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<< Previous   of   Next >> Dan Bates / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Bill Burns, 75, of Snohomish, spins 102-year-old Evangeline "Van" Shuler around the dance floor during a recent afternoon of lively ballroom dancing at the Northshore Senior Center in Bothell. Shuler dances several days a week.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, July 26, 2008 Dancing is 102-year-old woman's fountain of youth By Rich Myhre, Herald Writer BOTHELL -- Even though dancers age like the rest of us, they generally never lose the love of captivating music and the joy of graceful turns around the ballroom. Still, Evangeline "Van" Shuler did notice one thing back in 2006, which was the year she turned 100. Her dance partners, while always gentlemanly, were becoming, well, cautious. "The minute they found out I was 100, there was a noticeable slowing down," said Shuler, who recently turned 102. "But after all, I wouldn't blame anyone. There's that feeling, I'm sure, that, 'Oh, she may just fall down any time.' " Not to worry. Shuler is still a capable, confident dancer, whether she's performing a sprightly tango or an elegant waltz. And she delights in partners who lead with a firm hand and a brisk step. "There are several men that are still very active," she said. "And I love it." Shuler, who lives part of the year in Snohomish with her daughter Lynn Chalmers -- Shuler also has a residence in Seattle -- is a testament to the benefits of regular exercise and a cheerful outlook. She dances several days a week at various venues in and around Seattle, and on Thursdays she dances both afternoons and evenings. In recent years, age has deprived her of other activities. Her eyesight has diminished, so reading and television are difficult. But she still enjoys traveling, and she recently joined Chalmers and friend Bill Burns on a 10-day driving trip into Canada, going so far as Alberta's Jasper National Park. In her lifetime, she has also traveled to all 50 states and just about every region of the world, including Russia, China, India, Africa, Vietnam, Europe and even Antarctica. A few months after her 100th birthday, Shuler went with Chalmers to a two-week tango festival in Argentina. Shuler, who was born on June 4, 1906 -- Teddy Roosevelt was president and World War I was still eight years away -- took up folk dancing when she was in her 20s. She broke off in the years of marriage and motherhood, but started again after her husband died. She had returned to Seattle, which was her home as a girl, to look after her own mother, also a widow. Dancing was one of her mother's favorite activities, and the two of them were soon going to dances together. "My mother died when she was 87, but she was dancing right up to the end," Shuler said. "She always said, 'Oh, I feel so much better after dancing.' And it's true. You feel much better after you've danced, definitely." After all, Shuler said, getting older should be an incentive to dance, not an impediment. "For one thing, dancing is social," she explained. "You meet a lot of people, and they're very kind. And for another thing, it's movement. It's wonderful exercise. I attribute my agility to the dancing." Shuler says her best dance is probably the waltz, but she really has no favorite. Whether it's a foxtrot, cha-cha, rumba or polka, "I like them all," she said. "Whatever it is," said Burns, an occasional partner, "if you can dance it, she can dance with you." At a recent afternoon dance at the Northshore Senior Center, Shuler was out on the floor for most of the afternoon. "If I sit," she said, "it's because no one has asked me." Chalmers sees to it that her mother gets to and from her dance outings, and it's hardly inconvenient because Chalmers and Burns are dancers, too. "I think dancing is the fountain of youth," Chalmers said. "And without the dancing, oh, I don't know, my mother may have been crippled and gone a long time ago. We really believe that dancing has been her salvation. It's been fabulous. "And this is what older people need to do. They need to keep active and they need to have a passion about something. So in spite of the aches and pains and whatever you have, you still get out there and socialize, exercise and oxygenize. And dancing is fabulous for that." Vibrant seniors are an inspiration to the rest of us, of course. But the funny thing is, Shuler inspires folks in their 80s and 90s. "At all the dances, the women and a few men will tell me that I'm an inspiration," Shuler said. Smiling good-naturedly, she added, "It makes me feel good, I guess." And what about the days Shuler doesn't feel like dancing? Honestly, there aren't many of those. "Most days," she said, "I'm ready to go."

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