When we moved to Fort Collins, we were a bit concerned we would not have places to dance! Not so! There are many places to dance including ballrooms, event centers, coffee shops, and my favorite – on cafe patios in the summertime!
Below are some of our favorite places, clubs, and events to dance in the Northern Colorado area.
Dance Styles List
Tango – Fort Collins is fortunate to have an expert couple teaching Argentine Tango. I was hoping at some point we would retake our tango lessons, but alas, not yet. If you come for a visit, and tango dance, we must look them up and see when the next milango will be.
Swing – Swing is HOT here! There are at least three groups of swing dancers in Fort Collins. New for 2019, the Northern Colorado Swing Dance Club has dances every Saturday night this summer at the Exchange in downtown Fort Collins. How fun is that? I understand there are also swing dance clubs in Laramie and The Wyoming Swing Club won the Guinness World’s Record for Swing Dancing in 2015.
Blues – Wow. Blues is everywhere here in NoCo and you definitely want to be able to dance to some of the great bands that work their way around the area. Blues Northern Colorado is one of our favorites. If you are visiting and want to take a quick lesson and dance, this a great option! It’s easy and fun!
West Coast Swing – probably the hottest dance here in Colorado is West Coast Swing. FC Swing shares instructors and offers dance lessons at least twice a week at different venues and lesson/dance every Friday at the Fort Collins Club. Occasionally, other dances such as Cowboy Cha Cha are taught as well.
Polka – There will be polka dancing at various local area Oktoberfest events. What is most exciting is the number of bands with young polka enthusiastics such as Neue Polka and Polka Folka. For a short dancing sorjourn, The Denver Polka group dances every Sunday in Westminster.
Square Dancing – First, it’s important to note that Square Dancing is the official dance of Colorado. It is hugely popular. Should you already square dance, and want to join in some local fun, Fort Collins has its own club that hosts dances three times a month at Club Tico.
Ballroom – Latin/Swing Clubs – there are several options for waltz, foxtrot, rumba, cha cha and the like. Goodtimes Dance Club, Estes Park Friday Niters, and the Cheyenne Dance Club both offer casual dressy dances to live big bands. We have at least eight big bands in the area! Some of our favorites are:
Traditional Dance – One might ask, “What is a traditional dance?” I had to look it up since there isn’t much on the local dance group, Friends of Traditional Dance. Northern Colorado traditional dance is primarily contradancing and Wikipedia gives us a wonderful explanation of its history and style. No partners are needed and the music hints at Scottish, Irish and French Canadian music. I will be honest. I was bad and sort of snubbed this dancing. Mike and I went to a waltz evening all gussied up in ballroom attire and it was definitely much more low key! But having been to Ireland now and listening to fiddles, lutes, banjos and other musical instruments, I so want to try this dancing!
Here is a super video to watch and listen to the music!
Open Dance Events
Avalon Ballroom – The Avalon Ballroom is in Boulder, about a 45-minute drive from Fort Collins and is the largest multi-purpose ballroom north of Denver and south of Cheyenne. They have a variety of dance options available including swing, tango, contradance, and a very unique Sunday event called a tea dance, very reminiscent of dances in the 1910s and 1920s. In addition, they offer several ethnic dances such as Israeli and Scottish dancing.
Turnverein Denver – I will be honest. We have not been to this ballroom yet, but if you are travelling through Denver and are a dancer, you might want to check out the ballroom and the multitude of lessons and open dances available. The history is quite interesting – The event center was founded in Denver in 1865 and the Denver Turnverein is the oldest organization of its type in Colorado. It is affiliated with the national American Turners organization, started by German immigrants fleeing war torn Europe in 1848. Turnvereins sprang up around the US to promote social activities, physical fitness, and healthy minds.
Annual 1940s Ball – this is the BEST EVENT EVER! It’s a wild, crazy, fun event with multiple dance floors, musical acts, and dinner. This event occurs twice a year as a 1940s hanger dance in Boulder and holiday event in December. The music is amazing, the costumes are fantastic! We recommend the December event and staying at the event hotel. Start early and end early and let the younger folks dance the night away on a very crowded dance floor.
Love and All That Jazz – This fundraise ball for Foothills Pops Band is our favorite event of the winter season. Scheduled sometime around Valentine’s Day, this event features the the Pops Band and then the smaller ballroom/swing/jazz ensemble. The event is held at the Hilton and is a hit for NoCo dancers.
Dance events are everywhere so we keep our Facebook open to get those invitations and updates! In the summer, there are outdoor concert series in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Windsor which offer opportunities to dance outside.
Fort Collins Downtown Concert Series
Fort Collins Thursday Nite Series
Northern Colorado Dance Instructors to Follow:
Maya’s Ballroom Dance – in Loveland. Maya has formal dance instruction and open dance parties to DJ and live music.
Tilly’s Dance in Longmont – Sena also offers formal dance instruction and open dance parties with pre-party dance instruction.
Loveland Dance Company – Chris Casson in Loveland has weekly dance instructions and open dance every Sunday. Follow his Facebook group page for more information!
We stay abreast of weekly dances through a super email list compiled and sent out by Richard Wilson. The list includes dances at the Larimer County senior centers, breweries, distilleries and many more. Many of these dances offer pre-dance instruction by Greg Wendling, Chris Casson and other area dance instructors.
As more pubs, coffee shops and open club spaces offer opportunities to dance, it’s important to follow the dance groups and bands to keep up with where they are playing. Winter moves dancing indoors and then of course, June brings on the outdoor options!
Waterford Inn 