On Tuesdays and Thursdays you'll find them in Sunnyvale. The first Wednesday of the month, Cupertino is the place to look. The second and fourth Wednesdays, check out Sunnyvale. Saturday try Palo Alto. Fridays and Saturdays it might be Campbell.

"I can go out dancing seven nights a week, there's plenty to go around," says Steven Beasley, a Los Gatos resident who started dancing while in high school in Bethesda, Md.

"I joined the Navy after high school and in the Korean War, I had the Arthur Murray guide book with the footsteps and I practiced them on board ship and at the USO dances," he says.

Beasley hasn't stopped dancing since. While attending the University of Maryland he started taking classes. He used to compete professionally, and to this day he spends a week each summer at Brigham Young University at an intensive ballroom-dancing workshop.

Louise Harris doesn't go dancing every night of the week, but she shares Beasley's enthusiasm.

"I love it, it's a good form of exercise," says Harris, who lives in downtown San Jose and usually dances at one of the two weekly dances at the Santa Clara Senior Center.

Claire Northon of Los Gatos agrees with Harris.

"A lot of us are single. A lot of us live alone. We need the camaraderie. We need the exercise," Northon says. "I'd rather go down and dance for an hour or two than go to the gym and work out. It's the coming together of people; they're friendly and you get exercise on top of it all."

While ballroom dancing may conjure up visions of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers or the competitions hosted by the late Juliet Prowse on PBS, ballroom dancing in Silicon Valley isn't as strict or formalized as those. In fact, many fans prefer to call it social dancing.

"Competitive dancing is strictly limited to certain forms, but at a social dance they play a little bit of everything," says Beasley. The mix usually includes waltz, fox trot, tango, East Coast swing, West Coast swing and sometimes a rumba.

"Ballroom dancing is touch dancing, not rock & roll where you shake yourself apart," says Beasley.

The most regular ballroom dancing site is at the Santa Clara Senior Center, where dances are held every Tuesday and Thursday evening. The evenings start with a dance lesson from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and then dancing continues until 10:30 p.m. with $4 admission. There's usually a minimum of 80 people attending and often as many as 200.

The Sunnyvale Senior Center hosts dances on the second and fourth Wednesdays from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. with a live band. Admission is usually $5 for those with a membership in the center and $8 for nonmembers.

Cupertino Senior Center hosts dances on the first Wednesday of each month from 6 to 9 p.m. at $3 for center members and $5 for nonmembers.

Many of the evenings begin with a one-hour dance lesson, followed by general dancing. Some have a live band, others use disc jockeys. All offer refreshments such as cookies, coffee and punch, but no alcohol is served.

The Sunnyvale Center dances have earned a reputation as more of a couples event than a singles one, although regulars are quick to point out that three marriages have resulted from singles meeting there.

"We've been known as a couples venue, and I want to encourage more singles to start coming," says Nancy Hextell, who coordinates the events for the Sunnyvale Center.

Santa Clara has a reputation for having more singles, which isn't surprising since it evolved from a group called the Single Ballroom Dancers.

Northon remembers when they lost their regular dance site with the closing of the What's It Club in the mid-1980s, they approached the Santa Clara Senior Center. They were welcomed, but were told they couldn't continue as a club and be part of the recreation program.

Northon and other members helped set up the program and donated the glass ball that still twirls above the dancers.

The majority of those attending the regular dances are in their 60s and 70s and take umbrage at ageist labels.

"Some young kids came to a dance and kept talking to us about being 'elderly,'" recalls Northon. "I told them not to use that term. A lot of people here you couldn't guess their age. Some are 80 years old and still dancing up a storm, and that isn't 'elderly.' "

The singles aspect of the regular dance venues has both plus and minus points.

The ratio of women to men is often three to one, which results in many women not dancing as often or as much as they might like.

Harris laughs as she says, "If I don't get enough dancing, I'll go home and do the treadmill."

The plus side is that women feel comfortable attending the dances, even if they are alone.

"The first time I went, I was terrified out of my mind," recalls Harris. "It had been years since I'd danced and I was sure no one would ask me or they'd tell me to go take lessons. But they did ask.

"There are a lot more women than men in my age group, so it's pretty bad sometimes. Then we women talk to each other and have a nice social night out."

The social aspect is what attracted Mary Done of Sunnyvale to start attending the dances a year ago.

"It was severe loneliness," Done says. "I was a widow and I just wanted to go out and be with people. I knew dancing would be uplifting. It's a clean, well-lighted place and I found it very warm and hospitable. For older, single ladies, it's a good place to go. It's not like a bar."

Done now dances at least two times a week with Hank Buckley of San Jose, and one week this month they had four nights of dancing scheduled.

"It's good exercise and you meet a lot of nice people," says Buckley. "It helps you stay in shape."

Dorreen Gwinner of Cupertino and Mary Hidalgo of Sunnyvale both volunteer two nights a month at the Sunnyvale Senior Center taking money at the door. On other nights, they go dancing.

"When my husband died, I felt safe going to the dances," says Gwinner. "I didn't have to have a partner. I didn't have to go with someone."

While everyone interviewed for this article emphasized how comfortable they felt attending dances without a partner, they did say the one night of the year they wouldn't go single to a dance is New Year's Eve.

"No one goes stag," says Northon.

Any other night of the year, though, and they're more than willing to put on their dancing shoes and hit the floors throughout Silicon Valley.

There's something about New Year's Eve that conjures up visions of big-band orchestras and couples twirling and gliding with ease across a dance floor. Here's a list of some of the New Year's offerings locally.

Starlite Ballroom, 1160 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Sunnyvale, 408.745.7827. A waltz lesson begins at 8 p.m., with dance party with DJ from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Hors d'oeuvres, favors, sparkling-cider toast at midnight. Dress is semiformal or formal, singles and couples. Tickets are $18 in advance, $20 at the door, space allowing.

Sunnyvale Sheraton Hotel, 1100 N. Mathilda Ave., Sunnyvale, 408.745.6000. Darrin Nesshim Trio plays from 8 p.m. to midnight. Five-course dinner, favors, champagne toast at midnight. Tickets are $99 and advance reservations are suggested.

Sunnyvale Elks Lodge is hosting New Year's Eve a party. For specifics, call 408.736.2763.

Regular dance spots

If one of your New Year's resolutions is to get out more, ballroom dancing is one avenue open to everyone.

The following is a list of some of the places offering formal and informal instruction as well as regular dances.

Cupertino

Arthur Murray Dance Studio offers classes and dances. Call 408.873.0369.

Cupertino Parks and Recreation offers classes. Call 408.777.3120.

Cupertino Senior Center hosts classes and dances. Call 408.730.3150.

Sunnyvale

Starlite Ballroom offers classes and dances. Call 408.745.7827.

Sunnyvale Community Center offers classes and dances. Call 408.730.7758.

Sunnyvale Senior Center hosts regular dances. Call 408.730.7360.