Every Monday evening, a 2-part dance

Starting at 7:30 we play a mix about half waltzes & half other dances, mainly Latin dances, blues & foxtrot/swing: the mix we've been playing for years (we've had a weekly dance since the beginning of 1999).

Around 9:30 we start mixing in more blues, slower waltzes and more sensuous Latin, plus sweet & sultry ballads, cool jazz and other downtempo stuff. We go as long as there's a good core of dancers, usually until 10:30 or 11.

• Waltz etcetera dancers are friendly, casual, unpretentious. Because we play such a wide variety of music, we attract dancers who are versatile & creative. There are a couple of snapshots of the dancers at Waltz etcetera at the bottom of this page.
• Classes? There's a drop-in class at 6:30, right before the dance; the dance always includes music for practicing your new moves.
• How much? $6 for the dance, $15 for the class, $20 for both.
• Where? Lake City Community Center, 12531 28th Ave NE in Seattle; it has a big hardwood dance floor plus plenty of room off the main dance floor to socialize, rest or dance in a quieter setting than the main floor; the offsides area has the same great hardwood floor. People go back there & practice new moves & stuff.
• Parking? Free parking in the LCCC's lot plus plenty of free street parking nearby.
• Do I need to bring a partner? No, most people come solo to both classes and dances. In classes we rotate partners frequently.
• What's it like? You can read about it here, and watch some video clips here.

Current class: Cross-step Waltz (including transitions to & from turning waltz)

Cross-step waltz is our favorite dance, and one you will see many dancers doing at Waltz etcetera; read more about Cross-step Waltz; watch videos of us dancing it. This class will include easy, intuitive transitions from cross-step into regular turning waltz & back again, which we haven't taught before. We will begin at the beginning; there's no previous dance experience required, but if you're a beginner, be sure to get in on the first few classes in March for the fundamentals. There are literally hundreds of cross-step moves & variations, and we'll be teaching some we've never taught before. This class will run through March, maybe longer depending on the level of interest.

Class details: You can drop in anytime. No need to sign up, just show up. Classes are 6:30 - 7:30 pm every Monday, $15 per class, right before the dance, at the Lake City Community Center. No partner required; we rotate partners frequently. The dance afterward always includes plenty of music for you to practice what you got in the class. In all our classes we teach humane, egalitarian leading & following, lead-follow dancing that's 100% voluntary for both partners, rather than shoving your partner around, however gently, or being shoved. Everybody dances; nobody gets danced; partner dancing's more fun if no one's in charge.

What's it like?

Waltz etcetera feels warm & easygoing, where some dances feel impersonal & disconnected, or worse, competitive. It feels like home, relaxed, undemanding & cheerful. People discover us, then keep coming for years. There's a quality and depth of connection between partners; the dancers are playful, friendly, kind, generous with each other. Here are some qualities & characteristics that make Waltz etcetera what it is.

• Connected dancing - That's the core of it. I see a lot of respectful, humane, egalitarian kind dancing every Monday. There's very little showing off; it's not a dance you go to to be seen. We emphasize the human element over the showy and the technical. People don't dress to the nines; they go there to dance with their friends and connect with people.
• We're all equals here - Many people have told me over the years that Waltz etcetera is like church for them, or words to that effect. It's a haven, a welcoming environment week after week. Even though some people have been coming for years, there's no in-club to join at Waltz etcetera, no clique of cooler dancers or more involved/connected people. Newcomers are welcome, and quickly become part of the family if they like it here and keep coming. Old-timers don't give themselves any airs; everyone's an equal at Waltz etcetera.
• Community without trying to be - I hear people talking about dance communities at lot these days. Some dance groups have community meetings, self-consciously trying to govern themselves by consensus. Waltz etcetera's a simple business, privately owned, and tho' we always listen to feedback, nobody has any say in what goes on here but Henry & me.  It's a simple matter of here's what we got, take it or leave it. We don't talk about community, but community is what has grown up around us. I hear that from the dancers, over and over. Real communities have always created themselves, out of simple common interest, and that's what's happened at Waltz etcetera, without any urging from us. We just make a place where community can happen and grow on its own, by providing a space to dance, playing music and teaching classes, and by encouraging dancing that's respectful, humane, egalitarian, kind and playful.
• Music that touches people -We have a great collection of music for dancing; just ask any of our regular dancers. It never ceases to amaze me: there is so much great music for dancing out there, and so little of it gets played at dances. I hear the same songs at lots of different venues; even a great song loses its ability to move you if you hear it too much. I look for music that moves me, and I'm always looking. When I find something, I try it on the dancers and if it moves them too, I've got a keeper.
• Flexible opinions of people - There's a human tendency to put people into some kind of box. Common boxes dancers use are great partner, too stiff, not much fun, can't hear the beat etcetera. At Waltz etcetera I see an ongoing willingness among dancers to give each other another chance, make room for each other to grow & change.
• Time set aside - People seem to set aside worries & day-to-day concerns for Waltz etcetera, to let it work its magic; that's part of the "this is church for me" deal. Dancing deserves that kind of consideration because of what it offers: an opportunity to play and feel joy, to make new friends and deepen existing friendships.

Dancers at Waltz etcetera (pix of individual couples here)