Want to dance? Just ask 'em

Seniors don't sit on the sidelines during Tuesday afternoon ballroom dance sessions at the Udall Center — at least not after 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 Woman's Club, 6245 E. Bellevue St., and on Sundays to dances sponsored by Tucson Parks and Recreation at the Armory Park Center Downtown.

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.

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 Wag-ner on the keyboard and Ken Novak on the saxophone.

The two 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."

Foothills

If you go

l What: Ballroom Dancing.

l Where: Morris K. Udall Center, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road.

l Hours: Tuesdays 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

l Price: $2 for members; $3 for nonmembers. Membership is $25 for Tucson residents.

l Phone number: 791-4121.