Your Dance Venue

I think the people in this forum have a nice variety of places they're from, so I was wondering:

What local clubs do you like to go to for swing dancing, and what sort of music does the place(s) play? What is the crowd like?

-FF

[Spitfire]

There are no clubs per say for swing dancing here in Tucson. There is a monthly dance held at the downtown senior center and a lesser one done in the meeting room of a local book store twice a month.

The monthly dance downtown usually has live music that is normally blues, swing and jazz. The crowd is pretty friendly and although the people who run it are lindy hoppers the people who attend do a little of everything; ECS, WCS, Lindy.

[d nice]

Sacramento has a few Lindy/ECS venues, one WCS venue, and one Lindy/WCS venue.

Lindy/ECS
Tower Club: Wednesday nights, bar with a lounge area and an attached open room for dancing. The music is a really weird mix. Some Swing, some swinging jazz, some 40's pop music and stuff more suitable to foxtrotting, some rock and roll (most of it non-swinging Bill Haley type stuff), some early R&B/race records type stuff which swings.

Aces Supper Club: Friday and Saturday, a resturant/bar that has a very small, polished cement floor. No DJ music, only live bands... which means the music either sucks or is great depending on the band.

The Graduate: Sunday nights, a sports bar that plays mostly exchange type music mixed with pop "swing" songs of the last few years Louis Pima and Jive Aces and stuff like that.

WCS
The Ballroom: Thursday nights pretty decent mix of music, mostly of the pop/funk variety. Not enough blues music for my tastes, but a pretty good time over all. Huge warehouse type ballroom, little atmosphere but when the floor is full who cares.

Capital Swing: Once a month club dance, held at the ballroom, the DJ is the same, just more people show up.

Lindy/WCS
SPotlight Dance and Fitness: 2Second and fourth Saturdays. A studio dance, with a little more atmosphere than normal. Full blown club sound and light system makes it easy to forget you are in a studio... until you look at a wall and see yourself staring back out of a mirror. The music is an ecclectic but exciting mix of classic Swing, swinging jazz and blues, pop, funk, and cross-over music. The second saturday is lindy focused the first hour being 3:1 music wise and the free lesson being lindy hop, the music then slides to a 1:1 mix. The fourth Saturday is WCS focused.

[Vince A]

Ditto the Ballroom and Capital Swing for the Sacramento area . . .

Saddle Rack in Fremont for WCS, ECS, NC2S, 2 Step . . .

Two Left Feet in Danville for WCS, ECS,Cha Cha, NC2S, Hustle, and some country . . .

Gone Dancing in Oakdale for a lot of WCS, with NC2S, Hustle, Cha Cha, 2 Step, occassional Waltz, Salsa, ECS.

[Spitfire]

Sacramento has a few Lindy/ECS venues, one WCS venue, and one Lindy/WCS venue.

Lindy/ECS
Tower Club: Wednesday nights, bar with a lounge area and an attached open room for dancing. The music is a really weird mix. Some Swing, some swinging jazz, some 40's pop music and stuff more suitable to foxtrotting, some rock and roll (most of it non-swinging Bill Haley type stuff), some early R&B/race records type stuff which swings.

Aces Supper Club: Friday and Saturday, a resturant/bar that has a very small, polished cement floor. No DJ music, only live bands... which means the music either sucks or is great depending on the band.

The Graduate: Sunday nights, a sports bar that plays mostly exchange type music mixed with pop "swing" songs of the last few years Louis Pima and Jive Aces and stuff like that.

WCS
The Ballroom: Thursday nights pretty decent mix of music, mostly of the pop/funk variety. Not enough blues music for my tastes, but a pretty good time over all. Huge warehouse type ballroom, little atmosphere but when the floor is full who cares.

Capital Swing: Once a month club dance, held at the ballroom, the DJ is the same, just more people show up.

