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Archive (1999-2000)

Ballroom Dance Company serves senior citizens

By NELDA MASCHMEYER

nelda@newsroom.byu.edu

For its fifth consecutive year, the Ballroom Dance Company is sponsoring an afternoon of dancing and socializing for all senior citizens of the community Friday at the Orem Senior Center from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Two floor shows, refreshments, friends to visit with, as well as dance music and unlimited dance partners will be provided free of charge.

Marci Edgington, the director for the dance company backup teams and coordinator of the service project, said the project is not only a time for the team to dance, but also an opportunity to talk to the seniors one on one.

'Every year we see the team members holding hands of the seniors and listening to stories of their lives,' Edgington said.

Edgington said this is the first time the activity will be in the Orem Senior Center.

Edgington said she is collecting $1 donations from each of the 160 team members.

Roger Wiblin, 24, a senior from Durban, South Africa, majoring in history, and a member of the team, said the idea for the service actually came from the ballroom dance club which does a lot of activities each semester.

Wiblin said the club wanted to find a way to serve the community, and entertaining the senior citizens seemed like one of the best ways to serve and contribute their talents.

Elizabeth Larsen, 23, from Sandy, an MBA first year student and a member of the team, said she enjoys going to the Orem Senior Center every year and talking to the seniors.

Larsen said a lot of the time, the seniors cannot really dance anymore, but still come to watch because they love the dancing.

'I think that it is especially entertaining to the seniors because ballroom dancing was a thing of their time and age. People just don't ballroom dance as much as they used to, so this is a real treat,' Larsen said.

Charlotte Wilde, a program coordinator from the Orem Senior Center, said she really appreciates the Ballroom Dance Team's visit every year.

'Every year it's outstanding. The seniors absolutely love it. They feel like they are among celebrities,' Wilde said.

Wilde said the seniors love getting so much attention. She said the dancers bring refreshments and do a floor show. After the show, they visit the seniors and dance with them. Then they do another floor show.

Wilde said she has only seen students being kind and loving. She said the team adds a personal touch to all they do.

'After seeing the team and talking to them, the seniors stay on cloud 13 for a month,' Wilde said.