About 10,000 people go ballroom dancing throughout the country every week. Brian O'Connell catches up with a vibrant group on the dance floor in Ennis, Co Clare

'I suppose when you think about it, this is the one place where you can get up close and personal with another man's wife legitimately," says Nita Enright.

For 21 years she has helped run Dancing for Pleasure every Sunday night at various venues throughout Co Clare. Entering the main ballroom of the Clare Inn Hotel, she greets everyone by first name, inquiring about the "eldest at college" or the "youngest still at home".

Totting up the growing pile of €5 notes taken on the door, she says she couldn't imagine not dancing on a Sunday night. In the early days her husband took some convincing, but now it's one of the highlights of their week.

"At the start my husband, a local farmer, would say to me, 'do we have to go in there again next Sunday night?' But we kept it going that first summer, and guess who's first into the bathroom now every Sunday night? The farmer! He loves it!"

Within minutes of the band starting, 150 bodies are moving effortlessly from slow waltzes to tangos on the dance floor.

"Dancing For Pleasure" began when three sisters - Enya Brennan, Colette Dinan and Sheila Abraham - found a void in their social calendars and time on their hands. All three shared a passion for the dancing of the 1950s and 1960s and found themselves travelling long distances to find a decent dance once the showband era took over.

"We were all married at 20 or 21," says Sheila, "and by the time our families were reared we were still relatively young. We all danced, in fact I remember going to dances, such as Clipper Carlton and Brendan Bowyer, and the priest in our area denouncing from the pulpit the admission charge of 10 shillings. 'Anyone willing to pay that much money for a dance should be shot,' were his words.

"We've come a long way since then thankfully. The first summer was the hardest, we started off with nine couples, and thanks to a benevolent hotel manager we gradually built it up. Now we have a core group of about 150 each week and it's growing all the time."

The group has, in their own words, "matured" together, attending each other's weddings, grandchildren's christenings and, sadly, funerals.

IN RECENT YEARS, Ireland has witnessed a huge upsurge in ballroom dancing, with upwards of 10,000 people now dancing socially every week. Thomas Redmond, general secretary of the Irish Danceboard Federation, the group responsible for amateur dancing in Ireland, helps explain the rise.

"I don't think dancing has been this big in years. Much of it is down to the Strictly Come Dancing series on BBC. The amount of e-mails I receive from people looking for information has increased about 20-fold since the programme began, which is extraordinary."

Currently in its third series, Strictly Come Dancing has undoubtedly played a leading role in making ballroom dancing hip again. The series was watched by an average of eight million people in the UK last year, with 11 million tuning into the grand final, while the American version - Dancing with the Stars - debuted as the highest show on the ABC network.

An already tried and tested product, the show's predecessor, Come Dancing, ran on the BBC for more than 50 years before being axed in 1995. Watched as much for outrageously over-the-top costumes as the fancy footsteps, the show, created by Eric Morley, was hosted by a string of BBC stars, including Terry Wogan and Michael Aspel.

"In the past our biggest problem was getting single guys to take part," says Redmond, "but since the show, guys no longer feel intimidated in coming along. The show has encouraged males in the 18-30 years category to get involved. Normally this group would have gone to the bar while their wives danced. Slowly we began noticing people arriving in their work boots or what-have-you and plodding onto the dance floor. By the following week they had a little more conviction, and neat new shoes, and next thing you know they are hooked.

"Next June, we are holding the World Junior Dancing Championships in Ireland for the first time. There will be more than 50 countries represented, and I think it's recognition of the work done here by the Dance Federation over the past 70 years and the appetite among the public for the sport."

Back in Ennis, Colin and Winifred Smith, both in their 80s, sweep past and onto the floor. At 86 years old, Colin Smith has no intention of giving up his main passion in life. A former valet to King George VI, he says the only thing that will stop him dancing is his health, and recalls an era when dancing was as much a part of growing up as short pants and sherbet.

"I first took it seriously when I was about 10 years old, my mother and eldest brother were ballroom dancers, and I used to have to go to dancing class in the village, which I hated. All the boys were on one side and the girls on the other and the teacher would pick two of you out and you'd be dancing away there treading on each other's feet. But eventually you got better and progressed."

