It's about romance. It's about escape. It's about having a good time. It's
about experiencing casual contact, up close but not necessarily personal, with
another human being.
It's dance. And it's booming. On every weekend, and many weeknights, you
can find a dance of some variety, be it ballroom, swing, country, folk,
whatever, taking place in the Redwood Empire. And whether the music is live or
taped, the atmosphere you'll find is friendly, enthusiastic, and just plain
fun.
''You can't take troubles dancing,'' says Joye Mund. ''If you're unhappy
when you get there, you're happy by the time you leave.''
Joye and her husband, Bob Mund, go to some 10 dances each month in Sonoma
County. The pair of 70-year-olds say the exercise keeps them fit and the music
keeps them young.
''We're ballroom dancers,'' says Joye Mund. ''We have a regular circuit. We
go to all the senior dances. It's Novato on the first Tuesday of every month;
Rohnert Park, the second Tuesday; Petaluma, the third, and Santa Rosa the
fourth.'' Two Fridays a month you'll find them dancing at the Moose Lodge.
Other Fridays find them at the Monroe Clubhouse or the Finley Center.
''Then there's the American Legion dance, which is usually once a month at
the Sonoma County Veterans Memorial Auditorium,'' Joye Mund says. ''That's a
public dance. They get 200 to 300 people at those dances. And this is just
ballroom. There are various swing, country and other dances we're not even
involved with, and they're going all the time, too.''
To catch the fever, drop by Monroe Clubhouse, 1400 West College Ave., on
any Sunday evening, says Steve Luther, 39, known to local dance enthusiasts as
''Sir Dance-a-Lot'' or just plain ''DJ Steve.'' There you'll see ''people of
all ages being joyous out of their minds,'' he says. ''It is the most
community-like dance in the area. Maybe 130 to 150 go each week. They do
country western dance, western swing, and even line dancing.''
Luther works at some 120 local dances each year, many of which he promotes
himself. He says Sonoma County is fortunate to have many talented dance
teachers in the area, and local groups hire them to instruct newcomers on a
regular basis.
Dancing cuts across all demographics, says Joye Mund, who has ''danced with
people up to 91 years old and down to early 20s,'' and it's a great way to
meet people.
You don't need to have a partner to get involved in today's dance scene.
You can go alone, meet someone, or several someones, dance your socks off,
create a whole new network of good friends, and maybe even encounter your
perfect mate.
''For the first year and a half, I went to dances with a girlfriend or I
went alone,'' says Susan Huey, 33, of St. Helena. ''That's the wonderful thing
about dancing. It's very accepted to go alone. There'll always be someone
there who will ask you to dance.''
Huey, now activities director for the Redwood Empire Swing Dance Club, says
she's seen an explosion in swing dance enthusiasts.
''We get 100 to 150 people at our monthly dance at Rohnert Park Community
Center,'' Huey says. ''But our members also typically meet at Steamer Gold in
Petaluma on Monday nights.'' The club sponsors free lessons and dances each
Thursday night at Los Robles Lodge in Santa Rosa and takes part in
conventions, dance cruises and special club nights in Reno and elsewhere.
You only have to go once, she says, and then you're hooked.
''Lots of our members go to the various community dances sponsored by city
recreation departments or independent dance promoters,'' Huey adds.
Diane Corby, dance coordinator for the City of Santa Rosa, says about 150
people attend the monthly City Ballroom Dance and another 80 to 100 flock to
the monthly Dance Jam, both at the Finley Center.
While the City Ballroom Dance features the romantic music of the big band
era, the Dance Jam is a freestyle event incorporating music ranging from
Motown to rock to worldbeat.
''The city has been sponsoring dances for many years,'' Corby says. ''It's
a very well-established program. Most of them are dances for seniors, but
we've been doing the ballroom dances for a couple years now and the Dance Jams
for a few months. We also do teen dances for junior high kids twice a year and
those draw about 200 or more kids each time.''
Stepping out with others
Even if you already have a dance partner, going to a dance can provide both
of you with the experience of dancing with others and learning new steps.
''We encourage new dancers to bring a partner and then split up and dance
with others,'' says Emily Flouton, 42, of Petaluma. She's a member of the
North Bay Country Dance Society, which sponsors ''old-time barn dances''
monthly in Sonoma, Petaluma and Santa Rosa.
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