Open Dancing

Open Dancing offers open-gender partner dance experiences and resources. Open Dancing is organized by social dancers who do most of their dancing in southern Wisconsin and the Chicago area.

www.opendancing.org

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Open Dancing

Open Dancing events are open to people of all genders and gender expressions, from absolute beginners to experienced dancers. We welcome open-role, similar/same-gender, similar/same-sex, role-reverse, and queer dancers, as well as allies.

Social partner dances include non-competitive Waltz, East Coast Swing, Salsa, Cha Cha, Mambo, Samba, Rumba, Lindy, Foxtrot, Merengue, Tango, Contra, Square, Balboa, Nightclub Two Step, Balero, Country Two Step, Bachata, Cajun Two Step, Kizomba, West Coast Swing, Zouk, Polka, Blues, Quickstep, and many other dances and variations.

Open Dancing events are organized by experienced social dancers and focus more on fun, knowledge sharing, and affordability, than perfecting technique. If you have a particular dance you would like to learn and are in the Madison, WI or Chicago, IL area, please let us know and we are happy to make suggestions about venues and teachers!

Although we rarely run into social dance spaces with discriminatory rules regarding gender, Open Dancing did begin in response to gender-based discrimination, so we have some experience dealing with those situations. We may be able to help if you experience institutional gender-based discrimination at a studio or social dance event, so please feel free to contact us.

Looking for our "Venues" page? Since open-gender dancing has become so much more common in the past few years, suggested venues page was getting unruly, so we took it down. We're still happy to make suggestions if you are in the Madison, WI or Chicago, IL area, so feel free to message us at: facebook.com/OpenDancing


Events

Beginning Swing: Lead and Follow for Everyone
Learn the lead, follow, or both in this two hour event for first-time dancers, first-time leaders, or first-time followers. With a lesson in fun simple steps combined with casual practice time, this down-to-earth Open Dancing event is designed to help everyone, especially open role and queer dancers, feel comfortable on the dance floor quickly! Nothing fancy, just fun!

  • East Coast Swing lesson and practice time.
  • No need to bring a partner (but you can if you want to).
  • 18 and up.
  • $5-$15 suggested donation
  • No dress code. No special shoes necessary, but shoes that are too sticky (or too slick) are harder to dance in.