Group facing the last dance as ageing members fade

Alex de Vos
An ageing membership could force one of Geelong oldest social dance groups to close its doors.
Geelong Old-Time Dance Group will celebrate its 40th anniversary next week but club secretary Margaret Morse feared it could be the group’s last milestone.
Ms Morse said the club boasted 160 members in its heyday during the early 1980s.
“We used to get people from all over the region come to dance and once held a great big ball at Bell Post Hill that attracted more than 400 people,” Ms Morse said.
But members had dwindled to 30 over the years, she said.
“When I first started dancing with the club 26 years ago we had so many members but, as everyone gets older, people die and we don’t get many new members.”
Ms Morse said the dance club met three times a week during the ‘80s and ‘90s but declining attendance had forced organisers to cut the program to once a fortnight.
“Our old style of dance just isn’t very popular any more – a lot of young people are learning different styles now,” she said.
“We’ve had some wonderful years of dancing and I have so many great memories.”
Ms Morse vowed to keep dancing as long as she could despite the fate of the club.
“While my legs are still going, I’ll keep dancing,” she said, “but I just don’t know how much longer the group will keep going.”
Geelong Old-Time Dance Group celebrates its 40th year of ballroom dancing on May 23.