Doris Eaton Travis has passed away at 106. What a loss. What a life to celebrate. Who was Doris Travis, you ask? Quite simply, Doris was a legend. She was the last of the Ziegfield Follies and she was still dancing! What an inspiration.

Theatre gets in the blood, and the more you’re under those lights, sharing the rush of adrenaline with a company of like-minded souls and basking in the applause of an appreciative audience, the harder it is to escape the pull. I know why she loved Broadway and kept dancing throughout her life. It’s also no surprise that dancing kept her young and fit. Remember that episode of Fame from 1982 where the dancers left the rival school’s football team in the dust?

For years I struggled fitting exercise into my routine. I knew that I wouldn’t keep up a regime of jogging, swimming, cycling, or aerobics no matter how many people told me those were the best exercises for me. Yech. I have to be having fun with people I enjoy. I can’t socialize while swimming laps, and there’s no variety in jogging down the road. Dancing makes me happy. I love going to my twice weekly classes, laughing with good people as we try to learn new choreographies, and keeping fit in a fun way. It is always a rush when we perform. Oh, I know that I am not the best dancer and I struggle to remember everything I’m supposed to be doing from week to week, but that’s the laughter factor, and laughing is good for the heart, too.

I hope you’re dancing in heaven, Doris. Keep a place in your heavenly chorus line for me!