WHAT TO DO AFTER DARK : SEAL BEACH : It’s Song, Dance in Leisure World Whirl

Leisure World isn’t exactly a city that never sleeps.

But if you look hard enough, you can find signs of life after dark--whether your tastes favor an old-fashioned community sing-along, movies or dancing to the polka beat.

The variety of activities is enough to satisfy seniors whose ideal night life involves more than a cup of decaffeinated coffee and an episode of “The Golden Girls.”

“I’d say about 80% of our residents don’t like to go out at night,” said George Brown, a Seal Beach councilman. “But I’d say about 20% like to take advantage of the evening.”

Some people exercise when the sun goes down, power-walking their way down the sidewalks of the gated retirement community.

“Between 7 and 9 at night, you see a lot of people out there taking their constitutionals,” Brown said.

Evening dances are also popular, including circle dancing and waltzing for couples.

On Saturday nights, more than 100 people dance to big band music performed live by a five-piece orchestra made up of Leisure World residents.

During the summer, as many as 2,000 people converge each week on the community’s outdoor theater to watch and dance to a series of performances by such artists as Tony Bennett and former members of Lawrence Welk’s band, Brown said.

Another well-attended activity is the weekly sing-along each Monday, in which residents get together and belt out some familiar tunes.

“We sing the songs that we oldsters know,” Brown said. “You can sign your heart out whether you can hold a tune or not.”

Still, Brown said, most lights in Leisure World are out by midnight.

“It’s nice and quiet here at night,” he said. “When I first moved here, I couldn’t stand it for two weeks because there was no noise.”