Bored over the weekend? Put on some comfy shoes and prepare to be sucked into the best hobby around: partner dancing. Here’s why you should seek out your local dance scenes ASAP.
It’s an awesome way to meet new people!
Partner dancing provides lots of opportunities for social interaction! Between being confused in class on the voodoo footwork your teacher just did and asking people to dance on the social floor, you’ll know everyone in the dance scene in no time. And it’s especially fun to try the college dance clubs, because then you meet other students who like dancing too!
There are a lot of styles!
With so many different moves and music genres, you’re bound to find one you fall in love with. Cal Poly offers a variety of styles with the following clubs: CP Salsa, Yo Tango, CP Swing, Drop Dead Blues, and CP Ballroom.
It’s cheap and accessible!
The Cal Poly partner dance clubs here offer some pretty sweet deals on lessons and dancing because they want to be available to as many students as possible! Paying $10 for line dancing at the Grad is fine and all, but CP Salsa charges only $5 for a fierce Friday night of dancing. CP Swing charges even less, with $3 per lesson and free social dancing. But the cheapest of all is Drop Dead Blues, the local blues dancing scene, which offers a free lesson every Saturday night, along with free social dancing!
It’s a fun excuse to dress up!
Dancing is snazzy af so you’ll want to dress the part too. Whether it’s wearing your favorite tee and jeans combo or going all out with your outfit, dressing up can really add to the excitement of going out dancing. In no time, your wardrobe will evolve to only danceable clothing, which makes life way more convenient anyways.
Lessons range for all levels!
Even if your dance experience is limited to doing the Cha Cha Slide in the 7th grade, you won’t be left out! Many awesome dancers started with absolutely no dance experience at all. All partner dancing venues offer an all-levels/beginner lesson at their weekly events, so there’s no excuse! Once you get a little savvier with your moves, Yo Tango and CP Swing and all the rest have intermediate lessons as well.
There’s so much music and culture!
Every dance style has an incredible, extensive history that intertwines with the music involved. The moves you learn while dancing often reflect its history, which can bring a whole new level of appreciation for the style.
Local events are a thing!
You can even go beyond the college scene! SLO has many local dance communities; Madonna Inn, for example, has free swing dancing on Monday nights and free salsa dancing every other Tuesday night. Additionally, the CP Ballroom Club hosts the Annual Mustang Ball every February, where other colleges travel to SLO and compete in more than 10 different styles. CP Swing and CP Salsa also host exchanges, which are basically 3-day dance parties with tons of cool people, just for fun.
Partner dancing goes so much further beyond just the general magnificence of dancing. Whether you’re a natural mover and shaker, or you only werk it in your bedroom, there will always be a spot for you on the dance floor.