Completely in agreement with what Sandra said, up above. A couple of years ago, the night before a folk festival in Maryland, I was looking to see if there was anything that needed help with, and I accidentally discovered the local Contra Dance. This is at a place called "Glen Echo", and it's now run by the National Park Service.

Contra dance is immense fun. There is a live band. You wear a "Beginner" button the first few times; this means really good dancers ask you to dance, to help you learn. You are literally taken into the bosom of the group and swept up. It's fantasic excercise, as all pain is forgotten while you are dancing. It burns calories like crazy, (as long as you can stay away from the gelatto stand next door).

Glen Echo is an amazing fairy-tale place to dance. It started out as a Chautauqua (a playground for the mind), then became a real amusement park. Now is an artistic sort of place. It still has a real carousel with a Wurlitzer organ complete with horns, drums, glock and cymbals. Contra and other dances are held either in the glamorous restored Spanish Ballroom, or in the Bumper Car pavilion -which has been turned into a dance hall. The dance halls have no heat or air conditioning. Besides contras and squares, each evening there are several waltzes and Scandinavian dances like Hambo.
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So, here's my song. This is the first time I'm doing a Mudcat Song challenge. It fits the theme of our upcoming Open Sing, too. Whee!

Out on the floor on an evening so steamy
I gaze in the eyes of a partner so dreamy
I've worked hard enough -- now let's get an ice creamy
Dancing the waltz at Glen Echo

Sparkly and twinkly, our skirts they are swirling
Gracefully dancers are whirling and twirling
I'm getting so dizzy I just feel like ........... singing
Dancing the waltz at Glen Echo

I've got pains in my knees and an ache in my shoulder
But I'm learning - I'm growing, I'm getting much bolder!
I'll take a hot tub-bath when this night is over...
Dancing the waltz at Glen Echo-

Oh I'm dancing the waltz at Glen Echo

(top lines have a little subconcious borrow from Grey's Anatomy tv show)
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I actually think this dancing is very therapeutic, but as far as it's being paid by health insurance, I don't know. Since these dances are held at a National Park (the Park Ranger dances too) the government is in there somewhere! But you can contra dance for free, in exchange for volunteering to take tickets another time, or if you volunteer as a Sweeper to clean the dance floor afterwards using the big fluffy push-mops (MORE exercise!). There are also Fellowships available for the asking.

My mother took up ballroom dancing in middle age, lost about 30 pounds, & cut WAY down on smoking. It certainly added at least 10 healthy years to her life. Not only do you burn calories dancing, and do all kinds of good things for your heart and lungs, but then you also want to buy pretty sparkly skirts and look reasonably good in them, so it all helps.

PS Having had the pleaure of meeting Geoff and Mrs Duck and their flock at the Getaway, I can well imagine those children as babies dancing all night in their nappies! Good song, Geoff.

Linda Goodman