Dancing is the best hobby for two. Sylvilyn and Herbert Bauer are convinced of that. She is 70 years old, he 75. And since 2013 the couple from Ismaning have been dancing in the Unterschleißheim dance sport club in the top class for seniors. They train five times a week for this. And that in her retirement. Or better yet, retirement, as they like to joke.
When they glide smoothly over the floor, that is the greatest joy for them, but that is exactly what they have to work for again and again. Things don’t always go smoothly, and then there is material for heated discussions. “There are so many reasons to argue when dancing,” says Sylvilyn Bauer. There is of course the pressure to perform, but then you are very dependent on each other in couple dancing. Basically you merge into one person. “Like Siamese twins, joined at the hips,” she says. That’s the beauty of dancing. And the fatal thing if it doesn’t work. “Once we fell down in the middle of a tournament,” remembers the Ismaninger and laughs. “My husband was on his back like a bug and I was on top of him.”
So that nothing jerks on the floor, both have to bear their share of responsibility. As a woman, or as it is called in dance jargon, as a lady, she has to feel the lead and always smile, even when she asks herself: “What is he dancing now?” Or: “If he doesn’t change direction soon, my stomach will turn.” Because the leadership traditionally lies with the man or the Lord. But with great power comes great responsibility. And that means making lightning-fast decisions to safely guide the woman across the dance floor.
“So everyone has to give the other the opportunity to make mistakes,” says the 70-year-old. It doesn’t work without tolerance. As in a good marriage. The two learned to love each other on the dance floor 50 years ago. Sylvilyn Bauer tells us that it was already over after the first waltz. She didn’t sleep a wink that night. Instead, she heard the song “Annabelle, ach Annabelle” by Reinhard Mey, which was so popular at the time, on her transistor radio. And because they were so in love, they kept dancing and started going to tournaments. After only three years, however, there was a long break of almost 40 years, during which the couple took care of their four children.
Only after both retired did they start dancing again. And soon the old ambition came back. They got back into the tournament business, where they danced their way from D class to top class. And they intend to stay there for a while. Because with tango and quick step, waltz and cha-cha-cha, life and love is simply better for the two of them.
In the series “My number” the SZ presents people every day until Christmas, in whose life a number has a special meaning – from 1 to 24 like in an advent calendar.