On stage at the American Theatre Billie Gordon of Hampton (Virginia) was honored on her 100th birthday for the many contributions she has made to the community and her achievements in ballroom dancing. Her dance instructor and partner, Michael Strahan dance together during her celebration.
Photo by Dave Bowman, Daily Press, Sep. 10, 2006
Excerpted from an article by Tony Gabriele Sept. 12, 2006 in the Daily Press.
Folks know her as Billie. Though she celebrated her 100th birthday September 10, 2006, Gordon is no sedentary resident of a retirement community. She's still up and around, out and about. She still oversees the management of the apartment complex her late husband built and where she lives. She's still active in promoting the arts in Hampton.
And she's still dancing.
"I can't get it in my head that I'm 100," she says.
She didn't look a century old Sunday afternoon, when she stepped onto the stage of the American Theatre in Phoebus, which threw a party in her honor. Moments earlier, an eight-minute video was played of her performing in dance competitions in recent years.
When the video showed her skipping across a dance floor in an amazingly nimble quickstep, the close to 200 guests burst into cheers.
The cheers came again when she came out on stage in an elegant white ankle-length gown and, with her longtime dance partner/instructor Michael Strahan, gracefully whirled in a waltz to the tune of "Moon River."
She took up competitive dancing in the mid-1980s.
Active though she is, Gordon will sit down before a TV set when it's pro football season. She's a big fan, a follower of the New England Patriots. She's also pleased that dance shows like "Dancing With the Stars" are hits.
The obligatory question: To what does she attribute her long life? Gordon says the dancing has kept her fit, but otherwise she has no magic formula.