Octogenarian tears up the dance floor
Published: 24 February, 2009, 09:26
TAGS: Russia, Special report, Thrills&Spills
A discotheque in a central Russian village has an 84-year-old woman who performs strict ‘face control’ – deciding who gets into the club, and who gets booted out.
Elena Sizova has been in the job for the past 17 years and has become the symbol of the local dance floor in the small village of Georgievskoe in the Kostroma region.
She may be old, but her spirit is just as young as the local party goers, who duly obey her rules.
“She stops fights, doesn’t let drunk people in the club, sometimes she dances with us.
We respect her. She tells us interesting stories about her life,” said one of the clubbers.
The weekend job doesn’t pay much, but Elena doesn’t do it for the money. She says she wants to feel needed and occupied, and feels the youngsters give her that. The loud music doesn’t bother her and she’s used to the night shifts.
“I'm so happy I work here. I'm 84 but I cannot imagine being separated from my youngsters. This is my life,” Elena says.
Elena’s house is about three kilometers away from the local night club and it is easy to find her house in the village as everybody knows her name here. The work at the discotheque is not her sole passion. She has plenty of records of concerts with her choir and tap dancing classes.
Elena says surviving the Second World War made her strong and ever since she’s kept up a healthy way of life.
“I sleep on a terrace. There's fresh air, I temper myself with cold water and do exercises, that's how I stay fit. I don't take any drugs and I can easily read without glasses,” she says proudly.
Like many pensioners she experiences a shortage of money and some health problems, but her optimistic outlook on life makes her and those around her happy.
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