Walking into Magic City Music Hall on Saturday night, I was surprised to see the dance floor filled with rows of chairs. Considering that the main attraction was the king of ’60s dance music, Chubby Checker, this seemed at first to be an odd decision. But by the time Chubby tore into the hip-shaking, hand-waving groove of “The Fly,” there was plenty of room between each row for folks to get up and do their collective thang. The hall was packed, and Checker worked the crowd into overdrive.

Looking and sounding nowhere near his 66 years, he commanded the stage with energy and spirit. The crowd, many of whom were also in their 60s, responded with enthusiasm bordering on adoration. When invited to join him onstage for a dance lesson, several dozen women rushed the stage with huge smiles on their faces and their hands in the air.

Retired Binghamton police officer and Cool 100 DJ Bill Grace added a classy onstage touch by presenting the singer with a proclamation from Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan, declaring “Chubby Checker Day.” (Grace conducted a great on-air interview with Chubby a few months back.) The stage name of “Chubby Checker” was thought up by Dick Clark’s then-wife, in a playful reference to Fats Domino. Ironically, Checker himself is fit as a fiddle, presumably from years of constant twisting.

He paid homage to his forerunner, Domino, with decent covers of “Blueberry Hill” and “I’m Walkin’.” He also entertained the crowd with a few of the vocal impressions that gave him his first hit record (”The Class,” in 1959). For a few moments at least, Elvis was in the building. I had to leave before the set concluded, presumably with “Limbo Rock” and “The Twist.” It’s a tribute to Checker’s showmanship that I didn’t feel overly disappointed by having to miss them.