Last updated on: January 25, 2025
If you are interested in learning ballroom dance, we are the club for you! No partner or prior dancing background required. We welcome members at any level!
To get on our mailing list, please send an email titled “Get me on the mailing list!” to illinidance@gmail.com
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News
Upcoming Events & FREE Lessons
We host a range of events at the start of the semester to introduce fellow students to the world of ballroom dance! Join us at one of the following events to learn more about us and how to get involved:
- Student Engagement Org Expo
- February 3 at 6-8PM
- Illini Union Rooms ABC (Booth 118)
- Illini Ballroom & Latin Dance Open House
- February 6 at 7PM
- Illini Union Ballroom (2nd Floor)
- Free introductory lessons and performances by current members.
- Free Professional and Student-led Lessons
- Your first professional lesson is absolutely FREE of charge. We encourage you to come earlier in the semester to get the most benefit from our instructor.
- Your first two-weeks of student-led lessons are free and a great way to get introduced to dancing and other members in the organization.
Spring 2025 Professional Lessons Finalized
Our professional, coach taught lessons will begin on February 9, 2025 at 7PM. We offer affordable, student-friendly pricing that enables anyone to learn ballroom and Latin dancing. Learn more about what we offer and our pricing here.
New Tuesday/Thursday Structure
We have recently changed our Tuesday and Thursday evening schedule to increase our instruction time and provide more opportunity for students to participate throughout the week! For the upcoming semester, our Tuesday and Thursday events will have a $25.00 general fee and be structured as:
- 7-8PM: Beginner Lessons (Standard or Latin)
- 8-9PM: Intermediate Lessons (Standard or Latin)
- 9-10PM: Open Practice
For experienced ballroom dancers, beginners lessons encompass the “Newcomer” and “Bronze” levels while intermediate lessons cover “Bronze” and “Silver” levels. Classes will be tailored based on attendance.
Schedule
Please check the team’s Google Calendar for specific time and location for each day.
Note: if you’re using Safari (iOS/macOS), you may see an reCAPTCHA and an error message saying “Our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer network” instead of the calendar. This is probably because the “Prevent Cross-Site Tracking” option is enabled in your Safari settings. If you don’t want to disable the privacy preserving option, you can try reopen this page in a different browser (Chrome or Firefox). Or subscribe to the calendar and check the schedule in your calendar app (link in here).
Apple Calendar Subscription Link
Apple users can subscribe to the team’s calendar using this link: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/illinidance%40gmail.com/public/basic.ics
Google Calendar Subscription Link
Google users can subscribe to the team’s calendar using this link: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/1?cid=aWxsaW5pZGFuY2VAZ21haWwuY29t
A few quick facts about the team
- We are a mix of students and community members (mostly students), who dance Ballroom dances: Standard, Smooth, Latin, and Rhythm. Collectively, these four styles of competitive partner dancing are called “DanceSport.”
- In addition to our classes taught by Alex Tecza and Kato Lindholm, we have regular dance practices and social events throughout the semester.
- We also travel around the Midwest to participate in competitions with other university ballroom teams.