Lindy/WCS
SPotlight Dance and Fitness: 2Second and fourth Saturdays. A studio dance, with a little more atmosphere than normal. Full blown club sound and light system makes it easy to forget you are in a studio... until you look at a wall and see yourself staring back out of a mirror. The music is an ecclectic but exciting mix of classic Swing, swinging jazz and blues, pop, funk, and cross-over music. The second saturday is lindy focused the first hour being 3:1 music wise and the free lesson being lindy hop, the music then slides to a 1:1 mix. The fourth Saturday is WCS focused.

Are you aka twnkltoz?

[d nice]

Nope, d nice and dormouse are my net nicks... My real name is Damon.

[Spitfire]

Nope, d nice and dormouse are my net nicks... My real name is Damon.

dormouse from Dancescape. I'm known as ghostdancer over there.

[bgirlswinger]

Iwill be speaking on behalf of Florida this hour
Tallahasse- the state capital has a local dance every friday at FSU (Florida State University) and usually has a good crowd of both students and locals. They also have great workshops. They have brought in couples from as close as Tampa ,Florida to the Twin Cities.(www.tallyswing.8m.com)


Tampa Bay swing dance promotor. Puts on Gulfport Casino & Centro Asturiano dances, lots of live band dances. (www.swingtime.info)
They have even had Jennnifer and the Venturas which is one of my favorite bands.

one of the best exchanges in florida is put on by these guys- Swing Affair
South Florida group that puts on dances, workshops, and SoFLeX!!
www.swingaffair.com

In Gainsville- the entire city is based upon the COLLEGE University of Forida (the Gators) adn you guessed it ,.. they too have a swing club- with a great group of leaders that have a style that is so smooth,..but still great to follow (http://grove.ufl.edu/~swinguf/)

In orlando- Univeristy of Central florida has a swing dance every friday night and it is only 5 dollars (www.orlandoswing.com)
also every 2nd saturday of every month there is a rent party at the whirl and twirl put on by flying footwork productions (http://flyinfootwork.com/rentparty)

flyinfootwork which is a colaboration of a couple named rob and dawn do workshops throughout the year an sometimes 4 hour detailed lindy/&or balboa/&or shag/&or charlston workshops that are resonably priced (http://flyinfootwork.com

every sunday and monday at universal studios on the city walk at City Jazz, there is a live band that plays swing. I t use to be mondays only but they had such a responsethat they have now expanded their night. (http://themeparks.universalstudios.com/orlando.citywalk/entertainment/html#)

Daytona-tuesday nights is the night for this place- they cater to the crowd which is gernally older but they have a good selection of music the name of the place is Rockin Ranch and Age Limitations: 18 and Up
Cover Charge: $5 - Includes bottomless cup
they don't have a website but here is ome info:
Phone Number: 386-673-0904
Address: 810 S. Nova Rd. Ormond Beach, FL 32174



In Jacksonville, they have started a swing on monday nights, not sure on the venure- i'll hae to get back to you on that one
Murray Hill theater is a teenage crowd and they only do ECS
Boleros off of Atlantic blvd. has a wide dance range- bllroom to swing they do it all- you must dress nice -this place is reccomended.
8seconds is also reccomended- we go out on thursday nights. do ecs and lindy- cover 18-20 is 9 dollars 21 and up 8 dollars
on friday nights we go to the marrot at the interesttions of interstate 95 and JTB to catc hsoem swing. they also play latin/salsa and murenge. there is no charge but you must be 21.
we use to have to travel out of jacksonville for good swing but the scene is building- jump for joy- :wink:

amber d.

[bgirlswinger]

okay I ot that information about monday night swing in jacksonville- it's in springfeild off of mainstreet and the name of the place is Boomtown runs from 8-11ish is the number 904-632-0099
and the address is 1714 n. main street jacksonville, florida 32206- they don't have a web site

vero beach- www.beachinswing.com
friday nights Swing Night beg.lesson at 8pm cost$6 ($5students)
sundays FREE Swing Night @ Cafe Caribe 5:30 pm lesson dance at 9pm
Early Bird Menu, Free Appitizers, Drink specials All night
on wenesdays they have free salsa night@cafe caribe at 9pm lesson
Dance till 1am


I hope all of this info helps anyone who is planning to visit florida, i will be checking Boomtown in jacksonville- i'll tell you how it goes-

-amber d.

