Patsy Afuso, 94, is in step with the beat of life

Patsy Afuso knows 17 Okinawan folk dances by heart. Her footwork is precise; her gestures, refined; her taps on her paranku (small hand-held drum) are perfectly in time to the music.

At 94, Afuso moves with the ease and confidence of someone decades younger. She is the oldest performing member of the Paranku Club of Hawaii, which performs at senior centers, nursing homes and cultural festivals on Oahu.

When Afuso retired as an accounting clerk at Hawaiian Cement in 1982, she started looking for things to do besides babysitting her two grandchildren.

“I’m not the type of person who can just sit around and watch TV,” she said. “Over the next few years, I tried different classes sponsored by Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation, including hula, yoga, aerobics and line dancing.”

In the mid-1980s, paranku dance was a new parks and recreation offering then held at a gym in Pearl City, where Afuso lives. She decided to sign up for it. The class started with six teachers and five students; Afuso is now the only original student still performing.

“I like the music and using the drum to dance,” she said. “Paranku is great exercise because you use your entire body: You step forward and back, you turn, you lift your knees, you hit and raise the drum. It’s good for the mind, too, because you have to concentrate to remember the steps and when to hit the drum. Our club’s dance style is slow and deliberate; as long as you can walk and move your arms and hands, you can do it.”

Afuso attends the Pearl City class every week, grateful for senseis Jane Tateyama, Betsy Miyahira and Eiko Sakai because even after 30-plus years of dancing, she says there is always something to learn.

Paranku dance traces its roots to eisa, a form of folk dance that originated in Okinawa in the 1800s as part of summer Obon observances to honor the spirits of ancestors. Drums were a key element of the dance, and back then, only males were allowed to participate.

Today, males and females, young and old, perform the drumming dances in Japan, Okinawa and Hawaii year-round, so they are no longer regarded as eisa, dances specifically for Obon. Paranku is one of three types of drums used; the other two are the large odaiko barrel drum and the medium-sized shimedaiko.

Every dancer wears the same uniform: a vest, leggings, white pants, white shirt, waist sash, obi (belt), tabis (ankle socks) and a head scarf (usually purple, which is associated with royalty in Okinawa).

The Paranku Club of Hawaii schedules about eight performances each year, and Afuso participates in most of them. That’s in addition to being the caregiver for her 94-year-old husband; managing their household’s finances; doing some weeding and watering in their yard; hemming, patching and handling clothing alterations for friends and family; and driving her 2012 Honda Civic short distances around Pearl City to run errands.

She’s an excellent cook, making every dish from scratch, including family favorites such as tsukemono (pickled vegetables), kandaba jushi (congee with sweet potato leaves) and mochi and manju filled with sweet red bean paste.

What keeps this active nonagenarian going? Afuso’s diet includes lots of fruits, vegetables and fresh fish. She eats desserts in moderation, doesn’t drink alcohol and keeps her mind sharp by balancing her checkbook to the penny every month and solving the word scramble puzzles that appear in the Star-Advertiser.

“I think Aunty Patsy’s compassion and positive attitude also contribute to her good health,” said her niece, Jean Nakatsukasa, who, at Afuso’s urging, joined the Paranku Club in 2000 with her sister, Judy Onaga. “She’s a very caring, giving person. If somebody is sick, she’ll make food and take it to them. She never has a bad word to say about anyone or anything. She’s always kind, helpful and upbeat.”

Those characteristics endear Afuso to her fellow paranku dancers and bless her with a joie de vivre that never wanes.

“There’s nothing left on my bucket list; I have everything I need, and I’m doing everything I want to do,” Afuso said. “Paranku is a way for me to have fun, get exercise and enjoy time with friends. It makes me happy, keeps me healthy and connects me with people I care about. To me, that’s what makes life fulfilling.”