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Seniors Dance For Decades

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By LENORA LAKE, Tribune correspondent

Published: November 14, 2007

UNIVERSITY AREA - Roberta and Elroy Messer have been dancing together since their first date, more than 50 years ago, led them to an amusement park offering ballroom dancing.

The South Tampa couple recently took to the floor at the University Area Community Center for the Hillsborough County Department of Aging Services' annual Fall Festival. The event Thursday, themed Dancing Through the Decades, featured music, dancing, lunch and information from health company exhibitors.

The Messers, who will celebrate their 48th anniversary Nov. 28, took first place in dancing to the music of the 1960s. They didn't limit their time on the dance floor to music from that period, however.

"We love all music. We go on cruises, and we like the music from Europe on them," Roberta Messer, 69, said during a break from moving to "Blue Suede Shoes," "Dancing in the Street," "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and other pop hits.

Elroy Messer, 72, said they regularly participate in dancing at Barksdale Recreation Center in South Tampa.

Most of the 22 city and county recreation centers had seniors groups attend the event, which has been a tradition for almost 30 years, said Agatha Yoakum, project coordinator for the Department of Aging Services. The festival, whose themes have included the 1950s and a country-western hoedown, outgrew its Brandon location and moved to the University Area center this year.

"It gives all the seniors a chance to get out together," Yoakum said.

The event, which drew about 500 people 60 and older, also encourages intergenerational involvement, Yoakum said. That is a goal for county-sponsored activities, she said.

About 20 culinary arts students from nearby Bowers/Whitley Career Center came to serve lunch, practice working with a large group and visit with the seniors.

Bowers/Whitley student Jamari Diaz, 18, of North Tampa, helped distribute plastic utensils, hot dogs, bananas, cookies and sodas.

"I love it. You get to get out in the community with outgoing people," said Diaz, who wants to pursue a career as a pastry chef.

The high school students also took to the dance floor, competing in their own dance contest and dancing with seniors.

Cathy Pacheco, 69, who attends senior programs in Town 'N Country, won a special award for hip-hopping with the students. She gyrated in the middle of a circle of bouncing, jumping and swaying teens.

"I love to hip-hop," said Pacheco, who has taken dance lessons for 15 years. "When the disco was popular, I was out four nights a week."

Karla Munoz, nutrition services coordinator for Aging Services, awarded Pacheco a gift certificate for her dance with the students.

"She was dropping like it was hot and giving the kids a run for their money," Munoz announced to the cheering crowd of seniors and students as she presented the prize.

Correspondent Lenora Lake can be reached at (813) 865-4851 or llake@tampatrib.com.

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