When Phoebe Berks resident Philomena Huesgen hears music, she moves her body. It’s a near-involuntary reaction, something she’s been hardwired to do since childhood.
This innate desire was something her parents took notice of early in her life. Huesgen’s father served in World War Two and was also a musician. When he performed with his band, the music would always get a once two-year-old Huesgen on the dance floor without fail. Her young, starry-eyed energy lit up the room every time.
Before leaving to serve in the war, he declared that she should be taking dance lessons. By that same time next year, at just three years old, Huesgen had officially begun her dance journey with formal lessons. It would eventually lead to a successful career as both a performer and teacher.
“I fell in love with it,” said Huesgen. “Movement, music, everything.” Dancing didn’t run in Huesgen’s family, but it was a love that her mother aimed to foster.
“There were times when I wanted to quit [early on], but [my mother] would not relent,” said Huesgen. “She wanted to follow [my dad’s] wishes.” Her father passed away while serving in the war, making dance an even more important promise to help keep his memory alive.
Huesgen hit the ground running when it came to performing. With a particular affinity for ballet and musical theater, she would perform at many different venues growing up. Her old dance teacher, Danny O’Donnell, was instrumental in getting her in front of audiences at a young age.
Driven by an intense passion for the art form, Huesgen continued dancing throughout her educational career. She majored in Physical Education at Penn State University and was heavily involved in the school’s dance program. She later worked on her Master’s Degree in Dance at Texas Women’s University. While there, she toured the entirety of the state, doing shows and teaching master classes.
After college, teaching became Huesgen’s main focus. In 1996, she opened the Pennsylvania Performing Arts Academy (PPAA) in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. Although she had taught for others before the studio’s debut, this new space allowed Huesgen to teach entirely on her own terms. In addition to a large dance studio, the property contained smaller practice rooms for instrumental lessons from other local instructors.
Huesgen taught dancers from ages three to adult. Under her guidance, she was able to lead her classes to some truly remarkable places. Some of the most notable venues her students performed at include Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, the John F. Kennedy Center, and even a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.
Performing at these prestigious venues required a group of students who would often go above and beyond the competition, which is precisely what Huesgen’s students did. She led her academy to achieve East Coast Champions status for a whopping 10 years by competing with the Tournament Indoor Association. Her oldest daughter, of which she has three that all dance, helped with the choreography that led the academy to a championship.
After a highly accomplished teaching career, it was finally time for Huesgen to settle down. When she moved to Phoebe Berks in February 2021, Huesgen amassed a loving group of friends in her new home. Yet, she felt a piece of her was missing.
“I was so involved with teaching that when I retired, there was a void,” said Huesgen. Her passion for dance was what drove her life for so long. If dance wasn’t going to follow her into Phoebe Berks, she was going to create it at Phoebe Berks.
Huesgen quickly gathered interested residents and put together a tap-dancing group. Most of her class has never formally danced before, and the ensemble practices and performs choreographed routines constructed entirely by Huesgen. Residents have a say in what music they get to dance to and are never forced to perform publicly if they don’t want to.
“It’s open to anyone,” says Huesgen.
Getting her class to make their first public performance required a little encouragement from Huesgen, but the group made their triumphant debut at the 2022 Grand Illumination event. This yearly festivity, exclusive to Phoebe Berks, celebrates the winter holidays with musical performances and a showcase of the Phoebe Berks campus lit up with Christmas lights. Her class has performed at every Grand Illumination since.
At these performances, the group tap dances to holiday tunes split between a standing group and a sitting group. The seated group allows dancers with mobility restraints to perform tap while in chairs in front of the audience.
Armed with large candy canes and dressed to impress, the ensemble has become a reliable source of cheerful energy during the holiday season.
The class has only improved with each subsequent show, participating in yearly spring performances as well. Over time, the difficulty has gone up while remaining accessible.
“They’re dedicated. I am so proud of how much they’ve advanced,” said Huesgen. During practices, her students record her from the back so that they can follow along with her moves when they later practice from the comfort of their own homes.
As of December 2024, Huesgen leads one standing class, two classes made up of Phoebe staff, one seated class, and a ballet-focused class. Three additional staff members recently approached her to request a private class.
These groups are more than just a way for residents to express themselves—they’re also a place of community and friendship.
“We laugh a lot,” says Huesgen. “Oh my gosh, we have so much fun. And that’s a big part of it too – the socialization with one another. We’re a very close-knit group.”
In addition to allowing herself to continue doing what she loves, Huesgen champions dance as a way to help improve resident health.
“Nothing hurts when I’m dancing,” says Huesgen. “Dance is not only good for the body and soul but also the brain.” Besides the obvious physical benefits of movement and exercise, dancing is also shown to be a stress reliever and a way to improve cognitive ability. Huesgen cites the fact that residents have to memorize their routines as an apparent reason why it’s just as much of a cognitive activity as it is physical.
Her favorite thing about teaching? “Achievement,” she says. Seeing her students finally get a routine down and be enthusiastic about it is priceless to Huesgen.
“Dance is, after my husband and my children, my first love. It’s a need for me,” says Huesgen. It’s a passion that has successfully rubbed off on the residents of Phoebe Berks, whether they watch or participate. Above all, it’s proof that aging is just as much the start of something new as the end of a previous chapter of life.
To learn more about Phoebe Berks, please visit phoebe.org/berks.
Written by Dominic Trabosci
