Event Dates

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This first Thursday of the fall, “have dinner” a different way! We will meet for 75 minutes on Thursday, 2 September.

Have some fun relaxing from your work week with a hot Latin dance class designed for all experience levels! Pre-enrollment or advance registration is not necessary.

Learn energetic and sensual Latin dances like Salsa, Merengue, Rumba, Mambo, Cha Cha, Argentine Tango, and Bolero.

Before each class, we decide as a group what we would like to work on that day. The focus is always on having fun!

Bring your friends from school, the office, or job site. Spend some quality time with your favorite colleagues outside of work. Meet new people!

Please, no Street Shoes on the dance floor. Dance shoes, practice shoes, dance sneakers, or stocking feet are all fine.

Event Dates

Calling all Art of Dance dancers: LET’S GO DANCE! Thursday, 9 September, Sarah will be teaching a FREE beginner Salsa lesson as part of the Helen C. White Library House Party!

Come enjoy the festivities with us: there will be Ninja Tag, movies and popcorn, a carnival outside, and performances of all shapes and sizes inside!

Check the tentative schedule for more details.

Dress for the Helen C. House Party is casual–jeans and a T-shirt are normal.

Event Dates

This Group Class will meet each Thursday from 6:00 – 7:15 pm, beginning 28 October 2010 and running until 9 December 2010, for a total of six sessions.

In this 75-minute class meeting for a total of six sessions, we will discover how to produce many of the common dance moves you see at social dances where people dance many energetic and exciting American-style Rhythm (Latin) dances, such as Merengue, Salsa, and Rumba. We will cover turns, spins, style, and basic common patterns for these Rhythm dances, as well as balance, speed, flexibility, body awareness, and expression.

The class will emphasize creating a solid constant connection between the lead and follow and how to use that connection throughout the entire dance! Develop an understanding of how you move your own body and how those movements are felt and interpreted by your partner (applies to leads and follows alike). We will use a simple set of common moves to explore good lead and follow connections, inventiveness, and fluidity in Rhythm dancing.

This class is intended for people new to partner dancing or new to Rhythm dancing and will move at an appropriate pace. Experienced dancers, enroll to improve your sense of partner connection and to refine your body action and basics! There is no such thing as doing “too much work” on the most foundational parts of dancing!

You do not need to enroll with a partner. Expect frequent partner changes and numerous group activities and exercises.

Please, no Street Shoes on the dance floor. Dance shoes, dance sneakers, or stocking feet are all fine.

Pre-registration is required. Contact the Instructor to reserve space in this class.

Event Dates

This Group Class will meet each Thursday from 6:00 – 7:15 pm, beginning 16 September 2010 and running until 21 October 2010, for a total of six sessions.

In this 75-minute class meeting for a total of six sessions, we will discover how to produce many of the common dance moves you see at social dances where people dance many energetic and exciting American-style Rhythm (Latin) dances, such as Merengue, Salsa, and Cha Cha. Cha cha, a fun, flirty dance is a close cousin of Salsa. While it’s one of the American Rhythm syllabus dances, it is also most definitely a club dance! You can see the range of styles possible in these videos: Syllabus cha cha in amateur competition vs. Club cha cha. We will cover turns, spins, style, and basic common patterns for all of these Rhythm dances, as well as balance, speed, flexibility, body awareness, and expression.

The class will emphasize creating a solid constant connection between the lead and follow and how to use that connection throughout the entire dance! Develop an understanding of how you move your own body and how those movements are felt and interpreted by your partner (applies to leads and follows alike). We will use a simple set of common moves to explore good lead and follow connections, inventiveness, and fluidity in Rhythm dancing.

This class is intended for people new to partner dancing or new to Rhythm dancing and will move at an appropriate pace. Experienced dancers, enroll to improve your sense of partner connection and to refine your body action and basics! There is no such thing as doing “too much work” on the most foundational parts of dancing!

You do not need to enroll with a partner. Expect frequent partner changes and numerous group activities and exercises.

Please, no Street Shoes on the dance floor. Dance shoes, dance sneakers, or stocking feet are all fine.

Pre-registration is required. Contact the Instructor to reserve space in this class.

