Dance for Joy logoDance for Joy!

Partner Dance Instruction in Waltz, Swing, and Blues in Seattle and Around the U.S.

instructor/owner Lilli Ann Carey

It is our joy to teach partner dancing creatively and playfully

...so our students come to know the sheer joy, laughter and fun of dancing together. (Besides, dancing makes you smarter.)

Dance for Joy! gives dance lessons in Swing, West Coast Swing, Waltz and more in Seattle. We are committed to bringing the delight of holding hands and dancing the night away to you through group dance classes, private dance lessons, dance workshops and dance events. Come play with us!

Save the date!

Dance for Joy! and Om Culture present

Lilli Ann's
"Dancing in a Winter Wonderland"

Saturday December 14th

OMCulture, 2210 N Pacific Street 
8:00 –11:00 pm

$45/person first 30 registrants
See more info at Winter Wonderland

Register through Venmo @ DanceforJoy and note how many leads and follows, or register through PayPal at:
Registration!

Workshop

Dance for Joy! presented

A Collaborative Cross-step Waltz Weekend!

September 13, 14 and 15, 2024

Dancers from the Collaborative Cross-step Waltz Weekend 2024

We had 84 dancers with 6 instructors; they came from 10 states and British Columbia! See you again next year! Date TBD.

Instructors:

Dance

Dancing Til Dusk 2024 is complete!

We had 17 nights of dancing in downtown Seattle public parks in July and August. We hope you hhad a great time and look forward to seeing you next year!

Classes

2024–2025 DFJ Wednesday Night Classes

5 week sessions, 1.25 hour classes
Classes are 6:30-7:45pm and 7:45-9:00pm
Each class includes 10 minutes of practice

All classes held at:
Om Culture in Wallingford
2210 N Pacific Street

We teach to both Traditional & Eclectic/Alternative music so you can dance to anything! Each class will introduce ways to play and be creative! Taught by Lilli Ann and Claire Carey, mother and daughter national and international instructors for over 15 years.

$110/class
To register for classes see our registration page.

Session 1 — Fall

  • Sep 18–Oct 16
  • 6:30-7:45 — Beginning Cross-step Waltz: Begin this highly creative and flexible dance. It’s flow is unique and the moves are absolutely beautiful. Pre-requisite — Some waltz or partner dance required.
  • 7:45-9:00pm — Int/Adv Cross-step Collaborative Weekend Review: You came to the weekend and would like a refresher! OR you didn’t make it to the weekend and you’d like to know what we did. Lilli Ann and Claire will review a variety of moves taken from all instructors from the weekend. Don’t miss it!

Lilli Ann and Claire demonstrating Cross-step/Blues Fusion

Session 2 — Late Fall

  • Nov 6–Dec 11 (No class Nov 27th)
  • 6:30-7:45 — Beginning East Coast Swing: This is the perfect starting point for your partner dance experience. We will get you going so that you can dance at local dances and other events and parties. Flexible and super fun!
  • 7:45-9:00pm — Cross-step/Blues Fusion: Cross-step and Blues tuck in very well together and some cross-step moves are perfect in blues rhythm. We will work with second level Cross-step Waltz moves by teaching and perfecting them first and then putting them into a Blues context. It’s really a 2-for-1 kind of class! Pre-requisite: Must have taken Beginning Cross-step and above.

Session 3 — Early Winter

  • Jan 8–Feb 5
  • 6:30-7:45 — Int/Adv Foxtrot- SQQ/SQQS and New Concepts: Foxtrot was originally a Ragtime dance in the era of one-steps and has been continuously danced in a variety of ways ever since the the 19-teens. We will play with some of sweet those variations and timings — you’re going to love the versatility!
  • 7:45-9:00pm — Latin Waltz: A 3/4 time variation to salsa but slower allowing the sensuality to linger in these classic moves. We will dance to both Latin waltzes and lovely contemporary tunes. And we will teach you how to mix it up with your regular Waltz — it is social floor ready!

Session 4 — Late Winter

  • Feb 26–Mar 26
  • 6:30-7:45 — Intermediate East Coast Swing: Tuck turns, push turns and more. Build on your basics with lively moves meant to amp up your East Coast Swing dance!
  • 7:45-9:00pm — Int/Adv Cross-step New Steps: New material and concepts

Session 5 — Spring

  • Apr 16–May 14
  • 6:30-7:45 — Cross-step Waltz: Intermediate Classics — so many amazing moves. Our archive is steadily growing and we love to revisit some of our favs from the past.
  • 7:45-9:00pm — Int/Adv Cross-step Waltz Oldies: Some of the best of the Oldies, but very goodies

Instructional Videos

Lilli Ann and Claire Carey, mother and daughter review the concepts and moves just taught in their 2-hour intro to Cross-step Waltz sponsored by nwdance.net. To have Lilli Ann and Claire travel to teach for your group, go to www.danceforjoy.biz. You can subscribe to Lilli Ann's YouTube channel and receive all of our new videos in your inbox!

Other videos:

Donate to Lilli Ann and Claire to support Dance for Joy and production of more great dance videos:

Have an idea for a video? Send Lilli Ann and Claire a note!

Testimonials

“Lilli Ann...our waltz class has been more than I expected. You are ingenious in teaching how to lead and follow. Have attended a few classes over the years, and never received such good info. That really is just what I needed, after dancing for so many years with one partner. Looking forward to the next series and plan to go for the Swing class, also. Kay is having a fabulous time, too. Thanks so much.” —B Johnson

“Lilli Ann, one of the dancers here… Francine, was singing your praises the other day after having attended the Richard Powers workshop in Seattle...she went on at length about your skill as a teacher and dancer, and was amazed and very grateful at/for all she had learned from you....very appreciative...just heaping truckloads of praise on you... she was impressed with Richard Powers, but went on and on about you... of course, I already know how wonderful you are, so just sat there smiling and nodding as she gave you the highest compliments... atta girl! Hope you and yours are well… ” —Ron

“Lilli Ann and Claire are an enthusiastic and professional team. Their workshops have something for everybody — a clear introduction to the basics for the beginners, while at the same time challenging the more advanced dancers. Cross-step Waltz is a gorgeous dance, and they do a fabulous job of teaching it.” —Marion Newvelant, Random Waltz, Portland, OR

About the Christmas Ball...

“The Ball was wonderful last night... beautiful dancers, great music, dear friends, scrumptious desserts, and a delightful hostess. Thank you, Lilli Ann Carey for creating this event. xo ” —Marlene

“Lilli Ann (and Paul, who generously helped finance the event), thank you so much for all the time, work and love that went into creating the Ball last night. It was such a beautiful evening, I’m glad I took lots of photos to remember the event. There were so many special moments to the evening and I especially liked the send off with the little bells of joy! Nicely done! ~Thanks again, ” —Wendy

More testimonials... | DFJ reviews on Yelp