Experience Joy and Fitness: Klubb 65 Autumn Dance Nights for Seniors in Hägerstensåsen

There is nothing wrong with the joy of movement when Göran Krantz and Lena Argén take over the dance floor in the Hägerstensåsen citizens’ house. They go around the hall song after song, just a little out of breath. He is 87 years old, she is 66 and they are both dancing foxes.

– Dancing is just so much fun! And it provides good exercise. We dance a lot and go where there is dancing, like at the Årstaliden or the Tuben in Farsta, says Lena Argén, who once won awards in Latin American dance.

– It was a long time ago, when I was young. But I have continued to dance, she says.

Huddinge resident Lena Argén and Hagsätra resident Göran Krantz let loose on the dance floor. “Dancing keeps me young,” says Göran.

Angie Gray

Want to see more visitors

Now the two have come to the autumn premiere of Klubb 65, a dance club for pensioners that started for the second autumn in a row. The organizer is PRO Solberga-Brännkyrka, chaired by Christer Bertling.

He greets everyone warmly, but he is not completely satisfied when he looks out over the dance floor. There are too few people here, he thinks.

– Last autumn, at least 50 people came here at one time. We hope there will be just as many this autumn. There are 17,000 pensioners in Hägersten-Älvsjö so it should be possible, says Christer Bertling when he took the microphone for a welcome speech.

Hägerstensåsen citizen’s house, when the autumn dance evening for the elderly begins, with a dance band on site. Pictured: Christer Bertling with the band Stickanz in the background.

Angie Gray

Lack of men

In any case, there is nothing wrong with the desire to dance in those who are here. When the Stickanz orchestra starts playing again, all the old legs are sped up. Because there is a lack of men, Anita Melin Olsson and Anita Johansson move around each other for a while.

Anita Melin Olsson, 74, likes to go dancing.

– You wear something nice, meet nice people and make new acquaintances over coffee, both with women and gentlemen. And it’s important to move! Before that, I danced both old dance and insects, but after hip surgery, I stick to the fox, she says.

Årstab resident Anita Melin Olsson and Häggvik resident Anita Johansson dance around the dance floor.

Angie Gray

Anita Melin Olsson lives in Årsta. Others come from further afield. Kenneth Lindström, 72, has traveled here from Södertälje. He started dancing when he was 60 and was bitten.

– I dance when there is an opportunity. The funniest thing is the beautiful women. You can’t keep them at a pizzeria or in the press office, he says with a twinkle in his eye.

Södertälje resident Kenneth Lindström invited Midsommarkransen resident Paula to dance.

Angie Gray

Mats Söderblom and Anita Johansson love couple dancing. They previously ran a dance club at the Tellus leisure center in Södermalm. Now Mats has booked the bands for Klubb 65 in the autumn. Kenneth Lindström and Paula dance in the background.

Angie Gray

Many of them are lonely

PRO chairman Christer Bertling took the initiative to Klubb 65 to activate pensioners. Many older people suffer from loneliness and little movement. He wants them to find themselves here and feel together on the dance floor and during coffee.

– Hägersten-Älvsjö is one of the largest neighborhoods in Stockholm. But there was no dance for old people here before. Now there is Klubb 65 and I hope it can be permanent. The district administration will give us some support and that is necessary, he says.

A couple without dancing

Klubb 65 is a great initiative, think of Fruängen residents Christina Hargell and Marcos Pereira de Moraes, who are almost tireless on the dance floor.

– It’s fun to move around and dress up nicely. You will be so happy! he says.

There were three dance nights in the autumn

Now: Club 65 in Hägerstensåsen civic center. Dance for pensioners.

Organizer: PRO Solberga-Brännkyrka in cooperation with Hägerstensåsen civic center and ABF Stockholm.

Entry fee: SEK 100. No membership required.

Dates left this fall:

10 October at 13.00–16.00: Dance to the Wahlén & Segeblad orchestra.

14 November at 13.00–16.00: Dance to the orchestra of Lars Eriksson.

12 December at 13.00–16.00: Dance to the orchestra of Sverre Carlsson.

More dances for the elderly: Line dancing in the Hägerstensåsen civic center on Mondays from 10 am to 12 noon. SEK 50 per season. Registration: fingal48@gmail.com

Source: PRO Solberga-Brännkyrka

It’s fun to move around and dress well.