Event Dates

If you have completed one of Darrell’s or Sarah’s recent classes, then this class is for you!

This Group Class will meet each Thursday from 7:30 – 8:45 pm, beginning 28 October 2010 and running until 9 December 2010, for a total of six sessions.

In this 75-minute class meeting for a total of six sessions, we build upon skills you know in Salsa and Merengue (and perhaps other dances you already know). This class will use those skills to present Cha Cha and Bolero (two additional Rhythm-style dances).

Students should be familiar with cuddles, hammerlocks, under-arm turns, and the movement-of and reaction-to space – these are skills that both Darrell and Sarah teach in their beginner/new-dancer classes. You will continue to refine these skills in each more advanced class that you take.

In addition to having greater mastery of these basic skills, by the end of class you will be very comfortable in Salsa, Merengue, Cha Cha, and Bolero.

Along with partnering, musical interpretation, in-class performances (for the other class participants – optional, but encouraged), developing greater strength/balance/flexibility, movement technique, and unlocking your individual and combined creativity, course material will introduce topics such as light and shade, acceleration, using changes in elevation, delayed turns, dynamic power, shared weight, dips/tricks, and partner communication/sensitivity.

This class is designed for dancers who have some experience with partner dancing and will move at an appropriate pace.

Please, no Street Shoes on the dance floor. Dance shoes, dance sneakers, or stocking feet are all fine.

Pre-registration is required. Contact the Instructor to reserve space in this class and to ask any other questions.

Event Dates

If you have completed one of Darrell’s or Sarah’s recent classes, then this class is for you!

This Group Class will meet each Thursday from 7:30 – 8:45 pm, beginning 16 September 2010 and running until 21 October 2010, for a total of six sessions.

In this 75-minute class meeting for a total of six sessions, we build upon skills you know in Salsa and Merengue (and perhaps other dances you already know). This class will use those skills to present Rumba and Swing (two additional Rhythm-style dances).

Students should be familiar with cuddles, hammerlocks, under-arm turns, and the movement-of and reaction-to space – these are skills that both Darrell and Sarah teach in their beginner/new-dancer classes. You will continue to refine these skills in each more advanced class that you take.

In addition to having greater mastery of these basic skills, by the end of class you will be very comfortable in Salsa, Merengue, Rumba, and Swing.

Along with partnering, musical interpretation, in-class performances (for the other class participants – optional, but encouraged), developing greater strength/balance/flexibility, movement technique, and unlocking your individual and combined creativity, course material will introduce topics such as light and shade, acceleration, using changes in elevation, delayed turns, dynamic power, shared weight, dips/tricks, and partner communication/sensitivity.

This class is designed for dancers who have some experience with partner dancing and will move at an appropriate pace.

Please, no Street Shoes on the dance floor. Dance shoes, dance sneakers, or stocking feet are all fine.

Pre-registration is required. Contact the Instructor to reserve space in this class and to ask any other questions.

Event Dates

This event occurred
in the past.

AoD students: This is a great place to go and practice what we’ve been working on, and to meet other students of dance. I have been to the dance in Belvidere many times and enjoy it for not only its beautiful venue (newly redecorated!) but for the energy, enthusiasm, and welcoming environment provided by the many people who attend. I usually expect to see over 100 people at the dance!

Doors for the 4th Saturday dance open at 6:45 PM with the lesson starting at 7:00 PM. The 4th Saturday dance is held every month and includes a group lesson from local professional ballroom dance instructors and generally includes a mid-evening showcase put on by the evenings instructor, the instructors’s students or other members of the local ballroom dance community. In addition we have one or two dance mixers as part of the evenings schedule.

Belvidere is only a few tolls into IL, just past the familiar “Belvidere Oasis” freeway overpass convenience station. It only takes about an hour & fifteen minutes to get there from Madison, and it is well worth the journey!

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Event Dates

Attend the first dance of Madison’s new ballroom dance organization: USA Dance–Madison. Join us for the first of many monthly ballroom dances.

USA Dance is a national non-profit organization that promotes ballroom dancing. USA Dance-Madison is a local chapter of that national organization. The new Madison chapter will hire numerous area instructors, offer dance workshops and intensives, and provide a positive smoke-free alcohol-free social dance every month.