Having danced both socially and competitively right throughout his life, Colin concedes that given his age, the slow waltz is a current favourite.

"There aren't many nicer dances than a slow waltz done properly. I'm not so much into old-time waltzes. We don't do old-time waltzes - we call them the farmer's tango. We won the southwest of Ireland ballroom championship about 15 years ago and a month later we won the Munster championship, so dancing has given us some great memories. When we used to dance competitively we would train about four times a week, and on the morning after a competition, my children used to get up real early in the morning and race each other downstairs to see how many trophies were on the kitchen table, and believe it or not they weren't disappointed once."

Working for many years with the British royal family, Colin can attest to their dancing credentials. "While I was assistant valet to the king - George VI - they had a big staff ball every year where you were allowed to bring one person. There was a beautiful big ballroom in the palace and I danced with both the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret. The Queen Mother was a beautiful waltzer. Although she was quite a heavy lady she was marvellous on the floor and as light as anything to dance with. Princess Margaret was quite a nice dancer also, although nothing special."

WHILE EXPERTS BELIEVE that only one in 1,500 of us have no rhythm, Colin's wife Winifred says that it's never too late to learn how to dance properly.

"If you have any rhythm at all - and most people have rhythm - then you can dance," she says. "If you want to do the ballroom style of dancing then persevere, take lessons and practise. There are so many varieties, such as the slow waltz, slow foxtrot, quick-step, tango, rumba, old-time waltz and the wonderful Viennese waltz, which I love."

While top ballroom dancers can expect to earn upwards of €100,000 per year from performance, for most professionals the main source of income lies in dance instruction.

Instructors Eileen and Frank Byrne have been attending Dancing for Pleasure for almost 15 years. They have won two national championships and represented Ireland at international level at the Royal Albert Hall in 1963.

"You'll need training [ to do ballroom dancing properly], because as a great professional said to me once, dancing is about covering up your mistakes, and the reason he said he was so good was that he covered up his mistakes better than anyone else - it takes time to learn that," says Frank.

The pair have never been busier, with an even mix between "soon-to-be-weds" and aspiring professionals attending their classes in Limerick. "Mostly the people we get are young couples about to get married and dreading having to lead the floor. We get them to a stage of competence where they have confidence and can dance to anything that's played. Our only advice to couples isto practise and keep it going, and try to stay fit. The more social dancing you do the better you get. The main thing is to get out there and enjoy yourself."

Care to dance?

Dance instruction:

Flora Miller Dance Centre, Dublin, www.floramiller.com (01-2888455)

Fiona Hutton Academy of Dance, Carlow (087-2727315)

Pat and Alice Nolan, Midleton (021-4361285)

George Devlin, Wicklow (01-2868101)

Ann Gibson, Dance Masters Ireland, Tralee (066-7123527)

Sylvia Considine, UL Dance Club, Limerick (061-327231)

Weekly dances:

Rathkeale House Hotel, Co Limerick, Sun 9pm (069-63333) Times Hotel, Tipperary, Wed and Sun 9.45pm (062-31111)

Ballyglass House Hotel, Tipperary, Sun 9.30pm (062-52104)

Shamrock Lounge, Kilross, Tipperary, Sat 10.30pm and Sun 9.30pm (062-55187)

Templemore Arms Hotel, Mon 9.30pm (0504-31423)

The Hazel Tree, Mallow, Co Cork, Wed 9.30pm, Fri 10.30pm Sat 9.30pm, and Sun meal and dancing 4pm (022-24301)

Roundhill Bar, Co Tipperary, Sat 10.15pm and Sun 9.45pm, 061-379138

Greenwood Inn, Ardpatrick, Co Limerick, Sat 9.30pm, (063-91261)

Bellsfort Inn, near Shannon, Sat and Sun (061-368163)

Railway Bar, Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick, Wed, Sat and Sun, all 10pm (068-31176)

Ballygarry House Hotel, Tralee, Sun and first Tues in month, 9.30pm (066-7123322)

Castle Arms Hotel, Durrow, Wed 9pm and Sun 3pm and 8pm (0502-36117)

Spa Hotel Lucan, Thurs classes 8pm (01-6280494)

Regency Hotel, Dublin, Sun, 8.30pm (01-8373544)