[Phil Owl]

In Beantown:

Swing City- Weekly. Very friendly crowd (lots of good dancers and even a guy who looks like Kramer on Seinfeld :lol: ), Lindy and EC Swing, though some will indulge in some WCS on slower tunes. Large room, DJ'd and live bands on alternate weeks (fave bands hae been White Heat Swing Orchestra and the Love Dogs), The DJ'd music is excellent, lots of Basie, Ellington, Lunceford, Ray Charles, Louis Jordan, crime-jazz, Lou Rawls and more. Only bad thing is, it gets so bloody crowded some nights that collisions are maddeningly unavoidable.

Website: www.wannadance.com

Other cool Boston ones:

www.bostonswingdance.com

www.hoptothebeat.com

[d nice]

I taught in Boston for two years. I had a pretty great time dancing there. Swing City was pretty popular, but Mezz played too much Rock and Roll for my tastes, Marie too much low energy stuff (I felt like I should be doing the Fox Trot not the Lindy Hop), and while Slick Mike (my old roomate) played some excellent tunes, he played a lot of the same stuff week after week... then again I'm a total music snob... *shrug* At least I can admit it. :)

I love White Heat, Love City Rhythm, can't stand the Love Dogs.

My favorite night of dancing actually was the MIT dance put on by Phil Shapiro and Rif, great floor (when it wasn't in the room w/ linoleum) and great diverse music.

[Spitfire]

If I can repeat something from one of my earlier posts I was in Seattle a month ago and went swing dancing at the Century Ballroom in downtown Seattle; this is a spot I'd recommend to anyone visiting there. It is also a salsa venue.

I have not been to either of these, but there is also swing dancing at a place known as the Russian Center and at one known as Sonny Newman's.

[dancergal]

Here’s my list for the Bay Area:

Next Generation monthly dance at the Allegro Ballroom (http://www.tngsdc.org/) in Emeryville. 1st Sat. of the month from 6:00 to 9:45. Mostly WCS music with NC2, Hustle, some Salsa, at least one country and waltz a night. Very big dance floor, DJ music. Very well attended and sometimes too crowded but lots of fun. Ballroom dancing after 9:45.

Michelle Kincaid monthly dance at the Imperial Dance Club in Redwood City (http://pw2.netcom.com/~wcdancer ) every 2nd Sunday. Huge dance floor, very well attended, friendly and fun people. DJ music, same variety as above.

Richard Kerr and Helen Voss montly dance at the Dance Spectrum in Campbell (http://hometown.aol.com/dancrhelen ) every 1st Sunday for WCS dancing. 2nd Friday for WCS and Country Dance and 3rd Friday WCS and Country dancing held in Santa Cruz. Big dance floor, DJ music lots of country with WCS, NC2, Waltz, Salsa, Hustle. Good attendance for the Sunday dance, medium attendance for the Friday dances. Usually more women than men.

Saddle Rack (http://thesaddlerack.com) in Fremont for country dancing with lots WCS and NC2 and line dancing. Live band Wed, Thurs, Friday and Sat. nights. Dance lesson Wed.-Fri. from 7:30 –9:00 pm. Good size dance floor, separate line dance floor. It gets crowded around 10:30 ish and bumper cars to dance. Get there early if you want to dance. On Sat. you can get there at 7:00 and dance until the band starts at 9:00.


The Rodeo Wednesday nights for country and line dancing. Small nightclub, small dance floor to share with line dancers. Live band (Wild at Heart) good music for country dancing and WCS.

[Spitfire]

One other local event is "Smooth Swingin' Sundays" held monthly here in Tucson on a Sunday afternoon. This is a big band dance featuring the Rudy Sudigala Big Band Memories Quartet. A local radio DJ fills in when the band is on break.

