Illiana, Dietmar & Nellia
When I lived in the Chicago area in the 1990s, I belonged to the Illiana Club of Traditional Jazz. The club encompassed the Chicago area of Illinois and Northwest Indiana, hence, its name.
When I attended the group’s monthly events, I was one of the few members who didn’t have grey hair (of those who had hair).
I love traditional, aka New Orleans, aka Dixieland jazz. I was introduced to it when I was 19 years old and was instantly hooked on it. But it’s not the music of my generation. I grew up on the Beatles and the other rock bands of the 60s and 70s era. To most of the members of Illiana, this was their music– traditional jazz, swing, the old standards. There is something to be said for long term monogamy, for to watch these older couples dance was sheer delight. After 40 or 50 years together, they knew each other’s moves.
I was recently reminded of the grace of the Illiana couples when I somehow stumbled onto a youtube video of a German couple, Dietmar and Nellia Ehrentraut, dancing to rock and roll, boogie woogie, and rockabilly music.
I’m guessing that their generation grew up on polkas or other European music. Yet this couple, senior citizens, dance like bats out of hell to boogie woogie songs like, “Down the Road A Piece,” putting much younger couples to shame with their stamina and prowess. Video interviews of them in their home show pictures of them in their youth—dancing. Trophies adorn their walls. They are still dancing today.
Today, our society’s definitions of families and relationships seem to be in constant flux. But there is something to be said for long term monogamy—just look at the Ehrentrauts on the dance floor.