Dance socials in Los Angeles.
5 clubs, and when they meet. Most meet on weekday evenings, around Culver City, Pasadena. Subscribe to this calendar →
What to expect.
These are social dance nights and weekly classes in Los Angeles: swing, salsa, bachata, tango, folk and contra. Nearly all start with a beginner lesson, and the social dancing after it is the point, so you can arrive alone and dance all evening.
The listing shows the day and start time. If there is a lesson first, the club's own page says when it begins and whether you need a partner, which you usually do not.
All 5 dance socials in Los Angeles.
A to Z, in each club's own words. Every one links to the club, and every day and time is the one the club publishes.
Pasadena's long-running Thursday swing night in the 1926 Masonic Temple ballroom: social dancing 9pm to midnight with a blues room on the side, and a free 6-count drop-in class at 9:10 before the floor fills.
Thursdays, 9pm · Pasadena · Paid entry · lindygroove.la →International folk dancing every Friday night since 1941, now at St. James Episcopal in South Pasadena, with a beginners' hour at 6:30 on most first and third Fridays. Line, couple and set dances from the Balkans to Israel.
Fridays, 7:30pm · Free · pasadenafolkdancecoop.org →Live-band swing dance at the Elks Lodge in Playa del Rey with a free beginner lesson at 8pm before the floor opens. Now runs about once a month on a Friday rather than weekly.
Monthly, first Friday · $23 · rustysrhythmclub.com →Live-music contra dance at the Culver City Masonic Lodge on the first and third Saturdays, with a 30-minute newcomer lesson at 6:30 before three hours of dancing. No partner needed; usually 50-60 people.
Monthly, first Saturday and third Saturday · Culver City · $10-$30 · meetup.com →Second-Saturday contra dance with live band at St. James Episcopal Church in South Pasadena, same format as the Culver City dances: beginner lesson at 6:30, dancing 7 to 10.
Monthly, second Saturday · $10-$30 · meetup.com →
Questions people actually ask.
Do I need a partner?
Almost never. Social dance nights rotate partners during the lesson and expect people to ask and be asked all evening. If a class is couples only, the listing says so.
I have never danced. Where do I start?
Pick a night with a beginner lesson before the social, which most have, and arrive for the lesson. Flat shoes you can turn in are the only equipment.
What does it cost?
Social nights often run ten to twenty dollars at the door including the lesson. Folk and community dances are often cheaper or free. The cost column has the number.
Every listing links straight to the club. Know a dance social in Los Angeles we don’t? Add it.