Right now it is being held at the Savoy Opera House which is located in a shopping and amusement center with an old west theme known as Trail Dust Town. The Savoy is styled like an old saloon.

[Swing Kitten]

In Connecticut where I live most of the year.

Murphey and Scarletti's-- it's a great little place. Tuesday nights. Good band, no cover-- and they let me get a picher of water each time, friendly people, but small and few young guys... my only complaints-- I was a regular there from March to May and it was very delightful.

Vinnie's Jump and Jive-- I've only been there once. Nice floor, it gets pretty hot in there though. It costs $5-10

Foxwood's Casino, BB King club-- again I've only been once. Good if you bring your own partner. No cover but the bottles of water are small and expensive (and they like to take them while you're dancing :x ) I enjoyed the music there though.

There are others... the most entertaining source I've found for CT happenings is www.swingmonkey.com

[bgirlswinger]

hey guys I went out to Boomtown in Jacksonville,fl last night and it was great. there is a couple that will teach you everythign you want to know- matt winship is the best. it is free and goes untill midnight- yes even on a monday there is latenight dancing. well for anyone comming to or from this area i reccomend a stop here on monday nights for a really good time.

amber d.

[SDsalsaguy]

the bottles of water are small and expensive (and they like to take them while you're dancing :x )

Tell me about it! Happens in salsa clubs all the time too :evil:

[SDsalsaguy]

Amber...thanks for all of the information! You're providing a real sevice for those swing dancers heading down to FL. :D

(Any chance you know of good salsa clubs in the Hollywood area?)

[bgirlswinger]

sorry no I don't but I will see if anybody does - amber d.

[stephen dare]

Hey B Girl.

Boomtown Theater in Jacksonville is hosting a brilliant swing night every Saturday Night beginning at 930 pm. It is wholly swing with a lot of lindy hop.

The crowd is really diverse and beautiful with some real standout dancers.

Boomtown is also a 4 star restaurant and serves their dinner menu until midnight for late night snackers

Beer and Wine and espresso are available.

There is no charge to get in and there are free lessons available to all.

The website for the place is www.boomtowntheatre.com

Everyone who dances on the floor agrees that it is the perfect dancing surface. Come out and enjoy!

[pygmalion]

Hi stephen dare! Welcome to the forums. A couple forums members are from either Jacksonville or right down the road in Orlando. I'm in Orlando, so please keep me posted of cool dance happenings up there. It's a short drive. :D

Welcome.

Jenn

[Spitfire]

Hey B Girl.

Boomtown Theater in Jacksonville is hosting a brilliant swing night every Saturday Night beginning at 930 pm. It is wholly swing with a lot of lindy hop.

The crowd is really diverse and beautiful with some real standout dancers.

Boomtown is also a 4 star restaurant and serves their dinner menu until midnight for late night snackers

Beer and Wine and espresso are available.

There is no charge to get in and there are free lessons available to all.

The website for the place is www.boomtowntheatre.com

Everyone who dances on the floor agrees that it is the perfect dancing surface. Come out and enjoy!

Welcome to the Forums Stephen, :D

That description kind of reminds me of the Century Ballroom in Seattle though the dining is not 4 star; it's a simple cafe and there is an admission charge of five dollars to the dances.

[bgirlswinger]

In orlando tonight at the whirl and twirl there is a dance. you can go to www.orlandoswing.com for more information in the orlando area. They are really good about posting and I am on the forum there too.

Boomtown is Kind of an artsy cafe but they don't charge admission. Matt whinship spins and there is a really good mix

This comming weekend , January 16-18 is Soflex, South Florida Lindy Exchange. Thursday is a pre-dance which is not included in the exhange but it is sort of a welcome thing. For those of you who haven't traveled much or been to an exchange. I t is usually a Weekend of Just dancing for 3-4 days,.. sometimes even an entire week. There are some where there are contest, A Jack and Jill is often presented, and woekshops by international dancers are often presented. Sofelx takes place in the Ft. Lauderdale upper Miami area. It is still 55 dollars for the weekend, which is a really good price. 70 if you pay for the entire weekend and workshops. If you wish yto go to this and want more detailed information go to http://www.swingaffair.com/SoFlex2004/index.htm
I am registed and will be going with my friend Matt whinship. We will be driving down on friday and comming back on monday.

