VALLEY ROUNDUP : Northridge : Seniors’ Feet Like the Beat of Center’s Own Live Band

If it’s Thursday, it must be swinging at the senior center.

That’s the day marked on the calendars of about 200 seniors who don their dancing shoes each week and head for the Robert M. Wilkinson Multipurpose Senior Center.

From the Lindy to the fox trot, or just by clapping their hands, they keep the beat with the music of the center’s own live band, the Wilkinson Dance Band.

This week, the 21 members of the band, complete with their pink-and-white striped uniform shirts, rehearsed for their 20th anniversary show, to be performed Sept. 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the center. All the band’s rehearsals and formal performances are free.

Although the band members have changed over the years, the routine has remained basically the same: rehearsal most Thursdays, with a formal performance the third Thursday of every month. The group is managed by Louis Bregen of Northridge, who joined 19 years ago and has been with the band longer than anyone else.

Originally organized by a program director at the Granada Hills Presbyterian Church, the band settled in at the senior center 19 years ago, where the group has performed ever since on the stage of the auditorium, which has a large dance floor.

There are now 17 musicians in the band, ranging in age from the mid-20s to seventy-somethings, many with professional Big Band experience. Rounding out the cast are band leader Danny Coviello, 71, of Westchester, and three vocalists, including Bregen.

“Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen” was the hit song this week, as more than 30 couples shuffled to the melody. The band plays a variety of music, including cha-chas, rumbas, waltzes, tangos and bossa novas.

“When we first started, we played lead sheets for a few years,” Bregen said. “As time passed by, we got better musicians. We were able to start doing charts and playing Big Band music. Today, we have an outstanding band.”

“Polkas, rock ‘n’ roll, anything that jumps” is the favorite music of 88-year-old Angelica Fasolini of Northridge, who’s been swinging with the band for 14 years with her dance partner, Bob Richards, 73, of Granada Hills.

“I’m a Sicilian,” Fasolini explained. “I like jazzy songs.”

Many of the dancers travel 30 miles or more to enjoy the music. They often arrive early to play bingo or pool and eat a hot lunch before the afternoon entertainment.

Jerry DeGennaro of Westlake Village and Rebecca Roscoe of Encino are veteran dancing partners, both married to spouses who do not share their hobby.

“So we have a great time together,” DeGennaro said.

Russ Hightower of Van Nuys takes full advantage of the two-hour sessions.

“I dance the whole time,” he said. “It’s wonderful exercise.”