Lila Ling’s quest for self-discovery took her from Radio City Music Hall to The Villages.
Ling spent a decade as a Rockette and performed in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, until 2014.
She danced in touring companies of “Cats” and “42nd Street.” There were also dancing gigs on cruise ships and in Las Vegas.
Ling moved to The Villages about a year ago, to be near her parents, Lynn and Brian Lingenfelter. She now teaches dance on Mondays, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Wildwood Community Center. For information call 917-647-0510.
For Ling – at this stage of her life – living here has become part of an introspective, personal journey.
“Spiritually and emotionally, I’m in a different place,” Ling said on a recent afternoon, while sitting in a lawn chair at Lake Sumter Landing. “I’m opening myself to a higher version of myself. If I’m not a dancer, who am I?”
The question begs self-examination.
“Something deeper was calling me to come here and return to a sense of wholeness – with myself and my parents.”
That means leaving the big stage and all the applause and acceptance she attained as a professional dancer at the highest levels.
“A part of me totally misses performing because I did it for so long,” Ling said. “I’m incredibly grateful I spent 10 years as a Rockette.
“I’m not trying to forget the past, but I can’t live in the past. Being here now has forced me to surrender to who I am, and what I am. I have to embrace it.”
Such is the dancer’s dilemma, when age and physical wear takes a toll. Dancing may look glamorous and easy from the Radio City Music Hall seats, but for the performers, it comes at an emotional and physical cost.
“As a dancer, you’re always in front of a mirror, and you always have to be concerned about what you look like,” she said. That means pushing herself to stay fit, work out and eat right. Pain usually doesn’t matter when you’re dancing on stage seven hours a day.
“There’s a lot of pressure, and you put your body through a lot. What I’m doing now is (like) forgiveness: to myself and to my body.”
Ling still looks like she could be in any chorus. She’s about 5 feet 8 inches tall, lean and moves with elegant grace. She likes the relaxed lifestyle of The Villages. She can go out in a pair of sweatpants to jog, or walk her dog, Blanca.
Teaching dance has given Ling new purpose.
“I miss performing but I love teaching,” she said. “It’s a challenge for me to help my students find fulfillment through dance. I’m not looking for perfection; I want people to move and express themselves in ways they haven’t done before. Dancing can be physical, mental and spiritual—it can help you in your life.”
Some of the Villagers who have taken her class share that sentiment.
“Lila is a very upbeat, positive person,” Elaine Bondie said. “She has an affirmative way of teaching and talking to you. She has reinforced my love of dancing.”
It doesn’t hurt to learn from a former Rockette.
“You expect a lot from someone with her background,” Bondie said. “And it’s nice to learn dancing from someone who was in the Rockettes.”
Sonta Henderson agrees.
“All little girls who dance dream of being a Rockette. It’s incredible to work with someone like Lila, who was a Rockette. She is so positive and uplifting.”
Ling’s life has been forged in dance. She grew up in Rochester, N.Y., and became a noted dancer as a child. She earned a BA in dance from Marymount Manhattan College.
Ling offers lessons here in tap, jazz and lyrical dance. She also has a Zumba class on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. at the Wildwood Community Center.
It’s all part of her new life she is sharing with people here.
“I want people to dance and sweat together for an hour,” she said. “Something special happens when you dance together like that – it lights up your soul.”
Tony Violanti covers arts and music for Villages-News.com. He was inducted into the Buffalo NY Music Hall of Fame as a music journalist.
