The New York Liberty Timeless Torches dance team brought real American spirit to the 2025 Forbes Power Women’s Summit this week. These incredible women and men, all over 40 years old, showed a room full of corporate elites what true grit looks like. While Forbes talks about empowering women, these dancers have been living it for 20 years.
The Timeless Torches prove that age is just a number when you have heart and determination. The oldest member is in her 80s, dancing circles around people half her age. These aren’t your typical cheerleaders – they’re hardworking Americans who refuse to let society tell them their best days are behind them. They practice twice a week and perform with the same standards as any professional dance team.
Captain Margaret Hamilton started with the team at 35 with no dance background, just pure American hustle. She works at a law firm by day and leads this incredible group by night. After the Liberty won their championship, her coworkers threw her a lunch party because they’re so proud of what she’s accomplished. That’s the kind of workplace respect you earn through dedication, not diversity quotas.
These dancers have appeared on major TV shows and performed at NBA and WNBA All-Star games since 2005. They’ve represented New York and America on national stages, showing the world that our country values talent and hard work over youth and politics. When they take the court at Barclays Center, 19,000 fans go wild for their high-energy performances.
The team creates real bonds that feel like family, something our broken culture desperately needs. When their entertainment director returned after time away, there were tears of joy because these women genuinely care about each other. They support each other’s dreams and celebrate each other’s victories without the fake sisterhood we see in corporate America.
One fan told the team that watching them dance helped her through a dark time and showed her that life was worth living. That’s the power of authentic inspiration, not the manufactured empowerment that comes from boardrooms and summit speeches. These women inspire through action, not words.
New member Angelique Garcia, a 40-year-old Brooklyn native, proves that dreams don’t expire with age. She practices between work and raising her kids because she believes dance is for life. While Forbes executives preach about breaking barriers, Garcia actually breaks them every time she steps on that court.
The Timeless Torches remind us what America is really about – ordinary people doing extraordinary things through hard work and perseverance. They didn’t need a corporate summit to tell them they’re powerful. They already knew it, and they’ve been proving it for two decades on basketball courts across the country.
