Dancing

Everybody should learn to dance (even pigs)! Most people in Davis need to learn how to dance. Dancing teaches you about pace, rhythm, and how to move your body... dancers are better in bed! There are a handful of places in town where you can get started on the right foot [or on the left if you're male]. With most dance styles, be aware that some places emphasize performance dance versus social dance [remember high school?]: social dance is the stuff you do for fun in clubs or at weddings, while performance dance is what people do for competition and money. Either way, just keep in mind that most people have a preference of one style over another, and you should be aware of this when selecting a dance instructor.

• Kanz al Sahara is a belly dance student troupe based at Fiesta DanceN' Fitness and directed by Belly Dance by Nyla. Performances include the UC Davis Picnic Day, UC Davis WEF, a concert at the Palms with the Brothers of the Baladi and many belly dance festivals in Sacramento and the Bay Area. Please visit Davis Belly Dance for more information and how to join.
  

• Elite Dance Company is a competitive dance team at UC Davis. They incorporate several styles of dance including Ballet/Pointe, Jazz, Contemporary/Lyrical and tap into our routines. They perform at various UC Davis events throughout the year as well as compete in the biggest dance competition on campus, Davis Dance Revolution (DDR), on Picnic Day. The winter and spring quarters are dedicated to practicing for DDR (generally a jazz routine) as well as choreographing for their annual Spring showcase in May in which members put together several pieces of different styles to perform.

• City Gate Dance is an on-campus Dance Ministry and the goal of this group is to show God’s love through dance to our audience.
  

• Spirit In Motion Dance Company A ballroom, latin, and swing dance company which is run through Spotlight Dance & Fitness dance studio. Many of the performers are current UC Davis students or alumni of UCD. For more details on how to join, or how to book SIM for a performance or event, contact Spotlight at 916-649-DANZ and ask about Spirit In Motion.
  

• Diverse Dance Dimensions is an on-campus multidimensional dance group. We incorporate several styles of dance — jazz, salsa, tap, hip-hop. We have an annual show and perform at various show- sponsored events.
  

• Davis Swing Kids
  

• Impulse
  

• Iranian Dance Team strives to teach its members the art of Iranian dance and educate the student body and the community about this aspect of Iranian culture.
  

• English Country Dancers is a club on campus that dances in the style of medieval/Renaissance Northern European people, and sometimes performs at renaissance faires. They meet at 6:30 every Thursday. Check their wiki page for location updates. They will happily give lessons to anyone who stops by. People who have been in this for awhile have elaborate and beautiful costumes.
  

• MK Modern
  

• Telemark Dance Troupe exists to promote and foster the knowledge and expression of ballroom dance at UC Davis and in the surrounding community. We learn and perform as a Troupe as well as engage in fun activities outside of rehearsal and performance.
  

• bohemian bellies is a Yolo County based bellydance troupe that performs for public and private audiences. (Maybe you have seen us at the Village Homes? Or the Farmer's Market? Or the Yolo County Fair?)
  

• Chinese Dance and Arts Club is a great place to learn about Chinese culture and perhaps a new and unique style of dancing for most people. Anyone can join (men included!), no experience necessary.
  

• Pamela Trokanski Dance Theatre is a contemporary dance company based in Davis, Ca. A 501c3 non-profit organization, the company presents both Fall and Spring concerts every year in addition to community outreach programs such as the Davis Dance Project. See us on Facebook.
  

• Hanneke and Co. is a ballet group that performs two ballets annually.

• Capoeira is a Brazilian martial arts style dance.
  

• Ceili Dancing is a form of Irish social dancing in which people dance fast dances in large sets. Ceili dancing used to be very popular in Davis, but is now done mostly in Alameda at the Alameda Ceili, and in Berkeley at the Starry Plough, both on Monday nights. An Irish Arts and Culture Club holds ceilis on campus, but has not been active since June, 2010.
  

• Cha Cha is a Latin dance that originated as an offshoot of the mambo. The dance gets its name from its characteristic triple "cha cha cha" step, and is a flirty, playful dance.
  

• Contra Dancing is an old time community dance where couples face each other in long lines up and down the dance floor and dance with every other couple in the line. Dances are generally done to live music, generally Celtic reels or jigs. Contra dancing has come back to Davis! Join us on third Fridays during the academic year at the Davis High School dance room, 7:30-11pm. No partner is necessary, and all dances are taught. $10, or $5 students. See Sacramento Country Dance Society for more details.
  

• Country .... Mondays and Saturdays at The Graduate are country nights.
  

• Folk Dancing Square, Folklorico, Contra, English Country, Tribal Belly Dance, International, Israeli... You have to look to find them, but they are lots of fun, and easy to learn.
  

