Attempting the Guinness World Record with their dancing shoes

Rohini Gonsalves, the founder of Sevarat, is the mastermind
behind this idea. “During the lockdown, I realised that senior citizens were
confined to their homes. We organised a series of programme called ‘Wah
Zindagi’ with games and entertainment for the elderly, in seven panchayats in
Goa including Candolim, Pilerne, Saligao, Quepem and Taleigao, which received a
tremendous response. We have planned to create a Guinness World Record with the
largest gathering of senior citizens performing a choreographed dance on the
occasion of World Senior Citizens Day, August 21. It’s certainly going to be a
momentous occasion for every senior, who will go home blissful, after being on
a world record and take home the Guinness World Record Medallion. So far, no
country or organisation has attempted this record and we will be having a
representative of Guinness World Record at the function,” says Gonsalves.

The dance routine has
been created in consultation with a noted physiotherapist and is considered
safe for senior citizens. Even those who may have undergone minor surgeries
will find the moves easy and comfortable to perform. Since this is not a dance
competition, those who cannot do a certain move can simply sway and resume with
the next move. The record will be awarded to the largest gathering of senior
citizens performing the dance.

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Amit Rajput
choreographed the six-minute dance routine. “I had to keep in mind the
movements for those above the age of 60 years. The dance steps have been
recorded and made into shorter videos, which they can watch and practise at
home itself. We will have a rehearsal performance maybe a day or two before the
event for coordination and timing,” says Rajput, a professional dancer. He also
teaches dance for school children at El Shaddai, Assagao and Kids Nest, Ponda.

Any person above the
age of 60 years, can join this initiative by simply registering. Once
registered, they will then receive the video of the choreography. They can start
practising the dance at home and with other elders in the family,
neighbourhood, parish, clubs, etc. There is a warm-up session before and
cooling session after the dance routine. The idea is to make the journey as
enjoyable as the accomplishment on the finale.

Johnson and Lina Vaz
from Margao, will be dancing together for the programme. “I needed a partner to
practice the dance so I asked my husband to register for the programme. I love
dancing and this is a great opportunity to meet more senior citizens too. I am
also a part of ‘Magic Monday’, a senior citizens group, where we have members
from all over the world who connect with us on Zoom every week and once a month
physical meetings at Panjim. The session for this meetings include exercises,
doctor’s advice by Dr Amit Dias, quizzes, tongue twisters and some brain games
and even a dance routine. We recently started with gardening too,” says Lina
Vaz, who will be joined by her sister Ida Britto from Mapusa, for the attempt
at the Guinness World Record.

Nayana Adarkar
originally from Corlim, Old Goa, made her first impression on her husband with
her dancing. Since her marriage, she didn’t have any programmes to show her
dancing prowess, until ‘Time of Your Life’ knocked on her door. A former
sub-editor at Bhaangarbhuin, a Konkani newspaper, she quickly called her
childhood friend, Smrita Kharangate from Cansaulim and fellow writer Anuradha
Naik from Porvorim to join her in attempting the Guinness World Record. “I like
dancing and I was always a part of the dance programmes in school and even for
my graduation in 1984. But after getting married, we hardly have any occasions
to dance in Hindu families. I was thrilled when I heard about the announcement
of the world record. It rejuvenated my mind and body and I am slowly learning
the steps. I am forgetting a few steps but I keep watching the video and
practising,” says Adarkar.

A retired employee of
State Bank of India, Jennifer Fernandes from Caranzalem is looking forward to
August 21. “I received this WhatsApp message and I immediately signed up for
the programme. I love dancing and this is a good opportunity for senior
citizens especially Goans, to achieve this record. I invited many of my friends
to join the record. Some said it was Sunday and their children would have
catechism classes but I confirmed that it is in the evening and now they are
willing to register. It will be a fun evening,” says Fernandes, who usually
takes part in the Christmas and Diwali parties in the building society.

All
senior citizens are urged to participate in this exciting opportunity to create
a historic world record. “The event aims to raise awareness of the challenges
faced by senior citizens and the urgent need to change mindsets of the
community towards elders and their care. This is aimed to bring greater health
and happiness to our elderly, making this not only a world-record-setting but
also ‘paradigm-shift’ creating event,” concludes Rohini.