Meet Mark (70) and Susan (74) O’Brien: they recently moved to Tampa. Despite being in their seventies, they are active as ever, saying “Age is just a number. It doesn’t define us.”
The O’Briens are professional ballroom dancers. It’s their “retired job.” They have taught for colleges and performed all over the United States and the world. Cruise lines hire them as dance ambassadors, where they teach and perform on board. They’ve taught a few famous stars to dance on cruises: Estelle Harris, cast of “Seinfeld,” the “Love Boat” cast, Angela Cartwright, cast from “The Sound of Music,” Barry Williams, and Donny Most, just to name a few. They were even invited to perform at the Sydney Opera House Garden.
They lived and performed in the Villages for seven years and also taught through the enrichment college. They developed an aqua ballroom class: essentially dancing in the water! (Find ballroom dance classes near you.)
Susan was Ms. Illinois Senior 2015 and has written and published two books. (She was even invited to be a guest on the Phil Donahue show to promote one of her books.) Susan also once owned a kennel of huskies when the couple lived in the north woods of Wisconsin. Susan “skijoured” with them (racing on skis).
In addition to all that dancing, the pair also downhill ski, figure skate, golf, and meet the kids and grands for vacations. Dance, yoga, cardio drumming, swimming, brain puzzles and games are a large part of their lives now.
A few years ago, Mark was diagnosed with Parkinson’s; they were scared and thought their lives would change drastically. They moved to Tampa for better hospitals and medical but continued with all their projects, both determined to do all they could to keep the disease at bay.
Related: The Healthy Geezer: Do Pesticides Cause Parkinson’s Disease?
So what’s changed? NOT MUCH. Turns out, dance is very good for Parkinson’s: balance, memory, music and exercise.
Despite what many told them, they are not ready for Parkinson’s to change their lives. The O’Briens still teach and perform in Tampa and just signed on to be the dance ambassadors for Holland America Cruise Lines. Their seventy-first working cruise is taking them from Florida all the way to the South Pole, up to the North Pole and then back to Florida in 2025. They leave in January and return in May: 138 days.
“It will be challenging to get all of our meds lined up and paper work done but we both feel we have only so many moments to create memories,” says Susan. “We don’t intend on wasting any of them, as we don’t know what each year may bring.”
