twice a week. Line dancing has brought her not only increased mobility and balance, but also a decreased risk of dementia. Participant Denise Smith has a total knee replacement approximately one year ago. She’s not the only one who has slid into better health. 3&4& Rock Right forward, recover back onto Left, rock Right back, recover forward onto Left. ![]() 1&2& Touch Right toe forward, drop Right heel, touch Left toe forward, drop Left heel. Strut, Strut, Rocking-Chair, Strut, Strut, Step-Turn Step. Line Dancers take advantage of numerous health benefits in classes held twice weekly from April to August in Reserve. Music: Glenn Miller Medley - Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers. ![]()
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