Seniors Dance Up a Winter Storm : Sociable Folks Waltz and Jitterbug at Their Very Own Jingle Bell Ball

A $20 gift certificate for groceries was passed around the table with the awe appropriate to a trophy as dance contest winner Kathleen McCalib blushed and stammered.

“I was married to a non-dancer for 25 years,” she explained. “I guess now I am just making up for lost time.” She and her partner, Tom Pickler, 75, along with 10 other couples, had wowed the audience as they waltzed--and then jitterbugged to “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “In the Mood.” After the dance workout, they grinned and mopped their brows.

“We are very lucky seniors, as long as we can dance,” Pickler said.

Though not all the 300 people at the Jingle Bell Ball in Studio City last week were dancing, most seemed to consider themselves fortunate to bask for a few hours in the holiday spirit.

“I am so nervous, you’d think I was a teen-ager,” said Leona Braunheim as she walked into the ballroom at the Sportsmen’s Lodge, the first time she has ventured out to a party since her husband died almost two years ago. While life without her spouse has been hard, she said, the holiday season is particularly trying.

This time of year can be a stressful time for anyone--shopping, parties, rounds of visits. But for the elderly, it is often the lack of such festivities that can be the source of stress and even depression, say experts who work with them.

Many have survived their spouses and friends. Children have moved from the area. And, on a limited budget, this time of conspicuous consumption can be especially bitter.

But many Valley agencies have risen to the call, providing a host of activities and socials ranging from Christmas craft classes to choir performances. Most of the events took place earlier in the month, though a few still remain.

The Gingersnaps, a group of tap dancing senior citizens, will put on a Christmas performance at the Joslyn Center in Burbank today. Later, in cooperation with local hospitals, the center will deliver Christmas dinner to shut-ins. Mulliken Medical will also hold a Valley Christmas party at the Sherman Oaks Senior Citizen Center on Wednesday.

“As we age, we are not as mobile as we were when we were younger,” explained Maria Jimakas, a Santa Monica clinical psychologist with a geriatric specialty. “But seniors still want to be as active and as giving as when they were young. This leaves them feeling sad and helpless.”

But, while seniors’ physical abilities may be diminished, they are by no means helpless, said Jimakas, who has given speeches to Valley senior groups. She suggests that the elderly deal with their feelings of isolation by reaching out to others.

“If someone is lonely,” she said, “even if they can’t leave their home, they can get the numbers of other people who may be in their same position and call them for three minutes,” she said. “Or drop someone a note.”

Unfortunately, during the holidays, most senior citizen centers close, and regular meetings and programs go on hiatus.

“That’s the bad thing about these centers,” said Beth Engelke of the Bernardi Center, which will be closed from Friday to Dec. 27 and again over New Year’s weekend. “They close up when everyone most needs to be around others.”

According to Caroline Kelly, director of Senior Fit, Secure Horizons’ wellness program, medical providers and senior health maintenance organizations have a vested interest in providing activities like the Jingle Bell Ball.

“It’s more than just a nice thing to do for our members,” Kelly said. “We also are very aware that active people are both happier and healthier.”

Back at the Jingle Bell Ball, Sidney Joiseph, white hair almost to his chin, couldn’t stop his feet from moving.

“Fast, fast, slow, slow,” he kept saying, trying to encourage shy partners onto the dance floor. “It’s easy. You just follow my lead.”

“I haven’t been dancing in twenty-some years,” he said, his eyes sparkling.

Braunheim lamented that “there are a lot more women left than men,” as she surveyed the crowd for a potential dance partner. “The men die first, you know. That just goes to tell you, we should appreciate them while they’re here.”

Many of the 300-people who attended the Studio City party appreciated the company in ways other than dancing. There were kaffeeklatsches at the round tables as old friends whispered and giggled and strangers exchanged information about senior services and the best brunch spots.

A trickle of stragglers lingered at the buffet, filling up on petits fours and melons, coffee and tea.

And in response to one section of a Secure Horizon health pamphlet advising seniors to avoid sweets, which can worsen depression, David Weisser, a party organizer quipped:

“Well, what good are the holidays, if we can’t break some of our own rules.”