Thursday Dance Night at Dark Horse Tavern

Social dancing means dancing with people in an improvised fashion, and not for people in performance or competitive situations.

We do not teach choreography, but if you get good enough at improvising sometimes it will look choreographed.

Lead and follow are the two roles in most social dancing situations.

If you are selecting the movements you are called the lead, if you are interpreting the movements of a lead then you are called the follow.

These roles are not gendered. Traditionally men would lead and women would follow but these days it's normal for someone to take an opposite role or to learn both.

This particular lesson is very west-coast swing focused.

At most of our locations we blend movements from different styles in our lessons. Our goal is to teach a form of dance that is practical and can be used in real-life situations (weddings, bars, in the kitchen with your spouse, etc).

Here are the dances we know and commonly pull from: Cha Cha, Waltz, Rumba, Zouk, American Tango, East Coast Swing, Foxtrot, Bolero, Kizomba, Viennese Waltz, Mambo, West Coast Swing, Merengue, Paso Doble, Salsa, Bachata, Hustle, Lindy Hop, Samba, Jive, Charleston, Balboa, Blues, Shag, Quickstep, Argentine Tango, Polka, Contra Dance, Fusion, and a few others that we cannot think of off the top of our heads.

That's totally fine! You don't need to have any experience to attend. Even if you think you are unable to learn, most anyone can be taught.

No, you do not need a partner and if you do come with one we're still going to make you be part of the rotation. Dancing with different people is essential to improving — and it’s a great way to meet new friends.

Everyone attending the class must be part of the rotation. Even if you come as a couple we expect you to participate and dance with different partners during the class session.

In our experience, couples who do not rotate do not learn as quickly or meet as many people in the class so they don't have as much fun.

If you absolutely must stay with your partner you can just come and observe the lesson from the side and practice the movements with your date. We're totally okay with you doing that and you don't have to pay for tickets this way!

Wear whatever is comfortable. Your feet may get stepped on so don't wear new white shoes. You'll find people wearing any number of things ranging from jeans and dress pants, to shorts and skirts.

Even though we're teaching dance you won't be dancing the whole time. No need for athletic clothing unless you feel like it. Also our air conditioning is amazing, you're more likely to be chilly than sweaty.

Lots of free parking in the lot and on the streets nearby.

No guests under the age of 21 at this location. We do have other dances that are 18 and up, but not this one.

You only need to buy a ticket if you want to be a part of the partner rotation.

Feel free to eat, drink, and watch for free at the tables. You can also try the steps off to the side of our lesson free of charge.

We need volunteers to collect tickets and take pictures/videos. If you want to participate in exchange for services like this please reach out to wilder@reframed.market.and we'll work it out!

You can email wilder@reframed.market or come to the lesson and meet Wilder personally.