Meet the Mytime Active Team - Ann

​‘I'll go where the music takes me’

Ann, 68, is Mytime Active's Primetime Manager. For the last 18 years, Ann has been the powerhouse behind the charitable leisure trust’s specialist programme for people over the age of 60.

Ann, who now lives in East Sussex, says: “I’ve had a wonderful career. At the heart of it has always been music and dance, it has brought me so much joy over the years. It’s in my soul and I plan to keep dancing as long as I can and in whatever way I am able.”

Ann loved to dance as a child, but when she left school she took the safe option and became a secretary. However, dancing was always her passion and so she left her job to start a three-year course at the London College of Dance and Drama.

She explains: “Being stuck behind a desk wasn't really me, so I gained my dance teacher qualifications and worked at various schools in and around South East London teaching dance to all ages, eventually forming my own dance school called the Ann Dunn School of Dance, which had three branches. It was so much fun to share my passion with others. Teaching dance always makes me happy, so when the aerobics fitness craze started in the early eighties – think big hair, brightly coloured leotards and legwarmers – I knew I had to incorporate it at my dance school.”

The fitness revolution

“When the Jane Fonda-inspired craze kicked off there were no professional qualifications and people were getting injured,” Ann recalls. “I was on one of the first aerobic qualifications courses of its kind to address this at the YMCA, and from that point my career shifted much more into fitness rather than dance.

“I was teaching exercise classes at health clubs and gyms when a contact mentioned a job at Mytime Active. They wanted to set up a programme for the over-60s, originally funded by the National Lottery, and needed someone to run it. I was just approaching 50 at the time and felt the opportunity was too good to miss. It sounded like something I could really get my teeth into, so I applied and, as they say, the rest is history!”

Building the Primetime programme

From the very beginning at Mytime Active, Ann felt she could deliver a programme for the over-60s that would have a meaningful impact for the community. She says: “The role was perfect; it meant I got to teach, socialise, organise events and meet people. I started part-time, as a job share, but ultimately it became my full-time role, and the Primetime membership really grew, from just 79 members to now almost 4,000 members, with the schedule expanding from just a few sessions a week to more than 100 weekly activities.

“I am so proud of how the project has evolved, expanded and grown. It's amazing that I still have people attending who started with the programme more than 18 years ago, plus some of the original volunteer buddies are still with me. If you ask our Primetimers, they often say it is like a family. I know it's a cliché, but it genuinely feels like that. I have seen people grow in confidence, make friends, support one another, age and live well. We mourn together when we sadly lose one of our Primetimers.”

Even now, at a sprightly 68, Ann not only manages the programme, but is still out in the community leading some classes.

The power of music and movement

Ann’s 18 years in the job has seen her go through all the dance fitness crazes, from Jane Fonda and Zumba to Paracise. She says: “I am now teaching to my own peer group, so the music is fantastic and is really important to the classes.  If I don’t like the music, I can’t teach to it. The current Primetimers all came of age in the 50s, 60s and 70s, so we have some great songs ranging from Rock and Roll to swing and current songs you hear every day on the radio.

“It’s essential that the classes are inclusive to all, regardless of age, ability, mobility and disability, and all the instructors and volunteers have dementia-friendly training. Working with customers who live with dementia and their carers is a real passion of mine. I have learnt that music makes a real difference to people living with dementia.  They may not be able to remember the name of the band or the song, but the positive feeling of joy it evokes and the memories reignited from the song are so powerful. It's always surprising how often they sing along to words, but may not remember, for example, what they did that morning. I love to see the look of connection in their eyes when they hear a song and the memory of that feeling it conjures. At any Primetime event there is always music, laughter and, of course, dance!”

A special community

“All the Primetime instructors say we are very lucky to work with such a wonderful team and customers. We are connected to our Primetimers; we know their history, their families, their successes and stories. We know instinctively if one of our Primetimers is having a tough time, and the fact that we care builds this community. It's unique to be able to have a customer share their woes or have a hug. It's very special and so rewarding. We might be the only physical contact or person who has given them time that day.

“My dream would be for Primetime to have a special community unit to itself, which is completely accessible – a safe space for people to live and age well. I'd love to see more social prescribing and greater incorporation with the Integrated Care Board to signpost patients to us. Primetime, with its activities and events, is so important as we age. A lot of our Primetimers are either caring for a partner, a parent or, increasingly, grandchildren, so making space and time for themselves is so important.”

Ann, who on top of her Primetime role has a loving partner, three grown up children, two grandchildren and another on the way, says: “One of my favourite songs in class is a song called ‘When You're Smiling’, I was always called Smiler as a child. I also really relate to a song by Jimmy James and the Vagabonds called ‘I'll Go Where the Music Takes Me’, as it really sums up my career, my life and my legacy. I work hard to ensure that Primetime is sustainable above and beyond me and have a lovely team of people who I trust, including wonderful, kind instructors and volunteers, but for as long as I can dance, I will be there! My inspiration to continue comes from our members. If they keep coming and turn up with a smile at 94 then so can I!”