The Key Biscayne Community Center offers residents and guests a plethora of options to stay in shape. Group exercise classes include everything from stretch and strength training to boxing to yoga and more.
Donatella Dillon teaches a popular tai chi class, and it’s clear she enjoys it. “I feel at peace while teaching,” she says. “That’s why I keep doing it.”
Tai chi is a centuries-old practice rooted in Chinese martial arts that exercises the mind and body through a series of slow and gentle movements integrated with mindful breathing. Sometimes referred to as “meditation in motion,” tai chi improves strength, flexibility, and balance.
Originally from Milan, Donatella moved to Key Biscayne fifty years ago after meeting her former husband, Matt Dillon, in Italy. “I love the people here,” she says. “Key Biscayne is my family and my home.”
Prior to teaching at the Community Center, Donatella worked as a personal trainer and yoga teacher at the Ritz-Carlton resort on the Key for 18 years. But tai chi is her real passion. She first took up the practice 36 years ago as a way to recover from a knee injury. Finding a peace through tai chi that she hadn’t experienced elsewhere, she stuck with it.
“Being Italian I have a short fuse. One of the first things I noticed after starting tai chi is that I was becoming much more calm and patient,” she says.
A former fashion model, Harley-Davidson motorcycle rider, and stunt double for the movies – including performing stunts for Jamie Lee Curtis in the 1994 film “True Lies” – Donatella has led quite an adrenaline-filled life. But one of the things she appreciates about her life on Key Biscayne these days is its regularity. “I go to The Golden Hog, to CVS, to the post office, to the Community Center – there’s a convenience to living here. At this stage of my life, I like the routine.”
Students are attracted to tai chi for all sorts of reasons. Brian Corbett first discovered Donatella’s class two years ago when he was looking for a new activity. “In life, you should try something new every couple of years,” he advises. “It keeps you humble and sharpens your mind.”
Brian, who is 81, reports that the biggest benefit he has derived from tai chi is an improved sense of balance. But he also relishes the camaraderie in the class. “I have to say, we have the most wonderful teacher. Donatella has a great sense of humor, a huge amount of patience, and she teaches very, very well.”
Maria Iriondo, age 60, has been attending Donatella’s class for only a month but it didn’t take long for her to become a dedicated fan. She has already noticed improved balance and better posture.
Donatella’s tai chi classes are held in the Island Room at the Community Center on Tuesday and Friday mornings at 10:30 a.m. A new class for beginners will take place Wednesday evenings at 6 p.m. starting September 2.