There's music in the air at the Old Schoolhouse in Colvin Run twice a month, as the glittery mirrored ball spins to the tune of waltzes, big band music and the occasional polka.
More than a dozen couples made the rounds Saturday night, during one of the Colvin Run Citizens Association's bi-monthly dances, dressed in festive holiday garb and enjoying the music many danced to while dating their spouses.
"Every time we're in town, we're at these dances," said Jean Rosenbluth, who jitterbugged across the floor with her husband, Bill.
"There aren't many places where you can go with a live band for $12 to dance," she said. "We've been coming to these dances since 1986, and there are people who've been coming here much longer than that."
Walter Harrison, president of the Colvin Run Citizens Association, said the dances have been going on in what used to be a one-room schoolhouse on Colvin Run Road since the 1930s.
"Back in the late 1920s, the Fairfax County School Board stopped using the building as a school, so a group of farmers bought it and fixed it up. They built a ballroom onto the back of the building and held dances to pay for the maintenance," he said.
The CRCA now operates out of the schoolhouse as a tax-exempt organization, providing it makes two charitable donations a month.
"The money for our donations come from the dances, and the membership dues (to the Association) pay for the maintenance of the building," he said.
Little has changed from the first dances, Harrison said, as the music from the '30s and '40s --"big band music, Tommy Dorsey, Glen Miller"-- is still the preferred soundtrack to the dances.
"They play one or two polkas, cha-chas, rumbas, waltzes," he said.
A dance instructor occasionally holds a brief lesson for an hour prior to the dances, for newcomers to learn some steps and for those with a little more practice to brush up on their technique.
THE DANCES ARE HELD the first and third Saturday of the month from September until June, when they take a break for the summer because the schoolhouse isn't air-conditioned.
"On New Year's Eve we'll have a catered buffet dinner and dancing, and that usually sells out," Harrison said.
"This is one of the few things in my lifetime that hasn't changed much," he said. "My wife and I have been going to dances most of our lives. Some people not from the neighborhood who come to the dances say it's like stepping back in time."
The best things about the dances for the Rosenbluthes are "the music and the dance floor. The other places you can go to hear this music, there's no room to dance," Jean Rosenbluth said.
"We're not professional dancers by any means," she said. "We encourage people who've been taking lessons and learning the steps to come out, and we do get some young people, in their 20s and 30s, that come."
Conrad and Carol Heer have been frequenting the dances for four years to practice their ballroom dancing skills.
"There are dance studios where you can hear this type of music, but this is a nice, cozy place," Carol Heer said.
"I really like the size of the dance floor," Conrad Heer said. "We've been dancing for 17 years, and we still come for the lessons. It's nice," he said.
The floor itself is something out of the ordinary, he said, in that it's considered a floating floor.
"The floor is easier on your ankles. It's suspended on a joint system as opposed to concrete, so you're not landing on a solid, unyielding surface," he said. "When you're sitting at one of the tables and people dance by you, you can feel the floor moving."
The New Year's Eve party is a time when "everyone comes together," Carol Heer said. "We see people we haven't seen all year. Everyone's all dressed up and in a festive mood."
At midnight, the dancers go outside to hear the ringing of the old school bell, welcoming in the New Year.
THE ATMOSPHERE AT these dances is a nice change of pace from nightclubs or bars, Conrad Heer said.
"People can bring their own drinks, but you don't have to deal with people getting drunk," he said. "The people here are very responsible, plus there's no smoking like in a bar."
"Plus, in a bar, it's very seldom that you know all the people around you," Carol Heer said.
"This is one of the many families in our life," said Bill Rosenbluth. "There's a great camaraderie here.We chat between dances. It makes you feel like you're a wanted part of society."
Rosenbluth and his wife enjoy dancing to big band songs like "Together" and "Thanks for the Memories," a song made famous by the late Bob Hope during his USO trips in World War II.
"We've been coming here for almost 20 years," he said. "Most of the pictures on these walls, we took and had developed and mounted."
"We all enjoy the dancing," Harrison said. He and his wife used to participate in more of the dances, but recent health issues prevent them for whirling around the floor as much as they'd like.
"I've been coming here so long I don't know any better," he said with a laugh.
Tickets for upcoming dances are available at the door or by calling Jean Rosenbluth at 703-620-0366. Reservations are required for the New Year's Eve celebration.