SEPTEMBER 2014 | BOROMAG.COM | 47 Hayley Bridgewater: Could you share some information about your fitness background? Stephanie Vartanian: My true passion is in dance and I have a very big creative side to me. I've studied dance since the age of 5, and started with the essential core basics of ballet, jazz, and tap as well as traditional Armenian & Persian dance. I continued to develop my passion with different types of world dance: belly dance, salsa, merengue and other Latin styles like flamenco, Indian, and Tango. A child of a boxer, I have trained in boxing fitness and am certified in Zumba® Basic and Zumba® Gold. Additionally, I have a Chair Therapy Movement class for less mobile elderly individuals going through early stages of dementia. Since conducting my classes with these specific groups, they have gone from sitting the whole hour to actually getting up to dance and move to 3-4 full songs! It's been such an amazing development to see and experience. HB: How did you develop these interests into an occupation? SV: I worked in the corporate world for many years, and after losing my job around 3 years ago I made a transition into freelance work. The schedule allowed me the opportunity to get certified and teach Zumba and World Dance classes in senior centers all over Queens. I love to dance and choreograph routines to great music and enhance people's movements. Soon I found myself teaching in Sunnyside, Forest Hills, Corona, Jamaica, and in one-off Zumba events throughout Manhattan and the Bronx. HB: How has the senior community received your dance and movement programs? SV: Everyone has welcomed and received my classes and me in such a fantastic, warm, and unbelievable way that can never be matched. I am so thankful for having been able to do this. If I could physically go and give a class and spend time in every senior center in the tri-state area, I definitely would--it's a very rewarding feeling to touch and be touched by so many different people. Everyone is filled with joy and appreciation and I feel so blessed to share what I love with them. I feel that I have made an impact in older active adults' lives in regards to their health/wellness and their undying love for dance and music. Doing this has rewarded me in so many ways and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to interact, connect, dance, exercise, laugh, act silly, smile and simply enjoy each moment. HB: I know that you initiated your program and are very involved with Sunnyside Community Services. How has it been working locally and seeing the development? Do you have future aspirations for your program? SV: I feel that I've made a positive and healthy impact with the older active adults in this area—especially since they all have such diverse cultural backgrounds—given my dance background, song selection, choreography and movement. I feel a very deep connection with everyone who takes my class. It's a fun and happy time all around. It's very interesting how my classes have grown over these last few years and how simple word of mouth have brought us together. As of the fall, other obligations and opportunities won't allow me to continue teaching on a daily basis; however, I am hoping to continue my classes on weekends and for special events. I would also love to eventually distribute a video of my class and dance routines so that people can exercise and enjoy the dancing in the convenience of their own homes. Strength Seniors For more information about Stephanie, please consult the webpage and email below: http://stephanievartanian.zumba.com A Local Treasure – Sunnyside Community Services Started in 1974 as a senior center operating out of a church basement, Sunnyside Community Services has responded to emerging community needs over the years to become a comprehensive multiservice center, and settlement house. SCS has more than 40 social, educational, and recreational activities each week for active seniors; geriatric mental health services, benefits counseling, and case management services; congregate meals for seniors and Meals on Wheels for the homebound elderly. They provide transportation and on-site adult day services for physically frail and cognitively impaired seniors as well as Medicaid and non-Medicaid home care services for more than 1,500 homebound elderly and disabled adults through subsidiary home care agencies. SCS also runs youth-focused services, including after-school programs at two local elementary schools and a middle school, a Beacon community center, an evening teen center, summer and school-vacation camps, college and career counseling, and employment training and apprenticeships. For immigrants, SCS provides employment training with vocational English instruction for adults interested in becoming home care workers and ESOL for children and adults. SCS also co-sponsors a 70-unit residence for elderly and disabled individuals. Further information can be found at Sunnyside Community Services 43-31 39th Street, New York, NY 11104 (718) 392-6944 St ephanie Va rta nian
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