Dance to ‘Satisfaction’ by the Rolling Stones as if there were no tomorrow, Ay, Morenina by Georgie Dann, without missing a beat and following the rhythm of rancheras, cha cha chá, rumbas, pasodobles or a bolero. Between 300 and 400 people in their fifties and over do it on two Sundays in the Martina Castells room at the Llotja in Lleida.
The City Council has recovered this season, after four years, the Ball Afternoons that were suspended due to the pandemic and the room is full. There are more women than men, so you see many women dancing pasodobles or rumbas together.
“We like dancing, this should be done every Sunday and not just two Sundays a month. It is a way of doing gymnastics at a certain age.” This is how Ramon Vicens speaks at the door of La Llotja, accompanied by his partner Teresina Esteve. They go to these dances alone because men don’t like them in their group of friends.
Antonia Moreno and Paquita Arcos try to go on both Sundays, they love dancing. We like it, we come to dance with our friends, there aren’t many men, we just do our thing, says Antonia. And Paquita adds: “We had a great time, it’s fun music for us. For our age there is not much in Lleida.
Isabel Carboneras and her husband, Jordi Domenech usually go to the dance on both Sundays. They are good at it. “We,” says Isabel, “we go to many parties in the province and in winter there are fewer, we like to go to the Llotja. “We go to the gym together, we have a regular day of paddle tennis and now I dance on Sundays.” They seem integrated on the track. It is the third season of it.
The sessions, with live music and free parking and at a symbolic price of three euros, began monthly in the fall and their success has led the City Council to double its commitment with two sessions a month, on the second and fourth Sunday.
The Councilor for the Elderly, Anna Miranda, says that there were many older people who asked to recover the evenings of dancing, an activity that she, a doctor by profession, defends as “a very complete activity that improves the quality of life for older people.” and for everyone.”
Anna Miranda defends the cardiovascular exercise that is done when dancing, “beneficial for the prevention of cognitive diseases due to the coordination of movements and the management of emotions.”
He insists that “it is a cardiovascular workout, which helps to improve muscle strength and resistance and improves bone density. “It is a physical exercise of coordination and socialization, which is the most important thing,” she insists.
