Day Three: Dancing, Elvis and a look toward next year

Ballroom dancing as a workout? You bet. You can break out in a real sweat doing the cha-cha. More than 200 AARP members gathered for an early morning workout with ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" regulars Jonathan Roberts and Anna Trebunskaya. The husband-and-wife team taught their eager dance wannabes the basics of the fast-pace jive, the elegant waltz and the hip-swiveling cha-cha in an hourlong session at Vegas@50+.
"Side, rock, step, cha cha cha," Jonathan instructed as music from Santana blared over the loudspeakers and we all moved to the beat.  "Work those hips!" Anna delighted the crowd as she showed off some sexy moves -- running her hands over her red hair and winking as she demonstrated the New Yorker step of the cha cha.

Participants paired up with each other and tried not to step on each other's toes. The jive was a real challenge; lots of kicking and shimmying. "If you're used to doing ballroom dancing at 7 in the morning, keep going!" Jonathan said with a grin as The Contours' "Do You Love Me?" blasted over the speakers. "I absolutely loved it!" said Shirley Napper of New York City. "It was actually dance movements," which she said she preferred over regular aerobics or strength training. Jan Dittman of Sacramento, Calif., was just as enthusiastic and sees a change coming in her fitness routine: "I'm going to switch from boot camp to dancing. But don't tell my instructor."

Al Roker's Stunning Confession

Today Show personality Al Roker started his speech to 5,000 AARP members with a brave confession: "I'm not a member of AARP." A collective "Ohhhh" rose from the disapproving audience. "It [turning 50] just snuck up on me," he explained sheepishly.
From that point on, the forgiving audience cut Roker a break as he spoke of the power of family. Growing up, he noted, we all keep saying that we don't want to be like our parents. "But now I am my parents," he joked, recalling a childhood memory about a family trip with his six siblings. His father would warn the kids, who were fighting in the back of the Ford station wagon, "don't make me stop this car." Roker asked the laughing audience how many times they heard the same thing growing up.
"The great thing about family is that they believe in you," Roker said. "And mothers are the most optimistic persons on the face of planet." Roker said that until his much publicized gastric bypass surgery, his mother believed his 340 pounds was baby fat.
While the structure and definition of "family" may be more elastic than it was when Roker was growing up, the essence of family is still the same: "They're the ones that nurture and care for you."

An Elvis Sighting

The King is alive and well, and AARP’s Elvis (aka Howard Byck, Senior Vice President for AARP Services) made an appearance on the expo floor, swiveling his hips in a white jumpsuit. Adoring fans clamored to take photos with the original American idol; in return they got a "thank you, thank you very much" and a pair of gold-colored sunglasses suited for The King.

Orlando 2010

This year's event-goers got a sneak peek of what's in store for next year’s member event: Orlando@50+, with the announcement that music legends Gladys Knight and B.B. King will headline one of the event’s concerts. Speakers already confirmed include Steadman Graham, Lee Woodruff and Cesar Millan (aka "The Dog Whisperer"). Some 1,265 people are already registered for Orlando@50+, and 2,100 concert tickets have been sold.

Leaving Las Vegas

Over three days, Vegas@50+ drew 24,115 attendees who picked the exhibit floor clean of literature, pins and tchtochkes. As Saturday drew to a close, several hardy souls waited in line to spin the wheel at one vendor’s booth for a chance to win a deck of cards or a hand sanitizer, while all around them trash was being hauled out and exhibit booths broken down.

"It's intriguing to have a great team work for a full year and to see the results of that work come alive for three magical days," AARP Vice President for Events CB Wismar said. "It's even more intriguing to see the members spend those three incredible days together and have their departing words be, 'I can't wait until next year!'"