Ballroom Dance Sampler
Think of the “Glamour Age of Hollywood” or Fred & Ginger and you’ll have a good image of Ballroom Dancing – there’s nothing quite like gliding around the dance floor in your partner’s arms! The defining characteristic that qualifies a dance as a ‘Ballroom Dance’ is that it travels counter-clockwise around the dance floor in what is known as “line of dance”. ..Officially, there are 5 Ballroom Dances: waltz, foxtrot, tango, Viennese waltz (aka turning waltz), and quickstep. Our classes usually concentrate on waltz, foxtrot, and tango as we find these the most useful to know/most frequently played at dances.

Competition & Performance Series
Dancing well is not defined by how many moves you know, but how well you can execute them. This series focuses on the styling, techniques, and concepts that can help you turn even the most basic steps into something special. We will work with a choreographed routine and performance opportunities may be available to those who are interested. Partner required & students should be at an intermediate level or higher to enroll.

Dances of the 1920s
All of the swing dances and even some of the ballroom dances danced today have their roots in the dances done in the 1920s. The flappers of the era gave us the Charleston, Collegiate Shag, St. Louis Shag, the Black Bottom, Peabody, and Balboa, among others. This 4-week long class will explore some of those, giving students the underlying base that they can use to give their dancing more pizzazz. Many of the moves learned in these dances mix seamlessly with the dancing you might already know. Perfect for both the beginning dancer & for those who are looking for a way to add something new to what they already do.

Dances of the 1930s
The 1930s evoke the Glamour Age of Hollywood and the dancing of the time period reflects that. The Continental was all the rage after it appeared on the silver screen and people couldn't get enough of the foxtrot or the tango. Meanwhile, all the kids were doing the Big Apple and Charleston was morphing into Lindy Hop. The dances of the 1930s laid the groundwork for the dances that came later - the dances that are still danced in our area today.

Dances of the 1940s
During the War Years, Swing was definitely king, but it wasn't the only game in town! This course (part of our popular "Decades" series) will explore the dances that were popular during that time period. Dances of the 1940s includes the Shim Sham, the Rhumba, Tango, and some jitterbug/jazz-based Lindy Hop.

Dances of the 1950s
Most people associate the 1950s with Jitterbug, and while that dance was popular then, it wasn’t the only dance in town. Dances like the Stroll, the Madison, and the Hand Jive were also popular and are still just as much fun today as they were when they were new!

Jitterbug/Swing/East-Coast Swing
Jitterbug is often referred to as “East Coast Swing” or “6-count Swing”. It’s also what most people mean when they say “Swing Dancing”. Evolving from Lindy Hop and first becoming popular in the late 1940s & 1950s, it is a wonderful introduction to partnered dancing, as the basic step is less complicated than most other forms of swing dancing. This allows students who have never danced before to concentrate on partnering skills and getting comfortable with dancing with a partner before moving on to more complicated dances. Jitterbug works well with all types of swing music, be it Big Band, early Rock n Roll, or modern swing such as that played by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Royal Crown Revue & the like.

Latin Dance Sampler
When you hear the Latin Beat, you want to move your feet! Surprisingly, a Latin dance is NOT defined by it’s country/region of origin, but rather by the fact that it does not move around the floor/is danced in a small space. By that definition, swing dance is a latin dance and tango is not. Go figure!...The 5 official Latin Dances are cha cha, mambo/salsa, rhumba, paso doble, and swing (usually referred to as jive in competition). Our Latin classes focus on cha cha, mambo/salsa, and rhumba.

Lindy Hop
Lindy Hop is an 8-count dance that evolved from the Charleston in the mid-late 1920s. It took its name from a headline about Charles Lindbergh’s historic 1927 flight: “Lindy Hops the Atlantic”. It can be danced either to fast or moderate swing music, from Big Band to more modern swing. Lindy Hop has enjoyed a resurgence in the late 1990s and so far this century. It is a fun, high-energy dance that has most of America (and the rest of the world for that matter) dancing again!

St. Louis Shag
Like Lindy Hop, St. Louis Shag is another 8-count dance that evolved out of the Charleston in the late 1920s. There was no mass-communication then to tell the kids in one city what the kids in another were doing, so each area evolved their own style independently. St. Louis Shag is a fast-paced dance that is the perfect choice for when the music gets too fast for Lindy Hop or Jitterbug. There is definite overlap between St. Louis Shag, Lindy Hop, and Jitterbug, so it is easy to integrate moves from one into another.

Swing Rueda
Casino Rueda was a Latin-styled dance that was popular in the 1950s and recently became popular again. It is danced by a group, uses basic moves done in interesting ways, and involves a lot of partner changes. Two dancers from Texas (Jeff & Elaina) saw this and thought it would be fun to create a "Swing Rueda", using classic lindy hop moves. This dance is a LOT of fun, with a lot of interesting variations and partner changes, but is still easy to learn!! Besides being fun in-and-of-itself, it will help refine your lindy hop basics and make you more aware of timing, orientation/presentation, and reinforce the moves you already know.