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Prime Times Dancer of the Soul By John Darling Ballet may be getting a bit old-fashioned in today�s hip-hop culture, but along with optimism, friends and a gentle spirituality, it�s an important part of 62-year-old Katherine Eck�s anti-aging program. Eck, a dancer since age 12, teaches three adult and three children�s ballet classes every week at Medford�s Ivy House. She plans to keep at it � despite osteoarthritis in her knees � "because it�s good for the body, mind, soul, it keeps you trim and it�s not boring like jogging or aerobics," she said. Eck learned to dance in San Anselmo, Calif., where a Marin Civic Ballet scholarship took her to New York to study with the famed Balanchine American School of Ballet, with Robert Joffrey and with the American Ballet Theatre School. She went on to dance two seasons with the American Ballet Theatre � "a dream come true" � then returned to San Francisco to dance with the Civic Light Opera and other regional companies. She taught ballet in her own school in San Jose, Calif., from 1963 to 1990, when her husband, Wally, retired from IBM and they moved to Jacksonville. While ballet remains a popular staple in Europe, appreciation for the dance in America seems to be fading, Eck said. "It�s getting almost old-fashioned here," she said. "Dance is the least-appreciated art form, except for swing. In a trendy society, where only �in� things are popular, people have to be taught to like ballet." Ballet�s lifelong adherents seem drawn by some inner devotion. Eck�s students come from all over the Rogue Valley; one 16-year-old girl makes a two-hour commute from Greenview in Siskiyou County. Inspired by her own parents� struggle to keep her in ballet, Eck has devoted special attention to finding the girl rides to her lessons. "I tell her to just hang in there, because things have a way of working out. I�ve always practiced hope and optimism. Maybe it�s my spirituality. I go by my conscience. It�s about hope, being kind and having someone to love and be loved by." Eck gained much inner strength at the end of her first marriage 25 years ago, she said. "Before that, I couldn�t go into a crowd and talk to people and dance was the only place I felt comfortable. But friends were there for me. I found, hey, there�s something inside here. I became confident. It was the best thing that ever happened to me." For relaxation, Eck gardens and makes pottery. Her plates and bowls appeared in the Nov. 10-12 Clayfolk Show and Sale at the Jackson County Exposition Park. But her main love remains ballet. "I teach because I love it. I want to pass on my skills. It excites me," she said. "People in their 40s come because they�ve danced earlier in their lives and want to keep it going. Some say it�s the music. Not that many people get into "Swan Lake" anymore, but you can do ballet to old jazz and Gershwin. It inspires you to do something from your soul." Eck�s knees hurt if she does ballet jumps, but she looks on aging as a challenge to keep interested in life and pursue what she enjoys. "I�m glad for the wisdom I�ve gained through these years, but I still wish I could dance like a 15-year-old. If you don�t use it, you lose it. It�s like your mind � you have to keep using it and doing things like learning a language in older years. Some are still teaching ballet in their 80s," she said. "I plan to keep teaching until it hurts so much, I just can�t." Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.