Professional dancers typically retire in their late 30s to early 40s. Most of the Seniors in the USA Dance organization are still competing in their mid-60s to 70s and even into their 80s. As we age, we are faced with physical limitations, or our life goals that bring us happiness will change. Victoria and Mel reached an important stage in their life. They had to decide when to retire from competition.
Victoria and Mel Paterline both grew up in small towns outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and met the summer after graduating from High School. Mel graduated from Washington and Jefferson College. Victoria has a BS degree from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from Shenandoah University. They were married on April 30, 1965. Both had successful careers, and each achieved Vice President responsibilities in their respective companies. They lived in several cities in the United States, and in 2007, Mel was asked by his company to relocate to Hong Kong, China. The experience of living in a world-class city and traveling across Asia was exhilarating and made a lasting impression. Travel brings them happiness.
Upon returning to the United States, they decided the perfect place to retire was the city they had called home for several years, Greensboro, North Carolina. They took their first ballroom dance lesson in 2010, and in 2011, they competed in their first USA Dance competition in Bethesda, Maryland. They began their competitive career as Smooth and Rhythm dancers. Soon, they changed instructors and asked Wayne and Marie Crowder to be their coaches.
“The world of competitive dance is beauty under lights, but not easy,” noted Victoria.
The Crowders changed them to Standard and Latin dancers. As they worked their way up through the syllabus and into open level dancing, they won several national titles in Latin, Smooth, and Standard at different skill levels, including being named National Champions at the Championship level in Standard in Chicago, Illinois, in 2021.
“The experiences we have from dancing have added joy and stretched us as a couple in ways we never imagined,” noted Mel.
Learning both Standard and Latin was challenging, but competitive dancing became their passion in retirement. They derived a great deal of enjoyment out of what they did on and off the dance floor. They loved the challenge of growing their abilities to accomplish difficult and complex figures. It was fun competing with couples they admired and respected as they came up the skill level ladder. The socialization with these same folks after the dancing was done was wonderful and rewarding. They all had something in common- the joy of dance. Competing brought them happiness.
“Ballroom dancing opened up wonderful new friendships, both in the competitive world and in the social world,” said Mel.
About four years ago they decided to stop competing in Latin and to focus only on Smooth and Standard. One of the big things that drove that decision was watching their friends, Mike and Rose-Ann Lynch, do both styles so wonderfully. They, of course, never thought that they could duplicate the Lynch’s dancing skills, but that was their motivation.
“A dance competition is an alternate reality,” said Victoria. “I become a different person and that person manages nerves, is confident, handles success and setbacks, and enjoys the moment.”
Most importantly, dancing maintained and strengthened the bond they always had. Practice can be grueling and make for tension and disagreements. But these feelings must go away when you leave the practice floor. At competitions, they reminded each other that they were in a “No Fault Zone”. This meant that no matter who screwed up or how often or how badly, the other partner was not to find fault or complain when they left the floor. Although they were there to win, more importantly, they were there to enjoy the experience and have fun. There is no fun in finding fault.
So why did they make the decision to retire from competitive dancing? First, they are one of the oldest couples still competing. Second, they regularly dance down one or two age levels against couples that may be as much as 10 to 15 years younger. Third, and most importantly, both have some physical restrictions. Victoria has been advised by doctors that any fall would be devastating to her bones. Competitive ballroom dancing can be a contact sport, so the decision was made to reduce that risk.
Retiring from competitive dancing is not retiring from dancing. They will continue to social dance and value the friends they have made. Mel is a board member of the local USA Dance chapter, and both Victoria and Mel have served in various volunteer positions for important Chapter events. They have done several showcases and will continue to do showcases for charity events.
Outside of dance, they are on the Advisory Board of the local YMCA. They have visited over 80 countries on five continents and plan on continuing to travel internationally and improve their game of golf.
Retirement from competition is a rite of passage. Mel and Victoria are happy with their decision to transition from competition to showcases, social dancing, traveling, and golfing.
As quoted by Lance Henriksen, “To me, rites of passage through life, that’s a wonderful, beautiful thing.”
Care to share your story? Please submit to our Managing Editor Rose-Ann Lynch at Americandancer@usadance.org.
