Her favorite music to play is techno and house. 76-year-old Elly Steiner is Germany’s oldest DJ.
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00:00Give it up for Germany's oldest active DJ, Elie!
00:16I feed off the people moving to the music and me influencing their mood.
00:21Now when I'm enthusiastic, they get enthusiastic too.
00:32I have played with the idea of retiring.
00:39If it isn't my friend, Akim!
00:55Tonight DJ Elie has a gig on a club boat.
01:00Wait, I'll try to go butt first.
01:09How are you, man?
01:10What's up?
01:11Good to see you!
01:18I didn't want to drag the big seedy players along. I just have my controller.
01:22Some of the guests even arrive by boat.
01:36Elie is one of a kind. We're longtime fans. We know what a gem she is.
01:41Age is just a number. What matters is what you do, right?
01:44Absolutely!
01:46Forever young!
01:52I would love to be half as fresh and cool as she is. For sure!
02:07I don't want to be sitting around by myself when I'm 75 only to play rummy with other oldies once a week.
02:14I'll be happy if I can still party with my girls.
02:22She's still at it, and I think she's going to go another hundred years.
02:29When I've found a connection with the crowd, with the people on the dance floor,
02:38then we're kind of on the same wavelength and everything becomes smooth.
02:42There's a connection.
02:48Drugs and alcohol take away your inhibitions.
02:53I don't drink alcohol and I don't take drugs. That's my credo and I stick to it.
03:00For 20 years Elie was an addict, but that was before she became a DJ.
03:06You have to surrender. You have to surrender completely.
03:13I'd stopped recognizing myself. I said, Elie, this isn't who you are,
03:19what you've gotten yourself into. That isn't really you.
03:24I just came to the conclusion that I couldn't be doing this to myself anymore.
03:43I always do Tai Chi in the morning. It's the first thing I do.
03:49I want to keep fit, and even when I'm feeling sick and can't do Tai Chi,
03:55which often happens, then I just drop it that day.
03:58I'm in pretty good shape, but I want to stay fit because being in movement is being alive.
04:07If you stop moving, you die.
04:13It's the best. Raising the mood and finding a way to bring it back up again when it falls.
04:19Because you can't always be up there.
04:22There has to be a bit of movement and an interaction between myself and the crowd.
04:27And I love that. I just love it.
04:42For four whole hours, Elie gives her all, with some support from a younger colleague.
04:58The morning after is a bit rough.
05:01Oh, my back.
05:04Why the back?
05:07I just worked way too long.
05:10I'm exhausted. I think I need to sit down.
05:15Straight from lying down to sitting down.
05:18Oh, dear.
05:22It was exhausting, and I'm still tired.
05:31Hello, Lily.
05:34Look who it is.
05:36My world-leading expert.
05:39She's from Birmingham.
05:42It was an amazing gig. I think it was my best set in the last ten years.
05:47It was so great, Maika. People were screaming.
05:51I went down to the boat at half past three.
05:56Didn't head back home?
05:58No, Maika, I'm telling you, I said to myself I'm going to sleep right here with a pounding bass.
06:06Wow.
06:07Like a heartbeat good for sleeping.
06:11And then I thought it's all a mantra. All sounds are a mantra.
06:16Your mantra is bringing you into a deep sleep.
06:19And then I dozed off.
06:21And you, my dear?
06:23A bit exhausting. It was our first conference there.
06:28If she hadn't had struggled with addiction and had the experiences she's had,
06:34I sometimes tell her I don't know if we would have gotten together if we'd met during that time.
06:46Well, today I feel kind of sick. I have a stomachache. I'm exhausted.
06:52I slept the whole time, too. I kept falling asleep.
06:57Elli and Maika have a garden of their own.
07:03The garden is our haven, where it's really just me, Maika, or the two of us.
07:13When that time comes, I don't know what it will be like.
07:17We see death as a part of life, and we talk about it just like we talk about other topics.
07:23Of course, you think, that we're suddenly 20 years older,
07:27and that one of us will pass before the other, but that's just an illusion.
07:34It will always be a difficult topic. It will be harder for the one who's left behind.
07:41Maybe death itself isn't the hardest part, but the time leading up to it,
07:46or what to do when someone needs care, how does that work?
07:50Those questions keep coming up.
07:56Corn's yummy.
07:58It's delicious.
08:02That's just how the world works. That's just life.
08:06But it's also love. Getting older is part of it,
08:09because without getting older, you don't get any new insights.
08:14And suddenly, Ellie's health takes a turn for the worse.
08:22Yesterday, she collapsed at the GP's office.
08:25They called the emergency doctor straight away.
08:28Anne took her to the emergency room, and that's where they're doing all the examinations.
08:44It's hard for me. I'm really worried.
08:52Two weeks later, Ellie is back on her feet.
09:02I felt so bad that I said to myself,
09:07Hey Ellie, this is it. Your time has come.
09:15Luckily, it hadn't.
09:21Today is a sensational gig.
09:23Once a year, Stuttgart celebrates Christopher Street Day.
09:29I'll be DJing for an hour or so, something around that time.
09:34And if I can't do it, then I'll get support from someone.
09:38And then they'll take it from there.
09:45We've made a deal that she shouldn't exhaust herself,
09:48and that I come and bring her down if that happens.
09:52Because when Ellie is having fun, she starts bouncing around.
10:04I'm closing at nine.
10:06You're the closing act?
10:08I'm happy. Happy to hear.
10:13What? It's already quarter to eight?
10:16An hour to go.
10:18I need to rest a bit.
10:23I'm exhausted.
10:25I need to lean on something.
10:27Otherwise I won't make it, you know.
10:34I'll be wiped by the time I'm supposed to play.
10:40Can you lean on that, dear?
11:03Give it up for Germany's oldest active DJ.
11:34When you have these magical moments, you feel like you're in heaven.
11:49It felt like an out-of-body experience.
11:52Incredible. Like being in another world.
11:56I don't think I want to retire quite yet.
11:59Only when I can't keep on doing it.
12:02If I'm not able to walk or stand on my own two feet for five hours,
12:06then I'll have to pack my bags and say goodbye to the crowds.
12:26Germany! Germany!