The Flappers from Tyler Senior Center bring back Charleston dance craze of the 1920s

Published 12:34 am Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Music from the Roaring Twenties plays as The Garden Valley Flappers from Tyler Senior Center begin to dance The Charleston, kicking, spinning and wiggling, turning their knees inward and kicking out the lower legs.

It’s an astonishingly lively, high-energy performance for the small group of Tyler women ranging in age from their late 60s to 80s.

The Flappers capitalize on the popular dance craze and tune named for Charleston, South Carolina, and a 1923 tune called “The Charleston” by composer James P. Johnson for the Broadway show “Runnin’ Wild.”

Flappers were a new breed of women in the 1920s who smoked, were young, fashionable, danced and had just gotten the right to vote with passage of the 19th Amendment.

The Flappers from Tyler Senior Center deck out for performances in authentic flapper outfits ordered off Amazon, headbands, beads and boas – long scarves made of feathers.

The Flappers formed when the women came together for the Senior Follies, a talent show and dance last May that benefitted Tyler Senior Center.

“Several of us wanted to participate in the Senior Follies, but we couldn’t sing or think of another talent. We all came up with the flapper thing. It just sort of evolved,” said spokesperson Mindy Lyons.

After they performed at the Senior Follies, word spread about The Flappers and they received invitations to perform other places, including the Senior Expo, assisted living and similar centers and even the Texas State Fair.

The Flappers dance to a few songs, including “The Charleston” and “Ain’t She Sweet,” and weave comedy skits into their routines. At the conclusion, The Flappers hand out strings of beads to the audience.

Seniors watching the show clap, cheer, smile broadly, some swinging their arms.

“I admire their willingness to get out and do it,” said Teresa Link, a resident of Wesley House Assisted Living in Lindale, after watching The Flappers perform.

“I’m getting old and I want to show out,” quipped Opal Colwell, a Flappers dancer. “I love dancing and I love music.”

Flapper Martha Morrill said, “I enjoy it. When I was a little girl growing up, my mother used to Charleston and I danced with her.”

The Flappers like to see people perk up and smiles come on their faces. The audience loves the costumes as much as the dancing, Lyons said.

“It’s satisfying to know that you made somebody happy. The whole idea is for us to have fun and for the audience to have fun,” Lyons said.

“We are also promoting that just because you are getting older doesn’t mean you can’t still be active. We may be older, but we are not sitting in front of the TV. We are physically in good shape and we all dance on a regular basis.”

Flapper Sheila Preddy said, “I love to Charleston It’s a fun dance and I have always liked that era.”

Other members of the troupe are Peggy Moore, Dee Kirkpatrick, Janis Adams and Kay Odom.

Lyons’ grandmother, born in the 1890s, explained the significance of The Charleston and the 1920s to her. Women had just won the right to vote, so it was their celebratory dance, Lyons said.

Women were kind of coming into their own, dancing, bobbing their hair and wearing shorter skirts, which were scandalous at the time because before the 1920s, they did not have short skirts, Lyons said. The Charleston was a pretty wild dance at that time, she added, based on her grandmother’s remarks.

The Charleston was women’s way of celebrating getting to do more than they had been able to do in the history of the country, Lyons quoted her grandmother saying.

“She would say this was our freedom song,” Lyons said, symbolic of women’s independence and the right to vote.

Men did The Charleston but for women, it symbolized their freedom, Lyons said. Women could do The Charleston solo or with a partner.

Lyons learned to do The Charleston when she was a little girl in her grandmother’s kitchen.

“It’s a sassy, flirtatious type dance,” Lyons said. “It’s a happy dance. Everybody smiles when you start doing The Charleston.”

The Flappers rehearse once or twice a week. All of the members were already good dancers before the group was formed, Lyons said. They were participating in line dancing, clog dancing or Friday night dances at the Tyler Senior Center.

“We keep wanting to add things and change things up. We are always trying to make it funnier or a little better,” Lyons said. “Everybody contributes. We think of something else we can do the next time. We incorporate all of our ideas. It’s fun to work together as a team.”

Twitter: @Betty_TMT