Who can forget Juliet Prowse during the 1970’s L’eggs™ pantyhose commercials? At least once every hour or so, she would fly across our televisions, showing off an amazing pair of endlessly long, unbelievably shapely legs! As I sat stock-still with my eyes riveted on the television screen, I watched her give a quick kick of her high-heeled foot and her stockinged leg, extending well beyond her beautiful redhead. She would then casually smile and say, with all sincerity, “As a dancer, my legs are my fortune!”
Wow… those words have stayed with me, even today! I never doubted that those legs really were worth a fortune! With both of my parents sitting beside me (and naturally, as my father sat, completely bug-eyed, I’m sure), I clearly remember that we discussed the practice of insuring the body parts of certain actresses. We were all convinced that Juliet’s legs were undoubtedly insured for a king’s ransom! As a young lady who had a driving ambition to dance, it was my greatest hope that my legs might someday become my fortune too!
Well, Juliet has me beat in both fortune and legs…however, one should never give up hope! The quest to have beautiful legs is one that I think most women share. Most men would surely agree that it’s a sad day when a woman packs away her mini-skirts! By the same token, it’s also a bit scary for any woman over 40 years of age to see that L’eggs™ pantyhose have become a thing of the past! Yep, that’s right…today, all the sexy ladies are showing off their bare naked legs! Of course, it’s not just legs that a woman ought not to neglect…it’s the belly and arms too! After all, the mini-skirt always looked best when paired with a halter top! By the way, ladies, according to her biographies, Juliet Prowse started studying ballet and jazz at the age of four. Her dance training is precisely what kept her looking so great…so great, in fact, that I estimate Juliet was over 40 years old when she made those L’eggs™ commercials. It’s quite possible that she was even older than my mother was at the time, but Mom never looked quite like that (“Ouch…sorry, Mom”).
The fact of the matter is that if you want to look like that, you’ve got to get into a dance class! There are so many forms of dance-craze classes available today, but in all honesty, you’ll have greater, more long-lasting results if you simply enroll in a few good ballet and jazz classes at least a couple nights each week. Ballet, in particular, is really great for shaping the legs and jazz can do wonders for your booty. It goes without saying that work, kids, husband and all of your other obligations are important. However, I find that women are still putting themselves last on the list and in so doing, they are giving up their valuable female “ass-ets”! Frankly, after a full day of teaching dance classes, I feel dog-tired and lazy, so I hear ya, sister! And, after the kids have grown and left the nest (and the mini-skirts have long since been donated to Goodwill), you may find that you simply have no interest in maintaining a good body image. No one likes to confront it at that stage and it just seems easier to let it all go, while making a point of never looking at yourself in a mirror.
Sadly, Juliet Prowse was only 59 years old when she passed away, so the world was robbed of a remarkably beautiful feminine inspiration, but…we are still living! We still have the opportunity to kick up our high heels and to become the Juliet Prowse’s of our generation. Let’s decide together that we won’t give up and that we WILL maintain and work toward beautiful shapely legs, even if it’s hard…even if it kills us.
So with all of that said, you absolutely must join me as I return to mini-skirt shape! That’s right…even in my profession, I’ve slacked off a bit and I need to get back to what I call my “hey baby” weight. You can celebrate with me when I’m ready (my qualifier, my loophole!) and when I dare to wear a mini-skirt again. Heck, let’s get in shape together and we can all wear our mini-skirts for the ultimate girls’ night-out party! (Or not, you can all laugh at me in my mini skirt!) But first, you must decide to leave work just a little early once or twice a week, or leave the kids at home with dad (or bring the kids with you, since they can watch or do homework). Let’s ALL get back to our “hey baby“ weight, thin our thighs, get rid of the saggy chicken arms…we’ve got work to do baby, so let’s get going!
Join me Monday night at 6:30 pm. Ballet / Floor Barre: An amazing ballet class performed while lying on the floor! LOL! Doesn’t that sound easy? Well, it’s not! Floor barre helps you find your core abdominals and what dancers call “center”, while tightening and toning your LEGS, BELLY and HIPS. Combined with traditional ballet exercises, the class works double duty. Beginners, dancers, returning dancers, recovering dancers…it’s all good!
Aerin Holt is the director of California DanceArts in La Cañada, California, where she has dedicated her life to dance education through curriculum development, dance instruction, productions and choreography. She is also the choreographer and artistic director of her performing company, California Contemporary Ballet. Together with her ski bum of a husband, she has raised their daughter and is also affectionately considered “mom” by many of her students, both past and present.
You can visit us at http://www.caldancearts.com for more information about our adult programs or call us at 818-790-7924.