‘The last to go home’: 96 and still Scottish country dancing
After more than 50 years of Scottish country dancing, John Rowlandson still cannot get enough.
And today the Tauranga man, who insists he will “never stop”, is celebrating his 96th birthday with even more dancing.
He spoke to the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend about why he plans to stick with his regular Monday night class with the Tauranga Scottish Country Dance Club.
Rowlandson described Scottish country dancing as a “lovely activity” that was beneficial physically and mentally — likening it to a form of therapy.
“I just love it - it makes me feel very happy. Not only does it help to keep you fit — but it also makes you think. It’s similar to therapy really. It’s complete relaxation.
“There’s never a dull moment. Every time there is dancing I look forward to it.”
He said it was also great for people who lived alone because they could socialise with others.
Rowlandson moved to Wellington from England with his wife Janet in 1970, and soon after the couple decided to join Forest & Bird as a way to get to know the country.
It was during a trip to Kaiko¯ ura with the society they were first introduced to Scottish country dancing and their love for it started to grow.
The group was all staying together in a TAB building and one morning a man started playing Scottish country dancing music on his tape recorder, he said.
“There we were in the building dancing together ... that’s how I started.”
Aged 44, he then went on to join the club near his home and later became president despite at the time insisting he “didn’t know anything about dancing at all”.
“I thought I would never be able to do it because of the fancy steps, but the teacher was so patient. She didn’t give up on me.”
The couple’s love for dancing took them around New Zealand and overseas — a stand-out memory for Rowlandson was visiting St Andrew’s Scottish Country Dancing School in Scotland.
“After a time we got really interested in dancing, we started to go to schools in Scotland, England, and Australia. I have always loved it, the people are always friendly and very helpful. And it doesn’t matter too much if you make a mistake, you just have a grin on your face.”
They moved to Greenwood Park in Tauranga about 30 years ago and for some of this time, Rowlandson ran classes for the residents.
After Janet died in 2017 he “went into hibernation and stopped doing dancing altogether”.
“I didn’t feel like doing much afterwards.”
But his close friend — 79-yearold Colleen Gunn, also a resident at the retirement village — “dragged” him out of the house to go dancing.
“And I have kept doing it ever since,” he said.
Now the friends dance all but one day of the week, dividing their time up equally between Scottish Country and line dancing. Rowlandson drives his mobility scooter to Wesley Methodist Church for line dancing each week.
This year they also travelled to the Waikato and the South Island, taking part in classes at various dance clubs.
“Whenever we go away we take our dancing shoes. They don’t take up much room.”
He said there was “no doubt” dancing for the past 50 years would have helped keep him healthy, even though he struggled with it more nowadays than he used to. Declining eyesight and hearing and getting puffed out were barriers for him, but he did not let them stop him from dancing.
“I have got a bit of angina and I take pills to help that. But the beauty of dancing is you have one dance and then take a bit of a break. I have time to recover in between.”
Asked if he planned to keep dancing now he was 96, Rowlandson responded was not going to give up anytime soon.
“I am just so lucky to be able to enjoy it like I do. I will never stop, until I can’t stand up anymore.”
The night of his birthday would be spent at the Greenwood Park annual Christmas dinner for residents where he insisted there would be dancing.
“I will probably be doing ballroom or boogie. There is a two-piece band coming in after dinner, so we will be up. We are usually the last to go home,” he said.
"I just love it - it makes me feel very happy. Not only does it help to keep you fit, but it also makes you think." John Rowlandson