At this first dance, Art of Dance will teach different two beginning lessons.

Dance demonstrations and social mixer dances will occur throughout the evening.

Schedule:
– 7pm: Beginner Swing Lesson
– 8pm: General Dancing Begins
– 9pm: Dance Demonstrations, followed by a brief Merengue/Salsa lesson
– 9:30pm-11pm General Dancing and Mixers

Admission:
– $8 General Admission (Non-Members)
– $5 Members / Students
– FREE ADMISSION for everyone who joins USA Dance-Madison before or at the dance
– *Annual membership dues are $25*

USA Dance social dances are a great opportunity to put all of your dance moves into action! The mix of recorded music includes Waltz, Fox Trot, Tango, Salsa, Merengue, Rumba, Cha Cha, Swing, and many others!

Dress for USA Dance dances is dressy casual.

** ** Please bring non-street shoes to wear for dancing! ** **

Event Dates

This event occurred
in the past.

The Summer of Salsa Fun: Week 6

It’s summer! In this sixth of six drop-in Salsa classes, we will continue to have FUN with our dancing. This week will be devoted to being flashy, sparkly, showy, and just having a grand old time on the dance floor! Since this is the last class of the summer, we will be showing off for the other students in the class. We will end the night with an evening of dancing at the Cardinal!

A prize will be given for the most creative “costume”: (1) Anything that shines (2) Anything with spandex (3) The color gold.

Read more about the Summer of Salsa Fun.

The 6:00 New Dancer Salsa class will be specifically designed for people who have never danced before, or who are interested in refreshing the basics. We will discover how to produce many of the common dance moves you see at social dances where people dance many energetic and exciting American-style Rhythm (Latin) dances, such as Merengue and Salsa. We will cover turns, spins, style, and basic common patterns for these Rhythm dances, as well as balance, speed, flexibility, body awareness, and expression.

The 7:30 All-Level Salsa class will be tailored each evening to the students in attendance. However, it is expected that students will have at least a basic understanding of Salsa timing, as well as connection, cuddles, and hammerlocks. We may work on skills such as advancing your understanding of basic concepts, creating fun choreography, or learning easy-but-flashy new moves!

Click on each week’s offerings (above) to learn more about the theme for the week, and more about what we will be learning.

You do not need to enroll with a partner. Expect frequent partner changes and numerous group activities and exercises.

Please, no Street Shoes on the dance floor. Dance shoes, dance sneakers, or stocking feet are all fine.

Pre-registration is appreciated. Contact the Instructor to reserve space in this class.

Event Dates

This event occurred
in the past.

The Summer of Salsa Fun: Week 5

It’s summer! In this fifth of six drop-in Salsa classes, we will continue to have FUN with our dancing. This week will be devoted to getting booky about our Salsa! We’ll delve into more details, banter about theories, and fully embrace the thinking Salsa dancer in all of us!

In honor of Sarah’s summer classes at Library School, a prize will be given for the most creative “costume”: (1) Your favorite librarian/piece of library furniture/library (2) Your favorite literary character (3) The Color Purple (and an extra prize if you catch the joke).

Read more about the Summer of Salsa Fun.

The 6:00 New Dancer Salsa class will be specifically designed for people who have never danced before, or who are interested in refreshing the basics. We will discover how to produce many of the common dance moves you see at social dances where people dance many energetic and exciting American-style Rhythm (Latin) dances, such as Merengue and Salsa. We will cover turns, spins, style, and basic common patterns for these Rhythm dances, as well as balance, speed, flexibility, body awareness, and expression.

The 7:30 All-Level Salsa class will be tailored each evening to the students in attendance. However, it is expected that students will have at least a basic understanding of Salsa timing, as well as connection, cuddles, and hammerlocks. We may work on skills such as advancing your understanding of basic concepts, creating fun choreography, or learning easy-but-flashy new moves!

Click on each week’s offerings (above) to learn more about the theme for the week, and more about what we will be learning.

You do not need to enroll with a partner. Expect frequent partner changes and numerous group activities and exercises.

Please, no Street Shoes on the dance floor. Dance shoes, dance sneakers, or stocking feet are all fine.

Pre-registration is appreciated. Contact the Instructor to reserve space in this class.