Photos by John Heller, Post-Gazette Karl Bayer and Susan DeLuca enjoy line dancing at the Rhythm House in Bridgeville.

By Gretchen McKay Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In retrospect, we should have guessed that a club with such a hip and trendy name would have been, well, a bit too hip and trendy for a couple of 40-somethings like my husband and me.

		If you go ... On a middle-age dance adventure Dowe's on Ninth, 12 Ninth St., Downtown. Beginner salsa lessons are from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursdays (with $7 cover), and lessons for advanced beginners are 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Mondays ($5 cover). 412-281-9225. Rhythm House Cafe, 3029 Washington Pike, Bridgeville. Line-dancing lessons from 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays with cover charge. 412-221-5010 or www.rhythmhousecafe.com. Saddle Ridge Rock-n-Country Saloon, 4 Station Square Drive East, South Side (in building next to Hooters and Margarita Mamas). Various types offered: line dancing, couples and cowboy cha cha, 7 to 9 p.m. most Fridays and Saturdays. 412-434-8100 or check the Web for schedule: www.saddleridge pittsburgh.com/dance Cefalo's Restaurant & Nightclub, 428 Washington Ave., Carnegie, 412-276-6600; www.clubcefalo.com.

That, and the fact that the doors leading to this all-white "ultra lounge" don't swing open until 10 p.m., a time when I'm usually winding down for the night. But it was Friday night and we wanted to go dancing, and a girlfriend had recommended Pure, a new night club in the Strip District.

"It's really cool," she told us, describing its elevated glass dance floor. "And the martinis are fabulous."

We needed the encouragement. A week earlier, we'd tried the dejAVu Lounge, another popular Strip hotspot. But while the bar was bustling when we arrived a little after 9:30 p.m., the only warm body on the dance floor was the deejay. We felt like chaperones, waiting for the middle-school dance to begin.

Pure would be different, we assured each other. Yet the moment we walked in, we knew we wouldn't be hitting the dance floor. The music was not only way too loud, it was way too hip-hoppy for the kind of dancing we had in mind. And the gaggle of pretty men and women who gradually streamed in as I sipped my $8 Cosmopolitan looked so ... young.

I kept scanning the room to make sure my college-age son hadn't somehow snuck in. Where were the, um, more mature dancers my friend promised we'd find?

Based on those two experiences, it's easy to come to this sad conclusion: While there are countless dance clubs in Pittsburgh for those in their 20s and early 30s, it's slim pickin's for those of us boomers or even some Gen-Xers (read: too old for MTV but way too young for the AARP discount at Denny's). But it turns out, we were simply looking in the wrong places.

A co-worker suggested we expand our horizons a bit. A good place to start, she said, was the salsa scene every Thursday night at Dowe's on Ninth, Downtown. I know what you're thinking, because we thought it, too: This is a jazz place. But the club also eases newcomers into this spicy Cuban dance step with lessons from instructor Kristen Licht (free with the $7 cover). Couples, and singles for that matter, line up promptly at 8:30 p.m. and progress through the basic steps.

	Kristen Licht gives salsa dance lessons at Dowe's on Ninth with her partner, Tom Spencer. Dowe's is the site of a spicy salsa scene on Thursday nights. Click photo for larger image.

It was kind of nerve-wracking at first, trying to step up and back and to the side on the right beat without looking like an idiot. But by the end of the hour, when the live band Azucar took the stage, most of the class was comfortable enough with the basic moves to step out on their own, even as the dance floor filled with more experienced and confident dancers. Judging from the crowd, there are plenty of talented and enthusiastic salsa machines here in the middle of Western Pennsylvania.

Emboldened by our success, we heeded the advice of another co-worker and headed to Cefalo's Restaurant & Nightclub in Carnegie on a Saturday night to get the blues ($5 cover, $4 valet parking).

Set in a converted 100-year-old stone church, Cefalo's that evening featured the popular Pittsburgh band Jill West and Blues Attack. There didn't seem to be much in the way of rules connected with dancing to the blues, so we jumped right in and did the same old steps we've been faking since college, a mix of jitterbug, shimmying and the occasional awkward twirl. And you know what? We had plenty of company.

A little later, at the Rhythm House Cafe in Bridgeville, we joined an enthusiastic throng bouncing to the lively beat of the band Dancing Queen ($7 cover, $3 valet parking).

Whether you came of age in the '70s or just have nostalgia for leisure suits and man-perms, this infectious band was able to make songs like "Kung Fu Fighting" and "Brick House" sound cutting-edge.

Not to mention incredibly fun. Within minutes, we were as sweaty as the rest of the dancers.

A few nights later, we stopped by Rhythm House again to see how "country" felt. On Wednesdays ($5 cover), dance instructor Krissie Brownlee gives line-dancing lessons in a mirrored back room to anywhere from 30 to 40 people.

But wouldn't you know it; on the night we were there, the class -- smaller than usual because of the holidays -- had already passed way beyond the beginner level and were performing steps that would make an urban cowboy shake in his boots.

Unable to rustle up the courage to join them, we slithered off into the night, or rather to the bar, where country band Ruff Creek was heating up the stage.

We had to admit it looked like a good time. So at the suggestion of a neighbor, we tried our feet a few nights later at Saddle Ridge at Station Square ($5 cover after 9 p.m., $8 parking) and found ourselves smack dab in the middle of a rousing hoedown.

The main dance floor was packed with people of all ages and abilities, performing country dances in unison.

Not only was it exciting to watch -- who knew there were so many boot-stompin', hip-swayin' westerners around here? -- but it was contagious.

Before we knew it, my husband and I were two-stepping across the floor, despite having missed the free dance lessons (7 to 8:30 p.m. Fridays and 7 to 9 p.m. Saturdays).

All of this, of course, was just the beginning. Other hot spots that we intend to visit in the New Year include Matrix in Station Square, Diesel in the South Side and the Fox Chapel Yacht Club (which in warmer weather opens up its outdoor dance floor along the Allegheny River).

Young adults might lay claim to all that's new and trendy. But there are plenty of places to dance the night away along the three rivers for those of us with a few more years under our belts.

All it takes, we found, is a little courage and a sense of adventure.

It also helps if you're not afraid of looking like an idiot.