Senior Center Sock Hop

Every May is Older Americans Month, and the City of Reno marks it with a sock hop for seniors at the Washoe County Senior Center. Izabella Baumann, the Senior Engagement Coordinator in the City Manager’s Office, booked me to DJ it.

It was a two hour dance in the middle of the afternoon, and plenty of the guests came dressed for it: poodle skirts, neck scarves, saddle shoes and pearl headbands. The tables filled the back of the hall and the floor in front of my decks stayed open for dancing.

I kept the music in the fifties and early sixties: Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and His Comets, At the Hop by Danny and the Juniors, Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry, Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley, Tutti Frutti by Little Richard, Runaround Sue by Dion and The Twist by Chubby Checker.

Then came the line dances. Electric Boogie by Marcia Griffiths brought out the Electric Slide, Cha Cha Slide by DJ Casper and Macarena by Los Del Rio kept the floor full, and Conga by Gloria Estefan got everyone moving. At one point a conga line wound right across the hall.

In between, the couples got their slow dances, Unforgettable by Nat King Cole and The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra, and then it was back to Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis. Last Dance by Donna Summer closed out the afternoon.

Izabella wrote me the Monday after: “It was a great time and a great way to end the month! Everything was great and great music. Everyone was happy and enjoyed themselves! I loved watching everyone dance and let loose.”