• English Country Dancing is a style that replicates dances from Elizabethan England, and is often performed at renaissance fairs. The Renaissance Dancers hold practices on Thursday nights on campus or around Davis.
  

• Foxtrot originated as a vaudeville dance. It is a combination of quick and slow steps, danced in 4/4 time. Foxtrot is beautiful and romantic, but playful. It is most often associated with Frank Sinatra era tunes.
  

• Merengue is danced to really fast Latin music. Basically, it's a two-step that's played about every other song in Latin dance clubs because even those with two left feet know how to march! It's an easy dance both to learn and dance with different partners. Merengue is versatile enough that those who don't know how to dance can do it, and those who know how to dance can dress it up with salsa-style flourishes. Tuesday nights are salsa nights at The Graduate where Merengue makes up about 25% of the music.
  

• Paso Doble
  

• Pole Sacramento Pole Dance Studio has a Davis location and teaches classes.
  

• Popping is a modern dance form that can be found at the Popping Club @ UC Davis
  

• Quickstep
  

• Rumba
  

• Salsa is a flashy and lively Latin American dance style initially used to describe all popular Latin dance forms, including mambo, rhumba, bugaloo, and cha-cha. Today, salsa refers primarily to modern versions of mambo, which come in several forms. like many other dances, can be broken down into regional styles - Colombian, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Israeli, Miami, New York and LA. Additionally, Casino rueda is a salsa variant performed in a synchronized circle with a caller, much like square dancing; this one's difficult to perform at clubs because of space and other considerations, but is fun at parties where most people know basic salsa. Tuesday nights are salsa nights at The Graduate. Saturday nights are salsa, latin nights at [Spotlight Dance & Fitness].
  

• Samba is a Brazilian dance best known in the US in relation to Brazilian Carnaval. Carnaval samba is very different from the samba associated with ballroom dance. Carnaval samba is loads of fun and can get downright nasty, though you can dance a less performance-based style in Latin clubs.
  

• Square dancing is actually nowhere near as awful when you're not 12 as it was when you got forced to do it in middle school; it's mathematically interesting and can be a lot of fun, like puzzle solving, depending on how clever the caller is. There is a square dancing group at the Senior Center.
  

• Swing includes the lindy hop, jitterbug, and various swing styles such as east coast, west coast, and country swing. Davis Swing Dancers hosts lessons for several styles of swing, plus 2-3 hours of open dancing on Monday nights on campus. The Graduate hosts swing dancing on Sunday nights several times throughout the year. For more regular dancing, you'll have to go to Sacramento: Midtown Stomp on Fridays, Spotlight Dance on Fridays, Firehouse 5 on Sundays, or Club 21 on Tuesdays.
  

• Tango is a dramatic ballroom dance with staccato movements. It is not the same as Argentine tango.
  

• Viennese Waltz
  

• Waltz

* Froggy's had a DJ and dancing on Thursdays and Saturdays prior to closing off the downstairs. No room for dancing now as it is a comfortable, sit-down style pub now. Cold Shot played on Wednesdays until 2006 which lead to a lot of dancing. Still have a DJ but no dancing.

• The Graduate has a decent dance floor and hosts various dance styles on different nights. Monday and Saturdays it is "Country night." Tuesdays are "Salsa Night." Sundays are also 18 and up nights where you can share the club with those not yet of age to drink.
  

• G St. Wunderbar, formerly the G Street Pub has seen dancing on its dance floor, though it may depend on the show.
  

• KetMoRee has dancing available on Fridays/Saturdays every week and occasionally on Thursdays for select groups.
  

• Little Prague Bar has a small dancing stage and a dance floor with DJs playing every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Wednesdays they have various live bands for differnet styles of dancing.
  

• Tres Hermanas, formerly Pasta, during the school year usually has dancing on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.

• Sacramento
  

• Spotlight Dance & Fitness - A ballroom, Latin, Swing dance studio in West Sacramento. They also offer exercise classes such as Zumba and Bellydancing. A 10 minute drive from Davis.

• San Francisco

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Comments:

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Are there other places to dance in Davis? Any opposition to opening this page up to dance venues outside Davis?

2006-08-16 22:33:17   I propose listing places to dance organized by dance style. Currently, the section on styles just looks like a "Wikipedia" style overview of dance genres. —EddieKim

2006-09-13 17:46:32   Where can I find a caller or band for contra dance or square dance? —JudithTruman

2008-05-10 06:50:49   Anyone know where I can go for break-dancing lessons? —Kafani

The EC usually has a class every quarter.