Denver is known for its skis and hiking boots, but this city also knows how to slip on its dancing shoes and boogie.
Nightclubs, dance instructors and social groups are well organized. The communities work hard not to step on each other’s toes – literally. Every night of the week is carved out for dance events ranging from Tex-Mex to tango, salsa to samba, square-dancing to swing.
“Dance in Denver is fabulous,” says Patricia Muscari, a member of Tango Colorado and a board member of the Denver Turnverein, a longtime social club housed in a historic meeting hall at 1570 Clarkson St.
Things weren’t always so hopping.
When instructor Daniel Newsome started dancing about a decade ago, there were only a couple of nights available for a dancer in the city. Everyone was a beginner, no matter what style they danced, he says.
Today he and his wife, Tiffiny Wine, have three levels of performing dancers, from rank tyros to up-and-coming Fred and Gingers. Instructors travel out of state at least 20 weekends a year to learn new moves. High school kids share the floor with dancers who refuse to give their age.
Such popular television shows as “Dancing with the Stars” have catapulted the activity into the mainstream. A pasttime that was once the province of a few hardcore fans is finding a growing audience who recognize it as a way to exercise and socialize, dance fans say.
“There is always a place to go,” Newsome said. “You never get bored with it.”
Dancers can hit several hot spots in one night – if they have the energy. On any given Thursday, a West Coast swing class is winding down at the Stampede in Aurora at the same time lindy hoppers are getting into their groove at the Mercury Cafe in downtown Denver. A few blocks away in the Golden Triangle, open salsa dancing has the floor packed at La Rumba.
Dance instructors and social directors schedule events so each community has a chance to host a gathering and draw in dancers.
“I just have my regular dance nights for lindy hop, swing, jitterbug and tango,” said Marilyn Megenity, owner of the Mercury Cafe. “I wouldn’t try to start a salsa night on Saturdays because that would divide the salsa community.”
Denver’s hot music scene helps. Crack live bands encourage people to hit the dance floor; this keeps newbies progressing and professionals happy. Whether it’s two-steppers at the Grizzly Rose or swing at the Mercury, dancers have an outlet. Hot styles taking over Denver clubs now include the lindy, salsa and the tango.
A bit of savvy marketing hasn’t hurt, either.
“I attribute our scene to good advertising by those dance groups currently thriving and wanting to keep offering different venues,” Muscari said.
Even nontraditional venues are trying to stake a claim in Denver’s dance scene.
Club Octane inside Red & Jerry’s at 1840 W. Oxford Ave. in Sheridan just began offering swing lessons to woo the city’s strong and youthful contingent of lindy hoppers. Teachers and DJs from Newsome’s 23 Skidoo, the team responsible for the Mercury’s hearty dance culture, host a jitterbug and lindy lesson before open dancing starts.
Gerry Rodriguez, 48, and a group of 20 or so friends routinely make the one-hour drive from Fort Collins to dance at the Stampede, 2430 South Havana St. in Aurora or the Turnverein. Their town is strong on Western bars and college watering holes, but not big on swing.
“I like knowing that a lot of the instructors come out to the clubs to dance themselves,” Rodriguez said. “They are willing to dance with us and take pity on us less experienced dancers.”
Each dance club has a different personality, often driven by how serious the dancers take themselves. Intimidation can keep a newcomer off the floor, so most venues offer lessons to boost the comfort level.
“It’s good to be able to come and learn,” said first time West Coast swing dancer Nancy Paulsen, 50, on a recent Thursday night at the Stampede. After her recent divorce, Paulsen’s friends thought dancing was a nonthreatening way for the Littleton resident to get back into the dating scene.
“Being able to touch someone and talk to them is nice,” Paulsen said.
Hoofers say that nightclubs keep them coming back because the managers accept the fact that for them, the evening is about dancing, not drinking.
Roberta Farley of Shut Up and Dance Productions says clubs such as the Mercury Cafe are performing “a community service, really” by sponsoring swing and tango nights with live music for people who don’t drink.
“Dancers aren’t the best customers because they don’t drink a lot,” said Farley, an instructor, performer and choreographer who specializes in tango, salsa and swing. “If you have 60 people inside and only three are drinking, that’s very stressful for a club that’s in business to sell alcohol.”
Ambience created by trendy decor, hardwood floors, DJs and visiting acts hooks regulars too.
“You come because every night is going to be different with the random out-of-towner or a new band adding new energy,” says Julie Larson, 23, of Denver, who loves the white-and-red Christmas tree lights that dot the Mercury Cafe’s second-floor ceiling like stars in a midnight sky.
“You never know how it will be,” she says, “but you know it will be a good time.”
Staff Writer Sheba R. Wheeler can be reached at 303-954-1283 or swheeler@denverpost.com.
