Seniors don't sit on the sidelines during Tuesday afternoon ballroom dance sessions at the Udall Recreation Center — at least not before a bit of cajoling.
The event's co-chair, Irene Goode, is pretty persuasive.
"When I see a man who's not dancing because he says he doesn't know how, I tell him, 'You've got two feet, you can hear and it gives you a chance to hold a woman in your arms,' " Goode says.
Still, some folks spend the two hours at the center on East Tanque Verde Road just socializing. The event has even sparked a few romances.
According to one of the dancers, Barbra Bailey, about half of those who attend the Tuesday dances at the Udall center go every Wednesday to the Let's Dance Club at the Tucson Women's Club, 6245 E. Bellevue St., and on Sundays to dances sponsored by Tucson Parks and Recreation at the Armory Park Center Downtown.
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When she adds, "Friday, of course, we go to the clubs," Bailey is referring to two local Elks Clubs, the VFW and the American Legion.
Not everyone dances so often. Vince Valles, recreation coordinator at the Udall Center, says some of the seniors wait all week for a chance to dance on Tuesday.
"Then when they come," he says, "they have that kid-at-Christmas look."
Vail and Merton Smith dance as often as four times a week. They say they enjoy Tuesdays the most.
And for good reason: They met at a Udall Center dance in 2002 when Merton approached Vail and asked her to sit by him.
"Oh yeah," Vail Smith remembers, "there were a lot of women after him when I first met him."
The Smiths were married last July.
The dances at the Udall Center cost $2 for members of the Udall Senior Addition and $3 for nonmembers.
They started when the Udall center opened 16 years ago. Some of the seniors, such as Goode — who was coordinator of the first dances — have been going ever since. She now co-chairs the dancing with Emory Westlake.
The first dances at the center drew upward of 100 people, but the number had dropped to as low as 30 in recent years. This winter, when the dances moved back to their original home, a large aerobics room with a wooden floor, the event experienced a resurgence. The wooden floor is more forgiving on aching joints.
Recent dances have drawn more than 60 people, which is good because in order to afford the band without dipping into the group's savings, they need to draw at least 50.
The band consists of Ron Wagner on the keyboard and Ken Novak on the saxophone. The two of them play, either together or on their own, at many of the other venues where these same seniors dance.
By now, Wagner says, he has gotten to know each dancer's favorite song.
"I know more people by their songs than by their names," he says.
Most weeks, Sally Wooden, who has spent 62 years as a professional singer, volunteers for a few songs.
Many of the seniors say they enjoy the dances because it gives them a chance to exercise.
Andrew Wolf, an exercise physiologist with Canyon Ranch in Tucson, says dancing provides health benefits to seniors. He points to what he calls a "bit of research" that shows that dancing may help decrease things like depression.
"I think the big thing it probably does," he says, "is it increases balance and helps prevent slips and falls."
Exercise is one of Goode's three keys to a long, healthy life. (The other two are a good attitude and no sex). And who else can say, "I'll be 93 in April and I'm still jitterbugging"?
If you go
● What: Ballroom Dancing.
● Where: Udall Senior Addition 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road.
● Hours: Tuesdays 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
● Price: $2 for members; $3 for nonmembers. Membership is $25 for Tucson residents.
● Phone number: 791-4121