Gainsville , UF, dancing is great. oh my goodness if anyone in the north florida area, near jacksonville would like to car pool some time down there, I will gladely drive. There was dancign last night. They have dancing every friday, but they will have no dancing next week becaause most people will be at SOFLEX. The First friday of everymonth is free and every week after is 5 dollars. They have a good crowd that ranges from people that are taking their first lessons and learning to advanced and they all merge and dance together. That is always a grea sight. Tha tsi how peopel learn form each other.

In Jacksonville, this past friday was club bimini, saturday is boomtown and sunday there is the sunday night swing set at Thee Imperial a.k.a. Rock and Roll Pizza. Each month they usually have Thee Imperial Big Band which is a 17 peice group but this month they are switchign it up a bit. Christinia Wagner will eb startign the set a 9 and then there will be the Lightfoot Brigade getting a little razzmatazzed, and then 'In Monents Notice'(a smaller version of the monthly Big Band). Thsi surely will be a night to remember. Last time they didn't have pizza so I reccomend eating before. and cover is 18 and up and only 4 dollars.

[bgirlswinger]

Stephen were you telling me about boomtown?.....I'm ususally there every saturday.. I d yuo see me say I hi,.. black chick kind of thin, names is Amber D.

Hope to see yuo there tonight, I just got off the phoen with matt. He is callign around and it seems like there is goign to be a really good crowd out there. I am going to call some people and see if I can get some people out.

-Amber D.

[pygmalion]

Cool, bgirlswinger. I can't go tonight, because I'm pretty new to non ballroomswing. All I know is WCS and ECS, basically. Hopeless, I know. :oops: But I start lindy classes tomorrow, and take balboa starting in Feb. Are you going to the Frankie Manning thing in Pinellas Park in Feb?

[bgirlswinger]

Oh comeon. We do ecs, 6 count and everything. If yuo know ballroom swing you should know the basics and so you sahouls be alright. Unlike what stephen posted. I t is not all lindyhopp. only about half of us know it,. the others are learning and there is a lesson. you should come out. I will be there and you will be able to meet alot of the swingers in town. i am goign to pm you more info.
-amber d.

[SwinginBoo]

To add to Swing Kitten's List:

I enjoy the West Hartford Town Hall dance (as long as there's a decent band and enough room to dance).

I also like the AMC and Highlane Club for the CSDS dances.

[stephen dare]

hey amber!

it was brilliant to see you last night. i didnt realize that it was you who posted to original but the latest posting listed that boomtown did a Monday Night and didnt list the website, so i thought it would be good to update the information on the page.

The Saturday Night has really grown and its cool to see so many great dancers chilling out and having such a good time.

Do you think that the Swing Dancers would like a big band to play?

let me know.

love stephen

[pygmalion]

Man! Now I wish I'd gone. :cry: Gotta take lots of lindy lessons. :D 8)

[Sagitta]

Pygmalion you should take the advice of bgirlswinger! Seriously!! You don't need to know lindy in order to go to these events. When I started going to Wownet, in Ithaca, on Tuesdays I knew aboslutely nothing about lindy, or WCS. (And the crowd there primarily is a lindy crowd.) I only knew ECS, and at that really basic stuff. On top of this I had no other danec experience at all!!! With all that you have going for you I strongly urge you to go out and boogie!!

[pygmalion]

I was thinking that myself, Sagitta. I've never wimped out of this kind of thing before. So why start now? Just feeling a little bummed at the moment, I guess. Gotta get back out there and dance. There are some really cool people out there. 8) :D