About Us...
The Dance Club is a community group that
gathers to learn, practice and enjoy the art of Latin and Ballroom
dancing. We don’t have membership fees, structured meetings or agendas.
Members of the club share one goal in mind; to dance and have fun.
The Dance Club meets every Friday except the third Friday of
the month when we have our live Big Band Dance. All activities of the
club are held at the Renaissance Building (located above Two Sisters
Café in Downtown Norwich, NY) The Friday meetings begin at 7:00 pm and
end at 9:00 pm.
Meetings are only cancelled when weather related cancellation
warnings are given by the local radio. Announcements about cancellation
will be aired on the local FM station.
People from 20 to 80 years old come to our events. Although
many of them are couples, we enjoy the company of many of our single
members who come and join other single dancers to learn and practice.
A one hour dance lesson is given at each meeting. The class
always starts with beginner steps. The instructor then coaches each
member to help them improve at their level of learning.
The attire is casual. However, dance shoes are a must. Rubber
soled shoes cause back and knee pain therefore they will be discouraged.
The best shoes are those with leather soles. Sneakers are definitely not
the right shoes to wear to the dance meetings.
The privacy of our member’s information is respected. We
don’t share in any way or form our member’s contact information. We send
a newsletter to our members every month to keep them informed of our
dance lesson calendar and activities.
Club meetings are spontaneous. We like to accommodate to
people’s preferences for dance lessons and practice music. Therefore, it
is not uncommon for us to change the lesson plan the day of the meeting.
We invite you to drop by and visit one of our meetings. We
don’t have a membership fee. Members contribute $5. per person when they
come. This fund help us cover the cost of postage, music, materials, marketing
and maintenance of the ballroom.
The Friday Club
Fridays at the Dance Club look something like this; members
rush in with the weight of a long work week in their shoulders. Many of
them bring along their favorite wine, ice tea an munchies to enjoy while
dancing. We greet them at the door and when we have new members, we make
sure to offer them the opportunity to fill out a profile form to help us
stay in touch in the future.
We don’t have dues but our members helps us maintain this
resource by contributing $5. per person to our club fund. Members put
their money in a “Good Luck” coconut we have by the welcome table. When
we have new members, everyone wears a nametag so that they can learn our
names. After a few meetings, members take time to learn new members
names and we make sure to welcome them warmly each time.
After greeting everyone we move to the dance floor and we
begin our ballroom dance lesson offered by Martha Ryan, a native of San
Juan Puerto Rico. The lesson always starts at the beginning level for
everyone to remember the steps. Then as new members practice the new
steps, the instructor takes the other couples to more advance turns and
steps. After the lesson we play our practice CD and people get to
practice the steps they have learned. Some other members go back to the
tables to enjoy the beverages or munchies they brought with others and
we chat and enjoy the music. The meeting ends at 9pm.
Most of the club members are couples but many single people
join us and they find others who want to dance. Every month we send a
newsletter that tells everyone the dance lesson choices for the following month. We enjoy the freedom
of flexibility so we make the rules as we go. The one rule we don’t
break is the one about “Having Fun”
The Dance School
The Norwich Dance
Studio is a program run by Martha Ryan to teach
independent dancing. Most of the dance Classes are held through the
BOCES adult education program. The dance program introduces single
dancers to the basics of Latin Dance. Groups advance into higher
skill levels and they can choose different dance styles.
The Dance Lessons are offered each season. Visit our Calendar to view the current program schedule.
This program is very informal, students learn movement, grace and the dance steps. Attire is very casual, students are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing. However, dance shoes are required. Rubber soled shoes or sneakers are not allowed on the dance floor.
The group participates at community events and is very open to entertaining seniors at local elder care facilities. For more information or to request a special entertainment event contact us.