Dancers in the Bay Area’s vibrant ballroom scene call it a ‘fountain of youth’

Cupertino’s Rick Greene was 19 years old and taking a short vacation after his first voyage with the U.S. Merchant Marines during World War II when he decided to enroll in ballroom dancing lessons. He had enough money left over after buying his first car and wanted to be able to escort young ladies to dances, he said.

So he learned how to dance swing, rumba and waltz. In his free time, he would escort women to glamorous dances that featured the music of big band stars like Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey.