DJ Wika Szmyt plays music at a club in Warsaw, Poland. Reuters
"I do not fit the stereotype of an elderly person. I don't see a reason why my age should determine my life norms.
"I don't care if someone likes it or not that I am dancing or jumping behind the console, because I cannot play and stay still," said Wika, raising her hands to clap with her audience. "When I play, I feel the melody, I feel the rhythm."
Aware of the rejuvenating quality of music for the mind and body, the self-trained Wika has been DJ-ing for Polish retirees for two decades, earning widespread respect in the trade.
Every Monday night, she entertains about 1,000 people at the Hula Kula club, smashing stereotypes and empowering seniors as she plays everything from disco and rock to samba and ballads.
DJ wika Szmyt plays music at a club in Warsaw. Kacper Pempel/Reuters
DJ wika Szmyt shows her clothes at home before leaving to play music. Kacper Pempel/Reuters
DJ wika Szmyt plays music at a club in Warsaw. Kacper Pempel/Reuters
DJ wika Szmyt talks on the phone at her home before leaving to play music at a club in Warsaw. Kacper Pempel/Reuters
"I do not fit the stereotype of an elderly person. I don't see a reason why my age should determine my life norms," Wika, a former special educational teacher, told Reuters.
"I used to work with young people and I kept this youthful outlook and youthful expectations ... My message to youths is that your life does not end when you are 70. They would say 'Miss Wika we are already 40, we are so old'. And I am twice as old as you and ... I am not old, by no means."
Reuters