Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Pacemakers, a dance team for seniors, brought energy, movement and a message of empowerment to the Rockville Centre Recreation Center last week, partnering with the Rockville Centre Homemakers to inspire older residents to stay active and embrace aging with confidence.
Residents from around the area gathered on March 24 to get their groove on alongside the women, who are determined to show that growing older is anything but limiting.
Members of the Pacemakers guided attendees through a variety of dance moves, encouraging them to let loose and have fun.
“We will be dancing to ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It,’ by Twisted Sister,” Maryann Grandazza, co-president of the Homemakers, said. “As you get older, people tell you, ‘You can’t do it anymore.’ They’re saying, ‘We can do what we want to do.’”
Older residents gathered on the floor to learn choreography from The Pacemakers founder Susan Avery, 65, a former Rockville Centre resident, along with members Pam Abikaram, 69, Phyllis Bogart, 79, Sandy Russell, 75, and Joanne Wolfring, 63. The dancers proudly wore their birth years on the back of their jerseys.
The group grew out of a painful experience for Avery. About a decade ago, she became the unwitting target of online criticism after a video of her dancing at a public event was posted without her knowledge. Hurtful comments questioned whether she should be dancing at her age, leaving her discouraged.
“I learned what it was like to be cyberbullied,” Avery said. “People started saying really cruel things, like, ‘Who does she think she is?’ ‘She’s too old to be dancing in public.’ ‘We don’t need to see this.’”
With encouragement from her daughter — who suggested that she start a dance group for older adults — Avery turned the negativity into inspiration. With no formal plan, she put out a call for participants, and a group began meeting weekly to dance, connect and have fun.
“Every week, we just started meeting and learning choreography, and we didn’t have any direction,” she said. “We didn’t have any gigs or anything like that, but I was taking video of our rehearsals, and I would send it around to friends: ‘Look what we’re doing. This is so much fun.’”
One connection led to a breakthrough — an invitation to perform at a Brooklyn Cyclones baseball game in July 2019. The group took the field unsure how they would be received — and earned a standing ovation.
That marked a turning point, and from there the Pacemakers began gaining momentum.
“People love us, and it really is a testament to how I was feeling back then,” Avery said. “We’re here, we’re vital, we’re active, we’re sexy, we are out there.”
The group has grown into a vibrant ensemble of about 50 dancers, men and women, who perform paid gigs and fundraisers roughly 40 times a year. They have appeared locally, across the country and internationally, including performances and workshops in Europe. The Pacemakers have also been featured on “The Drew Barrymore Show” and PBS’s “Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi,” which has helped spread their message to a wider audience.
Their mission to redefine how society views aging. The dancers proudly embrace their age, routinely displaying their birth years on their costumes. Their performances — set to a mix of classic and contemporary music — challenge stereotypes and celebrate confidence, energy and joy at every stage of life.
“There’s nothing wrong with saying, ‘Yes, I’m old,’” Avery said. “We are old, it is what it is, and we’re also all of these other things.”
Looking ahead, the Pacemakers hope to perform on major stages, including the Super Bowl and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, while continuing to grow.
The group is actively seeking new members, particularly men ages 60 and older, and emphasizes that no professional experience is required — just a willingness to participate and have fun.
“Most of the dancers on our team have never danced professionally, so this is their first time dancing professionally and getting paid,” Avery said. “You just have to have rhythm and a desire to perform. Everything else we can take care of.”
More than a dance troupe, the Pacemakers have become a close-knit community and a symbol of resilience, proving that it’s never too late to pursue a passion and take center stage.
For more information on the Pacemakers, visit PacemakersDanceTeam.com.
