Truth Is Stranger than Fiction: Senior Hip Hop Class Becomes Reality

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Retirement home announces Senior Hip Hop Class after April Fool's joke becomes reality.

What started out as an April Fool’s joke has now (kinda) become reality. Sentinel Pointe Retirement Community has announced a new ‘Senior Hip Hop’ Class that was, through a series of serendipitous events, inspired by a ‘fake’ announcement that the independent/assisted living facility would be training it’s seniors to breakdance.

From marketing director Laurie Duvernay: “We had the idea to kinda poke fun at all the online videos featuring seniors dancing or lip-syncing. So we thought, let’s have fun with this and pretend we’re encouraging our senior residents to learn hard core breakdancing moves for a ‘viral video competitive edge’, little did we know we set in motion a new fun experience for our residents; light weight ‘Hip Hop’ dance class to encourage mobility and just plain having fun”.

The prank turned reality started when local Hip Hop instructor Keegan Loye caught wind of the April 1 announcement, especially that the guest instructor would be none other than Michael “Boogaloo Shrimp” Chambers (of “Breakin” fame)

An email to Ms. Duvernay from Mr. Loye read “I stumbled across the awesome program that you have going for some of your seniors involving Boogaloo Shrimp (he was in) the most revolutionary movies for bboys and bgirls; Breakin. And if he's here in Grand Rapids, I’d love to be able to talk to him!”

One thing led to another and the ‘Hip Hop for Seniors’ class was born. The class will be held Wednesday June 5, 2013 from 2:15 to 3:15pm at Sentinel Pointe. Seniors will be led by Mr. Loye and will involve a quick introduction to some Hip Hop moves and will be a hybrid of light calisthenics and movement with a Hip Hop theme.

Both senior residents and staff will be participating in the class and will add to the already robust community calendar at Sentinel Pointe for its residents. The retirement community also plans to capture video of the class and document the events that lead to it becoming a reality.

“We view our residents as family, which I know sounds a little cliche; but it’s true. And a big part of that is constantly developing ways we can get together, have fun and celebrate life. We’re smiling ear to ear that we don’t take ourselves too seriously, and when this fun little April Fool’s joke got legs, we went with it. It’s a testimony to how much fun our residents have and how willing they are to participate in new activities and just have a riot together being goofy and keeping active”.

Local media is encouraged to attend the event as well as Ms. Duvernay will make herself available to take questions before and after the event.

Contact Info:
Name: Laurie Duvernay
Email: Send Email
Organization: Sentinel Pointe Retirement Community
Address: 2900 Thornhills Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Phone: 616-277-7630
Website: http://sentinelpointe.com

Release ID: 14270

CONTACT ISSUER
Name: Laurie Duvernay
Email: Send Email
Organization: Sentinel Pointe Retirement Community
Address: 2900 Thornhills Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546
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