Chicago Winter Dance - Dancing as a Second Language Courses

We've changed this event from a New Year's Eve Party to a Chicago Winter Dance Festival to celebrate the New Year and to introduce Meetup members to the wonderful world of ethnic dance though our “Dancing as a Second Language” programs

Join our Regular Meetup Group: https://www.meetup.com/ethicdance/

Event: Chicago Winter Dance Festival

When: Friday, 5 January 2024

Where (In-Person): The Color Club - 4146 N Elston Ave – Chicago, IL 60618 – 2nd Floor Ballroom

Cost: $12 ($6.00 kids under 10)

Where (Online via Zoom): https://zoom.us/j/8478468139

• Register to get Zoom password (required):
• Registration: https://virtualdanceroom.net/register-meetup/

Details: https://virtualdanceroom.net/winterdance/

Info: [info@virtualdanceroom.net](mailto:info@virtualdanceroom.net) – 847-846-8139

Watch for In Person 10-Week Dance Class beginning starting 1/12/2024

Since you’ve indicated in interest in one of our Meetup Events, you're already looking for something different.

So what’s different about ethnic dance?

Firstly, the ground rules:

• come as you are – no special outfits required
• come with or without prior dance experience
• come with or without dance partners
• lessons for both beginning and skilled dancers
• instruction mixed in with occasional “learn by doing”
• consent culture – respect for boundaries
• revisit your roots or create roots you don’t have
• get hooked on the music and the rhythms
• you’re never too young or too old to dance

Secondly, the dancing and the music:

• we groove on doing really different types of dances to really different types of music
• dances originate in many countries or from many ethnic groups from around the world
• dances feature both traditional and contemporary folk styles
• dances are often fusions between different traditions
• dances will include many common musical rhythms, like 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8…
• what is really unique and exciting is dancing to asymmetrical rhythms
• often called "crooked rhythms" due to odd numbers of beats,  like 5/8, 7/8, 9/8…
• you'll meet folks from a wide range of backgrounds and you'll have a fantastic time

How does one dance to rhythms like that?

• to help you get in the groove, we’ve arranged for a bit of instruction at this festival
• each featured instructor will teach a relatively easy dance to help you along
• not everything will be taught, but many dances are accessible for everyone
• some more experienced dancers will be happy to help you join into easier dances
• we’ll have open registration for a 10-week class designed for folkls new to ethnic dance

Background:

Prior to the pandemic, Ethnic Dance Chicago (EDC) was meeting in-person at the Chicago Latvian Center (now the Color Club) every week with 20-40 participants - many of whom were not Meetup members.

With the start of the pandemic we transformed EDC into an online group (The Virtual Dance Room) meeting & dancing online on Zoom and drawing between 90 and 130 participants each Friday (weekly dance) and 3rd Saturday (Global Dance After-Party)

Now that the covid-19 issues are somewhat under control many folks are looking to get back to in-person dancing.

NOTE: It will take a little time to get used to the different types of ethnic dance and music, so you're not expected to get everything on your first night - there is a lot to be learned, and in the end it's worth the effort.