No dance experience is required at all! If you can walk and you can count to eight, you have what it takes to learn basic swing.
Our classes may be taken with or without a partner. Unless otherwise specified, we will rotate partners, as this practice reinforces the social nature of the dance. No special shoes are required for lessons, although high heels, clunky boots or sandals without a back strap are not recommended. Wear something comfortable!
Beginner East Coast Swing is the most rudimentary dance done to swinging jazz music. Beginning classes focus on six-count rhythms.
Intermediate East Coast Swing focuses on technique and increases your dance vocabulary with new swing moves.
Beginner Lindy Hop builds from the rhythms introduced in the Beginning Swing class, but introduces the basic figures and variations of eight-count swing.
Intermediate Lindy Hop refines techniques learned in Beginning Lindy Hop and study more closely the relationship between partners, connection, control, and mechanics of the dance.
Advanced Lindy Hop delves into the nuances and subtleties of the music and the dance that thrives on it. This class will focus on applying techniques to a wider range of tempos and syncopations, as well as addressing different topics within the dance such as styling and musicality. Content will vary with instructors, but this class is designed to be taken more than once.
Charleston classes teach solo and partnered steps (tandem charleston) of this energetic, eight-count dance.
Blues focuses on connection, weight placement, counterbalance, and musicality, and is danced to blues music
Collegiate Shag classes teach the footwork and stylings of this fast-paced, six-count dance that emphasizes close partner connection and clear pulse.
St. Louis Shag classes focus on this high-energy, fast-paced dance that originated in St. Louis, Missouri. It is similar to the Charleston, but involves more kicks and is sometimes danced to boogie-woogie music.
Balboa classes teach the basic footwork and method for this fast, upright, 8-count dance that easily fits into Lindy Hop patterns.
All of our classes are actually designed to be taken more than once! Different instructors bring different opinions, styles, and techniques to every lesson. This diversity is what makes swing dancing interesting. If you have been taking classes as a lead, you can also re-take them as a follow and learn how to both lead and follow; this way, you will be able to dance with more people and even switch roles during a dance with someone who can also both lead and follow.
Not so fast! Swing dancing is a social dance, so we encourage you to practice your new-learned skills on the dance floor at social dances like our weekly Java Jives! Only by dancing with other dancers will you learn to build connection with different people, get used to different styles, and learn more new moves!