The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to investigate the effects of a dance intervention on cardiovascular risk factors and functional capacity of older women, comparing dancing to a walking exercise intervention and to an active control condition (stretching). The participants will include women between 60 and 80 years old, with body mass index inferior to 35 Kg /m2. The main outcome of this study is the peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak). The secondary outcomes are cardiovascular risk associated factors (C-reactive protein, TNF-alpha, lipid profile, etc) and functional performance (muscle strength and power, balance, gate ability, etc). The experimental design will include 3 parts: 1) Pre-intervention assessments: medical evaluation, fasting blood exams, maximum exercise test, assessments of body composition, balance, gate ability, muscular strength and power. 2) Period of interventions: patients will be randomized to one of the three following groups: dance, walking or stretching. The duration of the interventions will be 8 weeks, including 3 sessions per week for dance and walking, and once a week for the stretching group. Each session will last 60 min. 3) Post-intervention assessments: the same protocols of testing as pre-intervention.