Local News
Email
Print
Late to Dance: Embracing her new passion, Carroll sets out to be an 'Idol'
Photo Courtesy of Shepherd's Center
Cynatha Carroll is one of the 11 finalists in tonight's Kernersville Senior Idol contest.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: October 24, 2009
KERNERSVILLE
Cynatha Carroll grew up on a farm near Myrtle Beach, S.C., and never had the opportunity to take dance lessons as so many children do today.
Rather, her family had a farm, and that's where she worked in her spare time. She said she would dance and jump around her living room to music, wishing that she could take dance lessons.
Tonight, Carroll, 65, will make up for lost years by doing a bolero to the song "Stand By Me'' during the finals of the second annual Kernersville Senior Idol talent show.
Carroll dropped out of high school, and she didn't earn her GED certificate, from Guilford Technical Community College, until she was in her mid-30s. She then graduated with honors from High Point University.
"I did things I never thought I could do. I was afraid because I went back to school as an older adult. I didn't think I could do what I saw people around me doing," Carroll said.
She flourished in college, even becoming president of an honor society. She went to work for the High Point Police Department and retired from the Criminal Investigations Bureau, where she worked in administration. In addition, she became a part-time real-estate agent.
In 2005, Carroll's husband, Douglas, died. Three years later, she mustered enough courage to take ballroom-dancing lessons at the South Fork Recreation Center that were offered through the Winston-Salem Recreation and Parks Department.
"It's the most daring thing I've done. It was new and different and exciting,'' said Carroll, citing the mental and physical challenges. "I discovered that I found dance invigorating."
When Carroll read announcements for the second annual Kernersville Senior Idol tryouts, she thought to herself, "I'd like to do that." Then she told herself that she could accomplish this goal. Dance classmate Don Long agreed to be her partner, and classmate Carol Caldwell helped choreograph the dance for the competition.
"Having Cynatha dance is just so exciting. For her to learn to dance at her age is exactly what we are championing," said Deb Mitchell, the director of development for the Shepherd's Center of Kernersville.
Although the purpose of the talent show is to raise money for the Shepherd's Center's 15 programs, it also gives seniors in the community a chance to showcase their vitality, talent and resources, Mitchell said.
Carroll is one of the seniors who, in total, provided more than 85 percent of the 19,000 hours of service that the Shepherd's Center gave to older and disabled adults in 2008.
The center, an interfaith ministry, provides free services for older and disabled adults in the Kernersville area, an 85-square-mile geographic location for the ministry. The services include transportation, minor home repairs, medical-equipment loans, visitations, and support for the Senior Enrichment Center, in the basement of the Kernersville library.
The show to pick a champion from among the 11 finalists will begin at 7 at First Christian Church Family Life Center at 1130 N. Main St. Tickets are available at the door for $8.
Dave Plyler, chairman of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, will be the emcee.
Email
Print
