Published: March 1, 2007

Saving the Last Dance

It’s the beginning of the spring semester, and the freshmen in Annie Lindsay’s dance class are nervous. Lindsay, who is 76 years old and stands 5 feet 3 inches, takes short, quick steps toward the center of the room. “Get up off that floor now,” she says in her country drawl as students leap across the creaky wood. To others, it’s, “Don’t hunch your shoulders,” or, “Take your sunglasses off your head.”

Some heed her grandmotherly instructions. Others continue to bumble about with strained faces. She tells the class she’s not looking for perfection—yet. “Right now I want to see effort.”

“It’s hard,” Lindsay says out of the corner of her mouth, “having a...