Tai Chi

Paula Callou, countess de la Motte-Thierry, a longtime Baltimore resident and an award-winning dancer who taught dance worldwide, died Jan. 31 at the Avow Hospice in Naples, Fla., from complications related to a series of strokes. She was 89. Ms. Callou, whose birth name was Paulette Suzanne Calloustian, was born in Paris, the second-oldest of five sisters. She began studying ballet at age 6, entering the Paris Opera Ballet at 9 years old as a "petit rat de l'Opera," a distinguished title for young ballet students, according to her son, Marc Wienert.

Paula Callou, countess de la Motte-Thierry, a longtime Baltimore resident and an award-winning dancer who taught dance worldwide, died Jan. 31 at the Avow Hospice in Naples, Fla., from complications related to a series of strokes. She was 89. Ms. Callou, whose birth name was Paulette Suzanne Calloustian, was born in Paris, the second-oldest of five sisters. She began studying ballet at age 6, entering the Paris Opera Ballet at 9 years old as a "petit rat de l'Opera," a distinguished title for young ballet students, according to her son, Marc Wienert.

Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks will sponsor Country Line Dancing classes for seniors ages 60 and older from 4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Jan. 7 through March 17 at East Columbia Senior Center, 6600 Cradlerock Way. The class, which is designed for beginners, includes basic terminology, count (drags, grapevine, scuff, stomp), easy foot patterns and advanced footwork. Partners are not needed. Wear or take leather-sole shoes; sneakers are not allowed. The cost is $33. County Line Dancing II, for those who know the basic moves but want to add stylistic extras will be offered from 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Mondays, Jan. 7 through March 17. The cost is $33. Information: 410-313-7320 or 410-313-7279.

Glenwood Senior Center events Glenwood Senior Center, 2400 Route 97, Cooksville, holds the following events. Information: 410-313-5440: Fit for Life exercises Participants go through aerobics, strength training and abdominal work, 8:20 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. Fridays. $45 for 12 classes. Information: 410-313-5440. Painting, drawing There will be a painting and drawing open studio, 9 a.m. to noon Wednesdays. Bring your own supplies. Free. Information: 410-313-5440.

Whether you're looking for a new way to exercise or a way to relax after a long day, yoga or tai chi could be right for you. These Hindu and Chinese practices are timeless in Asian countries and were introduced to the United States in the late 1800s. Yoga and tai chi stress the importance of control over both mind and body, but they can also be a source of exercise. If you are unsure whether yoga or tai chi is right for you, take a drop-in class, which most yoga and tai chi centers offer.

YOU CAN call Jack Clegg "a man for all seasons," as long as that description includes "accomplished athlete" and "shrewd poker player."At 72, the Severna Park resident plays golf and tennis, and three days a week -- at the crack of dawn -- he's in the gym at Anne Arundel Community College, wrestling with the weight machines and practicing the ancient Asian art of tai chi.But he prefers to spend his time at the tenpin bowling lanes, and for good reason....

MOUNT AIRY Senior Center is rolling out the welcome mat for area seniors during the center's open house from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday. The open house will offer visitors the opportunity to tour the center, observe classes and activities, and meet center manager Olivia Schrodetski. "We want the community to be aware of what we have to offer," said Schrodetski. New to the center, Schrodetski joined the Mount Airy center after spending eight years as assistant program coordinator at Westminster Senior Center.

In 12th century China, a Taoist monk known as Chang San-Feng is said to have studied the physical movements of five animals and concluded that two - the snake and the crane - were best-suited to overpower opponents who were fierce and tenacious. From that ancient observation, the slow, graceful movements of tai chi were born. Today, with the art and exercise of tai chi growing in popularity across the United States, scientists have found that older adults who practice this martial art strengthen themselves against an opponent as stubborn as any - the tiny chickenpox virus, which can cause a painful and often persistent nerve inflammation called shingles.

Cedarhurst Unitarian Universalist Church in Finksburg sponsors a nonprofit Tai Chi Study Group, made up of tai chi and qigong students of Frances Lea Gander. The group meets from 6:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Mondays at the church, 2912 Club House Road. Gander's senior students lead practice and continuing instruction in qigong and tai chi. New and experienced students are welcome. A $5 donation per class is requested. Information: 410-795-3117 or 410- 526-0533 after 6 p.m. Senior activities announced for Dec. Westminster Senior Center has announced activities for this month.

On a recent Monday morning, nine seniors at Florence Bain Senior Center in Columbia worked up a sweat doing an exercise movement known as "white-crane-spread-its-wings."The exercise, which resembles the long strides and wing movements of a crane, is one of many body motions that Xiao Fang Xu Crawley is teaching in a class on tai chi, an ancient Chinese art of movement.At the recent class, the tinkling sounds of Chinese instruments from a nearby tape deck accompanied the students as they concentrated on various postures.

Lightly, powerfully, George Curnoles leads his students through the dance of life on a bitter Sunday morning.The tai chi instructor moves rhythmically, as if to waves, pulling and pushing the air around him and exhaling oceanic gusts that keep his class afloat on an inward sea."I'm a meditation teacher," Mr. Curnoles says as he works his way through the karate studio. "I don't teach martial arts."In their own movement and concentration, Mr. Curnolesstudents honor his words. After class, they hug him.Tai chi "helps you realize what priorities need to be in your life," says Lynn Levi, a dancer who has studied with Mr. Curnoles intermittently for 14 years.