Burn up the dance floor - and calories

 

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Members of the Happy Twirlers Square Dance Club are seen here helping to raise money for the fight against diabetes.

When Bob Cibulka and his friends take the floor, they'll be dancing to the tune of Minutes in Motion.

Bob is vice president and a spokesman for the Happy Twirlers Square Dance Club, which meets every Wednesday night at La Crosse's Concordia Ballroom.

Many Twirlers will again this year log their dance time with Minutes in Motion. Dancing from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. each week really adds up fast, Bob says. In a past Minutes in Motion, Happy Twirlers recorded 12,600 minutes of dancing activity.

"Square dancing is fairly active," says Bob, noting that a square dancer's steps can add up to 5 miles in a single night. "It's very good... not just physically, but for the mental stimulus as well. It's good cardiovascular exercise, is not hard on the joints and not as strenuous as something like jogging."

Happy Twirlers dance to music ranging from folk music to today's pop hits. It is fun and is great exercise for people of all ages, says Bob.