ENCINITAS – It takes great care to transform the banquet hall at the Encinitas Community and Senior Center into a ballroom.
EDUARDO CONTRERAS / Union-Tribune
Dancers took to the floor during last month's Western Hoedown Dance at the Encinitas Community and Senior Center. Once a month, the banquet hall at the center is turned into a ballroom. The next dance is Sept. 15.
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Every third Friday of the month, a dance floor is put down and volunteers festoon the room with streamers, banners and balloons.
A food sponsor and a band are secured; a meal is heated, tables set out and beverages poured. Dancers arrive in slacks or skirts.
“People love these dances,” said volunteer Ann Wentink, who acts as an unofficial hostess, refreshing snack bowls during the two-hour get-togethers.
Two days before the dance, Wentink calls to invite those who have asked for advance notice.
Many tell her that they've been waiting for her call, Wentink said. She explains the event theme, what will be served and which band will play.
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What: “Hats Off to You” Dance
Where: Encinitas Community and Senior Center, 1140 Oakcrest Park Drive
When: 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 15
Admission: $3
Information: (760) 943-2250
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“People always comment on how nice it is to get the reminder calls,” said recreation supervisor Nancy Roherty.
Attendance is generally between 100 to 140 people ages 50 to 90. The average age is 80, Roherty said, and Wentink usually calls more than half the attendees.
Personal touches such as the phone calls make the dance popular, and for $3 admission, the experience is a bargain. Wentink said that after dancers leave in the afternoon, they won't need to eat dinner or dessert because they have been fed so well.
Senior center manager Christie Goodsell thinks the dances are important because they provide social interaction, as well as physical benefits, including improving coordination and balance.
Roherty said the dancing is enjoyable to watch.
“It's so graceful and elegant,” she said.
The bands encourage everyone to get on the floor by arranging waterfall-mixers where dancers line up across from each other and take turns down the center.
The music generally highlights hits from the swing era and all the bands take requests, Goodsell said.
Dancers arrive alone and in couples.
Some get on the floor in their wheelchairs, Wentink said. Some have danced all their lives.
All seem to enjoy the live music.
“They may be 75 or 80 years old, but they can still jitterbug,” Wentink said.
Seniors can attend a dance almost every day of the week in North County. On the back of fliers distributed at the Encinitas center is a schedule announcing low-cost dances from Fallbrook to Carlsbad.
The next dance will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Encinitas Community and Senior Center, 1140 Oakcrest Park Drive.
The theme is “Hats Off to You.” Dancers are encouraged to wear a hat of any type. For information, call (760) 943-2250.
