DANCE!

It's about romance. It's about escape. It's about having a good time. It's

about experiencing casual contact, up close but not necessarily personal, with

another human being.

It's dance. And it's booming. On every weekend, and many weeknights, you

can find a dance of some variety, be it ballroom, swing, country, folk,

whatever, taking place in the Redwood Empire. And whether the music is live or

taped, the atmosphere you'll find is friendly, enthusiastic, and just plain

fun.

''You can't take troubles dancing,'' says Joye Mund. ''If you're unhappy

when you get there, you're happy by the time you leave.''

Joye and her husband, Bob Mund, go to some 10 dances each month in Sonoma

County. The pair of 70-year-olds say the exercise keeps them fit and the music

keeps them young.

''We're ballroom dancers,'' says Joye Mund. ''We have a regular circuit. We

go to all the senior dances. It's Novato on the first Tuesday of every month;

Rohnert Park, the second Tuesday; Petaluma, the third, and Santa Rosa the

fourth.'' Two Fridays a month you'll find them dancing at the Moose Lodge.

Other Fridays find them at the Monroe Clubhouse or the Finley Center.

''Then there's the American Legion dance, which is usually once a month at

the Sonoma County Veterans Memorial Auditorium,'' Joye Mund says. ''That's a

public dance. They get 200 to 300 people at those dances. And this is just

ballroom. There are various swing, country and other dances we're not even

involved with, and they're going all the time, too.''

To catch the fever, drop by Monroe Clubhouse, 1400 West College Ave., on

any Sunday evening, says Steve Luther, 39, known to local dance enthusiasts as

''Sir Dance-a-Lot'' or just plain ''DJ Steve.'' There you'll see ''people of

all ages being joyous out of their minds,'' he says. ''It is the most

community-like dance in the area. Maybe 130 to 150 go each week. They do

country western dance, western swing, and even line dancing.''

Luther works at some 120 local dances each year, many of which he promotes

himself. He says Sonoma County is fortunate to have many talented dance

teachers in the area, and local groups hire them to instruct newcomers on a

regular basis.

Dancing cuts across all demographics, says Joye Mund, who has ''danced with

people up to 91 years old and down to early 20s,'' and it's a great way to

meet people.

You don't need to have a partner to get involved in today's dance scene.

You can go alone, meet someone, or several someones, dance your socks off,

create a whole new network of good friends, and maybe even encounter your

perfect mate.

''For the first year and a half, I went to dances with a girlfriend or I

went alone,'' says Susan Huey, 33, of St. Helena. ''That's the wonderful thing

about dancing. It's very accepted to go alone. There'll always be someone

there who will ask you to dance.''

Huey, now activities director for the Redwood Empire Swing Dance Club, says

she's seen an explosion in swing dance enthusiasts.

''We get 100 to 150 people at our monthly dance at Rohnert Park Community

Center,'' Huey says. ''But our members also typically meet at Steamer Gold in

Petaluma on Monday nights.'' The club sponsors free lessons and dances each

Thursday night at Los Robles Lodge in Santa Rosa and takes part in

conventions, dance cruises and special club nights in Reno and elsewhere.

You only have to go once, she says, and then you're hooked.

''Lots of our members go to the various community dances sponsored by city

recreation departments or independent dance promoters,'' Huey adds.

Diane Corby, dance coordinator for the City of Santa Rosa, says about 150

people attend the monthly City Ballroom Dance and another 80 to 100 flock to

the monthly Dance Jam, both at the Finley Center.

While the City Ballroom Dance features the romantic music of the big band

era, the Dance Jam is a freestyle event incorporating music ranging from

Motown to rock to worldbeat.

''The city has been sponsoring dances for many years,'' Corby says. ''It's

a very well-established program. Most of them are dances for seniors, but

we've been doing the ballroom dances for a couple years now and the Dance Jams

for a few months. We also do teen dances for junior high kids twice a year and

those draw about 200 or more kids each time.''

Stepping out with others

Even if you already have a dance partner, going to a dance can provide both

of you with the experience of dancing with others and learning new steps.

''We encourage new dancers to bring a partner and then split up and dance

with others,'' says Emily Flouton, 42, of Petaluma. She's a member of the

North Bay Country Dance Society, which sponsors ''old-time barn dances''

monthly in Sonoma, Petaluma and Santa Rosa.

''This isn't country western danc ing,'' Flouton says. ''It's contra

dancing, square dancing, country folk dancing, waltz. And, we don't really

dance in a barn. We use the term 'barn dance' because that evokes the old-time

feel of the kinds of events we have. These are the kinds of dances people

would do in the old days at a town hall or after a barn raising.''

The group's monthly barn dances draw some 40 to 70 people, Flouton says,

''and sometimes we get 100 or more.''

One of the big attractions to the barn dances, she says, is the live music,

''a fiddle band of various constellations, usually a violin with piano and

guitar, sometimes additional string instruments such as mandolin or string

base or banjo.''

Lessons offered by organizations such as Redwood Empire Swing Dance Club

are free. That may explain why adult classes at some local dance studios are

experiencing a decline in students.

Emily Ross, 45, of John and Emily Ross Dance Studio, says current

enrollment in classes at her studio is about 300, compared to a high of 350.

The average age, she said, is 45.

''We've seen a decline in adult students too'' says Shirley Nordquist, 57,

of Nordquist Dance Studio. ''But there's an increase in the numbers of

students in our junior classes for kids between 12 and 18 years of age. We

have about 270 junior students right now.''

Many of those teens are the children of the thousands of Nordquist alumnae

who participated in classes during the 35 years the program has been offered,

she says.

A touch of romance

There are many reasons people want to learn how to dance, but one big

reason is ''to add romance to their lives,'' says Ross. ''Dancing is something

they can do with a partner. There aren't many things you can do this close

together. Even when you go to dinner together, you sit separately. In dancing,

you hold each other. It's intimate.''

Everyone notices and envies a good dancer. Ever since the waltz was born in

the 18th century -bringing partners face-to-face, wrapped in each other's arms

-knowing how to dance has been a sign of good breeding. Nobody wants to look

awkward on the dance floor.

The good news is, if you can walk, you can dance. That's what local

instructors say, anyway.

''Once men find out how easy it is, they sign up for more and more

lessons,'' says Ross. ''They say, 'Oh, my God! It's easy and it's fun!' They

learn pretty quick that, if a man can dance, he can have a lot of dates. I

just got finished training a man who is going on a cruise and he's getting the

trip for free be cause he'll be dancing with the women on the ship. A man

who's a good dancer can get a lot of cruises for free.''

Another reason for the popularity of dancing is the wardrobe that tends to

develop around this activity.

Styling on the dance floor

''I have my dance wardrobe and my real life wardrobe,'' says Huey. ''My

dance wardrobe has lots of sequins, black lace, glitter. It's very sexy. Swing

dancing is very sensual. It's an expression between two people. Once you start

to feel the music and begin to express yourselves through the music, it's

amazing. And the clothes are part of that expression. I feel like I have a

second life.''

Not all dances involve a costume, however. Wear what you wish, but be sure

to wear comfortable shoes with leather soles.