Looking for good beginner dance lessons in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

March 12, 2011 9:01 PM

Looking for good beginner dance lessons in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

I'm looking for some good, casual dance classes for total beginners that I could do with some friends. I know nothing about dance or dance styles, but I'd like something that would be fun even if we only went to one or two lessons. It would also be a plus if they were cheaper with a younger-trending crowd (perhaps associated with a university). I don't really want to sign up for a big series, so single-session or walk-in type classes would be ideal.

posted by cosmic.osmo to sports, hobbies, & recreation (7 answers total)

Here's a list of places that do salsa nights. Ooh! And there's a UM salsa club, too! The UM group will probably be your best bet for a solid, inexpensive understanding of the basics, but if you really just want to drop in and dance a few of the bars have mini-lessons as well. Have fun!
posted by VelveteenBabbitt at 10:39 PM on March 12, 2011

tapestryfolkdance.org
posted by Malla at 8:51 AM on March 13, 2011

Sorry, that didn't work. Tapestry Folk Dance Center.
posted by Malla at 8:53 AM on March 13, 2011

Give the Contradancing at the Tapestry Folk Dance Center a try. Seriously, one half hour lesson and you will pretty much have it. People will help you get where you need to be on time. A couple more half hours and you will feel like an expert.
posted by jvilter at 9:26 AM on March 13, 2011

Yeah, Tapestry is probably what you want.

I'll warn you that it's Uncool-with-a-capital-U — no drinking, no smoking, clean, well-lit, with mostly acoustic music — and that could be an impediment for bringing friends along, if your friends are the sort of people who get self-conscious about things like that. But their classes are cheap weekly or monthly drop-in things, you don't need to bring a partner, and the dancers there are unbelievably helpful and friendly.

If contra turns out not to be your thing, they also do swing and Cajun dancing, among other stuff.
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:53 AM on March 13, 2011

Minneapolis has one of the country's top swing dancers in Peter Strom, who runs Uptown Swing. I know he travels a lot and can't imagine he's there to teach all the classes, but if you're at all interested in swing dancing, anything with his stamp of approval is definitely worth checking out.
posted by cardioid at 5:29 PM on March 13, 2011

Lee's Liquors does free rockabilly swing-dancing lessons every Wednesday night. Show up and see if it's for you.
posted by DaveP at 6:05 PM on March 14, 2011