Jessica Rodriguez is a regular at these dances. She's been a resident of the Greater Gardner area since the late '50s and has been showing off her dance moves since the first holiday event 30 years ago.

"I know everyone and everyone knows me," Rodriguez says.

It's what she likes most about attending these social gatherings.

She touts the dances as good exercise, dancing the night away with her friends.

On the other side of Rodriguez's table, Consuelo Briseño nods her head to the music the band is playing.

"My friends and I love to dance and be part of the community," says Briseño, who also attends other community center dances in San Jose.

Briseño isn't the only one enjoying the night.

Richard and Mary Legule swirled around the dance floor, hips sashaying back and forth, smiling through the occasional dip.

"We have been going to these dances for a few years now," Mary Legule says. "We don't get out much and dancing helps with the blood circulation."

The couple, like others at this dance, are in their 70s. They found out about the event by word of mouth. Legule says that two things in particular attracted them: "They have very good food and we get to meet up with our old friends and dance," she says.

This socializing is very important to the seniors, says Valerie Moore, who lives in the Greater Gardner neighborhood.

Moore volunteers at the community center in the afternoons and comes to all the dances.

"I love dancing with the seniors," she says. "Some of our seniors don't have spouses or partners so I make sure they do by dancing with them."

In addition to the health benefits, Moore says, "It changes their state of mind so they don't feel lonely or left out. The smiles on their faces and the joy in their eyes makes the event worth while."

After a night of nonstop dancing, most of these seniors go home and sleep like babies, she adds.

Maria Rosales, who cooked the enchiladas for the December dance, has been a volunteer at the community center for 18 years. The dinner was part of the $7 admission.

"These are very good people," Rosales says. "I like serving them because one day, I too will become old and hope others will take care of me."

At these events, physical ailments and depression are often temporarily alleviated, she notes.

"It makes them forget for a moment and enjoy the night," she says.

Along with the dance and dinner, there was also a raffle with prizes.

The prizes included gift baskets, picture frames and candles. All the prizes were donated, while funds for the dances are raised through the Gardner Senior Committee.

On this night, although there was a good turnout--between 80 and 100 people-- it was less than what senior program site manager Sylvia Torres had expected. Torres, who coordinates the event, says usually 120 to140 people show up. For this event, cold weather might be to blame.

But the smaller crowd didn't dampen the mood of Torres or her volunteers.

"These senior dances are important because it is a special event for them," Torres says. "They love being waited on. The food and music is affordable and it's something nice to do. They get to interact with others their own age.

Providing these dances also has another meaning for Rudy Martinez, president of the Gardner Neighborhood Advisory Council.

"We learn strength and respect from these seniors and by having these dances we are supporting their community," Martinez says. "They're the foundation. They're aunts, uncles and cousins. They're a family and we bring them together."

These dances are something the seniors can look forward to, he says.

"Socializing like this is where they meet others," Martinez says. "If not for events like this, they would be home watching TV. This brings them out."

Gilbert Guevara and Hope Ruiz are dance floor sweethearts.

"We love it here because everyone is so nice," she says. "The young kids who volunteer are courteous and treat us like queens and kings."

Guevara and Ruiz met six years ago after Guevara's divorce.

"We were neighbors and she sold Christmas cards," he says. "So I got the courage to ask her out and got her number."

They have been dancing together ever since.

Both Ruiz and Guevara say, "These dances are good for the body and good for the soul."

The next event is a Valentine's Day dance in February at the Gardner Community Center, 520 W. Virginia St. For more information, call 408.277.4761.