Members of the South Valley’s Fabulous Flappers dance troupe
know exercise can be fun, rewarding and bring a smile to others
n By Martin Cheek
Special to South Valley Newspapers
Watch the Fabulous Flappers strut their stuff during their weekly rehearsal at Morgan Hill’s Dance Unlimited studio, and your own feet spontaneously start stepping into rhythm.
Tap tappa-tap. Tap tappa-tap. Heel. Shuffle. Heel. Tap tappa-tap.
With smiles beaming on their faces and legs whipping the air, this group of graceful South Valley women, ranging in age from mid-50s to 80, have been entertaining audiences for 15 or so years. They perform their dance routines – including cha-chas, swing, jazz and tap – at local nursing homes, senior centers, parades and grand-opening celebrations around the South Valley. They have won several international dance awards over the years.
“We like doing the Charleston, and that’s why we call ourselves the Fabulous Flappers,” explained Doris Menendez, a Morgan Hill resident who helped found the troupe.
The classic ditty from the 1920s serves as the group’s signature piece. The dance troupe receives a heavy round of audience applause whenever they march on stage decked out as wild “Flapper” girls from that era of speakeasies and jazz.
Last month, the Fabulous Flappers were a hit at Gilroy’s Bonfante Gardens when they entertained audiences at the theme park’s Red Hat Society Day picnic.
“We thought we did very well,” said Carrie Billalba, a Morgan Hill resident and Flappers co-founder. “When we were on stage and looked out the audience, it was like a sea of red. All the women had on red hats. And after our performance, women kept stopping us to say, ‘Hey! You were great!'”
The troupe formed in 1990 after having some fun preparing for a meeting in San Martin of Women in Touch, a nonprofit women’s support group. Back then, Menendez, program chair of the organization, wanted to find an extra-special theme for their weekly meetings.
“I thought it would be fun to have a program on the 1920s,” she recalls. “So it turned out that Carrie Billalba, the president of the (Women in Touch) group then, knew a woman named Alyce Porter Post in San Jose who was a great dance instructor.”
Post had worked as a Rockette kick dancer at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. She taught the 16 South Valley women how to do the Charleston for their meeting’s entertainment. The women even wore Flapper outfits, complete with looping chains of beads and decorative headbands.
“It was so much fun that Alyce asked us if we’d like to start a group to learn to tap dance,” Menendez said. “So that’s how we started tap dancing.”
Under Post’s tutoring, the Flappers began appearing throughout the South Valley and soon became quite popular. The dancers even made it to Hollywood in 1996 when they appeared on the nationally televised ABC-TV show “Caryl & Marilyn: Real Friends.” Producers flew “the girls” down to Los Angeles and they were treated like big-shot celebrities, recalled Menendez, 81.
“That was really exciting for us,” she said. “They fixed our faces and everything, and we did the Charleston on the program.”
Gloria Strehlke has been dancing with the Flappers for the last 10 years, and she said she enjoys the exercise and camaraderie.
“Aging sometimes makes you feel depressed, so it helps to be involved,” she said. “We get friendships with the dancers. We get the joy of dancing.”
Billalba agrees, adding that the “sisterhood” and the physical exercise are great, but learning the complex steps for the dance numbers also keeps the brain nimble.
“When you’re retired, it’s something to do,” she said. “It’s good exercise, and it keeps your mind sharp. It has a lot of good benefits.”
She said she also likes to make other people feel happy through her performances.
“We go to the rest homes and make someone smile. That’s rewarding,” she said.
The Flappers have won several awards. Under the encouragement of choreographer Phillip James, who took over as dance director after Post left, the troupe entered the international “I Love Dance Competition” in Las Vegas. In 2001 and 2002, they won first place both years for the “40 and over” category. In 2003, they came in second with their routine based on the song “She Works Hard for the Money.”
In 1995, the group received a Golden Mushroom Award from the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce for their volunteer dancing activities.
These days, the group receives its instruction from Zora Zamora, a professional dance teacher from San Jose.
“They’re a lot of fun to work with,” Zamora said. “Each one has their own different personality, and their water breaks turn into social times. They do like to talk.”
Zamora said she’s amazed by the zest for life the women demonstrate both on stage and off. Besides dancing with the Fabulous Flappers, she said, many of them are involved in garden and music clubs, and spend many hours participating in volunteer activities throughout the South Valley.
“They have purpose,” Zamora explained. “I know some of them have lost their husbands, but they seem to just pick up and carry on. They have such a life for themselves. They’re not secluded, sitting at home and waiting for time to go by. They’re very active.”
Zamora says she has as much fun at the rehearsals as the Flappers.
“They’re fabulous,” she said.
