Thanks to Carolyn Davenport for submitting the following information and photos from the Foxtrotters Ballroom Dance Club reunion Friday at the East Cobb Senior Center.
She said more than 100 people turned out in fancy attire in the first event since the group disbanded last summer after 21 years due to the imposition of a membership fee and increases of other fees at county senior centers.
In December, the head of the Cobb Senior Citizens Council asked county commissioners to reconsider the fees, saying the number of those participating in events at senior centers in Cobb fell by more than half—from around 6,500 to 3,000—because of the fees.
Those fees are now proposed to be eliminated in the upcoming Cobb fiscal year 2020 budget. In speaking to the East Cobb Business Association this week, Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce defended the senior fees, citing a $30 million budget deficit at the time.
Davenport said the Foxtrotters group wants to have more dances at the East Cobb Senior Center:
“It will, however, take the support and attendance of our dancers and others, who have not yet had the pleasure of experiencing a Foxtrotters’ evening, to bring back our glory days of ballroom dancing.
“Events like our dances are so very important to seniors in many ways. Ballroom dancing’s health benefits include improved muscle and bone strength, and better posture, balance and motor skills, which can help prevent falls. Researchers speculate that the increased mental activity of ballroom dancing, such as memorizing steps and working with a partner, may help prevent symptoms experienced from dementia, Parkinson’s disease and even chronic heart failure. The social activity is also an important factor in good mental health and positive attitudes of seniors.”
Davenport said anyone who is 55 or older, or knows someone who is, and may be interested in dancing, is invited to get on the Foxtrotters e-mail distribution list. The address is: foxtrottersdanceclub@outlook.
The group also has a website and Facebook page that are regularly updated.
Wonderful article on the dance. We attended and
were just blown away by the great band, enthusiastic dancers, and a truly wonderful
table of food. This should become a regular
event for seniors to look forward to.