When Over 45 Became More Than a Category
If you’ve been around the salsa competition world long enough, you remember when the Over 45 division first appeared.
You remember the feeling.
It wasn’t about slowing down. It wasn’t about giving older dancers a “consolation” category.
It was about recognition.
In 2010, the Over 45 division quietly entered the competitive scene. And that year, my students Scott Nakada and Davee Kaplan won.
What made it powerful wasn’t just the title.
They performed the same choreography I had used the previous year competing in the Professional division at the world championship.
Not simplified. Not diluted. Not adjusted for age.
Just excellence — executed by experienced bodies.
Scott & Davee – Over 45 Division (2010)
Watch directly on YouTube:
Scott & Davee 2010
What Most People Didn’t See
What the audience saw was a polished routine.
What they didn’t see was what happened after rehearsals.
Scott and Davee were part of our performance team at the time. After group practice ended and everyone else left, they stayed behind stretching together.
Consistently.
There was no ego in that room. No rush. No comparison.
Just discipline.
And that’s when I realized something:
Younger dancers often compete for visibility. Mature dancers compete for fulfillment.
That mindset shift changes the energy on stage.
From a Division to a Movement
The Over 45 category didn’t just create placements. It created possibility.
Inspired by that momentum, I built something bold at the time — a performance team made entirely of dancers over 45.
We called it the Fabulous Over 45 Alma Latina Team.
I brought together students from Los Angeles and San Diego. These were serious dancers — dedicated, technical, and committed.
They weren’t there to prove they still could. They were there because they still wanted to.
And that makes all the difference.
Fabulous Over 45 Alma Latina Team (2013)
Watch directly on YouTube:
Fab 45 2013
When Dance Becomes Community
That team became more than a competitive project. It became connection.
If I remember correctly, one woman from Los Angeles later married a man from San Diego — someone she danced with through this team in 2013.
That’s something we don’t talk about enough in the competition world.
Over 40 divisions didn’t just extend performance careers. They built relationships. They built confidence. They built second chapters.
2012: The Shift to Over 40
When the category later shifted from Over 45 to Over 40, it expanded the movement.
More dancers entered. More stories unfolded. More stages were claimed.
What started as a division became a legitimate competitive lane.
Today, Over 40 categories are technical, serious, and respected. They are not symbolic.
They are earned.
Why This Still Matters
Looking back at those videos today, I don’t feel nostalgia. I feel alignment.
Because the narrative around age in dance has always been narrow. We were taught that peak performance had a deadline.
But longevity is not decline.
It is refinement. It is depth. It is presence.
Over 40 isn’t about holding on. It’s about stepping into a different kind of power.
And for many of us, it’s not the end of the story. It’s the strongest chapter yet.
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