Northridge teen offers free dance classes to help seniors stay active: 'They love dance'

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. (KABC) -- Audrey Chen of Northridge is making a difference through her passion for dance by offering free, bilingual classes to help seniors and older adults stay active.

The 16-year-old regional and national dance champion has practiced ballet, hip-hop, tap and contemporary dance styles since she was 3 years old.

She became inspired to start a new project after watching her grandparents' daily stretching routine.

"The elderly community has always been very close to me, especially in the Valley," said Chen. "I've met a lot of my grandma's friends, and something that I've heard was they wanted a class to specifically fix their posture."

Two years ago, the teen created a class curated for older students seeking to fix their posture and improve physical health.

"They love dance," she said. "All the people that come in here, they are excited to dance, they've been watching dance but a lot of them don't know where to start."

Even Chen's mom, who's been her biggest fan and supporter, has become her student.

"Her ability to be able to connect with them and speak the language as well, because a lot of them ... their English is quite limited. She's able to teach the class in both Chinese and English," said Casey Wu.

Chen teaches the weekly class with her own choreography every Sunday. While the students don't need any previous experience, the goal of the classes is to improve posture, stretching, flexibility and mental well-being.

"After class I feel so relieved, all the joints, so relaxed so that's the benefit," said student Jun Wu.

Chen plans to continue giving back to the older generation through dance.