Saturday, May 12, 2012

Now You Can

I am a HUGE fan of West Side Story. I love, love, love this musical! The stage production and the movie. I have the soundtracks to both versions and the dvd.So I was thrilled when I stumbled upon this article about Rita Moreno, star of West Side Story - both the broadway play and the movie picture, starring in an exercise video at age 58. How cool is that? 

"When keeping in shape is a struggle - too little time, too little energy, too little enthusiasm - it helps to know that not every celestial Hollywood body has always sported flat tummies, incredible triceps and rounded bottoms. In fact, 58 year-old actress/singer/dancer Rita Moreno believes she looks better now than she did when she performed in "West Side Story." As she puts it, "I was a little dumpling back then. Being a small boned person, it's just as serious for me to gain four pounds as it is for other people to gain ten. I'm essentially a pear-shaped person and I have to really watch it."


I love that she worked to get even better physcially later in life... 
"In fact, Moreno did not begin exercising until eight years ago. "I had begun to resurrect my nightclub act and I was terribly out of shape. After one flight of steps, I was breathless. And I said, wait a minute, my body is a temple and it's the only one I have. So I started to take exercise classes. The other thing was I had a terrible menopause. One day when I was feeling particularly awful I decided to try an aerobics class. After ten minutes, I was feeling better, after 20 minutes even better and by the end of the class I went out skipping. It's true what they say about endorphins."
I wish I could find this video!

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