Get up and dance!

LACONIA —When the winter arrives, it might be tempting to cuddle up on the couch and wait for spring thaw. That's an unhealthy practice, though, for both physical and mental well-being. Instead, consider a solution known to humans for thousands of years: get out and go dancing.

Kathy Holiday, owner of the Top of the Town restaurant in Belmont has known this for a long time. She and her husband, Joe, started a Friday and Saturday night dance night 28 years ago. Until he passed away three years ago, Joe provided the music, and couples came for dinner and dancing. Kathy now hires musicians to keep the tradition going.

"It's very popular," said Holiday. Dancers range in age from their 40s to their 80s, and most come wearing dancing shoes and flashy clothing. Holiday said the dance nights evoke the feeling of "Supper Clubs" from days gone by, when dinner and dancing was a normal Saturday night activity.

"Everybody knows everybody up here. It's just a fun place to be," she said. "You get some beautiful people in dance outfits. We have people who don't even dance, they just come to watch the beautiful dancing."

Dick Mitchell, at Pitman's Freight Room, has also found a hit with dancing. Once a month, he books the Tall Granite Jazz Band to come and play classics of the Big Band era. An instructor provides lessons before the music starts, and then dancers can try out their new steps. He said the dance nights have attracted a dedicated following.

"It's pretty cool," he said. "It's something different than just hanging out at the bar."

For those without a partner, line dancing is another option, which is done in a group but as an individual. Line dances are repeated patterns of moves, often choreographed to specific songs. If you've danced the Macarena, the Cupid Shuffle or The Electric Slide, you've done a line dance.

George Maloof, a Plymouth resident, tried for a few years to get a line dancing class up and running in his home town, but couldn't cultivate enough interest. Then he moved to the Laconia Senior Center, and found that many here shared his love of line dancing.

Maloof was introduced to line dancing while on a cruise after he had retired. He had experience with ballroom dancing, and saw in line dancing something more casual and fun.

"It gets you moving, it's low-impact cardio, a little challenging," he said. "It's a good form of exercise, plus, it's fun, too."

Many people associate line dancing with country and western music, said Maloof, and while some line dance to that type of music, dances are done to almost every other type of music, including Latin, pop, hip hop and waltzes.

He has up to 30 people in the class in Laconia, most in the 40 to 60 age range. In Maloof's view, line dancing's popularity is thanks to how approachable it is – there's not as much emphasis on posture and precision, as in ballroom dancing – and because individuals can come to a line dance without a partner.

"That's a big draw," he said. "Women like to dance. Most of their husbands don't dance."

Maloof's class at the Laconia Senior Center takes a hiatus for the winter. During that break, he'll teach a class on line dancing through Laconia Adult Education. That class will be held on Thursday nights, beginning Jan. 29.

Not ready to sign up for a long-term class? Bonnie Deutch leads a class on Wednesday mornings at the Gilford Public Library from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Each class starts with beginner-level steps, then more complicated skills are added.

Those who get hooked on line dancing commit themselves to learning more advanced patterns in the dances. Irene Harris leads an advanced line dance class at The Pines Community Center in Northfield on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m.

Marjorie Shor, a resident of Dalton, is a line dancing believer. She was first introduced to line dancing when she was living in Virginia, and wasn't ready to give up her new favorite activity after moving to the North Country, despite a lack of nearby places to go dancing. Shor travels from Dalton to Laconia to attend Maloof's dancing classes.

"I like being able to dance by myself, without a partner," Shor said. It's also a fun way to socialize and get exercise, she noted. "It helps your memory, too, because you have to remember the dances."

Meanwhile, the northern and eastern side of the Lakes Region is contra dancing territory. There's a contra dance series offered at the Tamworth Town House during the summer and on New Year's Eve at the Tamworth Town Hall. Starting in January, the Wolfeboro Town Hall will host a winter series.

Eric Rollnick will be calling the contra dance in Wolfeboro on Jan. 23. He's been calling dances since 1980, when well-known musician Dudley Laufman encouraged him to give it a chance. "He was kind of my mentor," said Rollnick.

Interest in contra dancing "waxes and wanes," said Rollnick. In the 1970s, hundreds of people would come to local contra dances, he said. They don't see that kind of crowd now, but there's still a dedicated following.

"It's just great fun. I've never met someone who's gone to a contra dance and didn't enjoy it," he said.

Unlike line dancing, contra dancers dance with partners. The dancers line up in parallel lines, with each dancer facing his or her partner. Dancers will dance with their partner as well as those around them. Contra dances tend to be accompanied by live music, which Rollnick said is its own draw.

Like line dancing, contra dancing is welcoming to newcomers, said Rollnick. He starts each evening with simple dances, and said that beginners are often taken under the wing of more experienced dancers. He encouraged anyone curious to give contra dancing a shot. "Go out and try it... It's just a great group of people, a lot of fun."

It's sure to be better than another night on the couch.