Awesome, exclaims Liz Carlson at the end of Bruno Mars’ Hip Hop tune, “Perm.”

“Beautiful,” she says as her class of dancers fall into unison during Ed Sheerin’s “Shivers.”

“We’re doing it!” the 25 of us are marveling to ourselves — all smiles as we wipe away the sweat from our brows and begin swaying as the next tune wafts out of the speaker at the Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA in Marblehead.

Students who love our class with Liz don’t know it, but we owe our good fortune to a massive, isolated mountain half a world away — Kilimanjaro — which beckoned the adventure-seeking Nahant resident years ago. During a hiking trip up that continent’s tallest peak, Liz sprained her Achilles’ heel. Had it not happened, she would likely never have returned to her childhood passion.

Although she danced as a child and entertained dreams of fleeing to New York to try out for the Alvin Ailey dance group, Liz’s parents had other ideas. Their practical advice was that she first attend university, which she did, and then, life — as they say — interfered. As the decades unfolded, Liz shifted her after-work focus to running, spinning, aerobic boot camp exercises and her greatest love, traveling. But after her Mount Kilimanjaro injury, she found herself unable to do the repetitive motion of a running/hiking stride without pain. Then she remembered her childhood passion and it dawned on her that she could still dance while recovering.

“Dance had always woven a thread through my life,” said Liz who is a top real estate broker in the Marblehead office of Coldwell Banker. “Recovery wasn’t so bad with dancing. Running, climbing and hiking was very impactful. So I took dance classes with several of the local dance instructors at the Marblehead Y. “I got back to the sheer joy of it. It made me feel happy. I found the passion again especially after going through COVID” where people were feeling disconnected to one another and feeling less joy in their lives.

Liz’s infectious smile, utter elation and accessible choreography ripple out onto the dance floor and wash over her students.

“Brings me joy. I never danced before. This class just makes you move,” said Kristen Hamel of Salem.

“I love Liz’s class! I always feel like I have accomplished something just being able to keep up with her choreography,” said Lisa McDonnell of Swampscott.

Liz, who creates her own choreography with some steps borrowed from videos, admits that new students can feel intimidated, but says that if they keep coming, they’ll get it. Occasionally, like a conductor of an orchestra, Liz will simply stop, and we dancers miraculously carry on, at least for a few steps.

Liz has traveled 50 countries, camped out in the desert in Morocco, trekked through dense forest to see gorillas in the wild in Uganda, was recently wowed by the spectacular majesty of Iceland during a camping trip with her teenage son, Casey. She lived in Africa for years and has traveled nearly every corner of that continent, returning a dozen times.

“Usually, I go by myself—no tours, no tour buses. I’ll hire a guide and tell him what I want to do. Mostly, it’s just me. Most places I’ve stayed, it was just me and the guide. They were unique trips.”

Her next professional adventure is creating trips and leading small tours to various corners of the world.

“Many women say, ‘I’d never have the nerve to do that,’ and it makes me sort of sad. I’d like to provide the opportunities, especially for women. I’d like to put together tours,” said Liz. She researches her destination and, if going alone, finds a trusted guide. She envisions taking small groups of about 12 who would not only see the highlights but also immerse themselves in the culture of a region.

Liz is thinking of how she can give back to Africa and other countries she visits. She envisions forming a foundation in which people would donate funds to improve the lives of the residents and give to animal rights groups making sure animals don’t disappear from Africa. “Yes, it’s happening,” she said sadly. This is my next professional goal.

If her class brings inspiration and joy to her dancers, outside of class, Liz Carlton’s independence and courage blows the ball right out of the park”