The Mob Mentality

This means that no one passively consumes at the Mobtown Ballroom. We like to sit back with a beer and watch SVU marathons as much as anyone else, but we really get our kicks by going out, meeting people, dancing, and bullshitting face to face. A ballroom is really just an open space, it’s what the people do inside that makes it something special.

We teach a whole lot of dance classes (and we do it damn well) but the point of our classes is not to make money or feel good about being teachers—we teach classes to get as many people on the dance floor as possible. Our dances are the main event, and we live for them. We combine kick-ass dancing with good times and conversation. We like to sing karaoke. We like to dance with beginners. We like to have incredibly wild house parties. This is why the Mobtown Ballroom is not a dance studio. But there is another element. This place isn’t a traditional club. When you show up, you will meet a lot of people, but they don’t come to hook up (at least primarily); they come to dance. While we’ll get you started shockingly quickly, the dances we do here can take a lifetime to master. They’re fun to do and they are fun to watch. More than this, they are partner dances, which means that you spend time dancing with a variety of people every night. This is part of the fun, because, unlike other social outlets, the focus is on the activity itself. You get to know people in the context of a shared activity that you work on continuously. You will make friends–hell, you might get married, but whatever happens you are going to enjoy yourself.

The Mobtown Ballroom is about dancing, meeting people, and having a good time. As soon as we walk through the doors we don’t care about anything else. We do our best to cultivate an energized atmosphere that is not only welcoming to everyone but rabidly enthusiastic. We like new people and we like dancing with new people. If you show up, and stand on the edge of the floor, someone is going to ask you to dance. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or an old pro. We don’t care about your politics, your race, your sexual orientation, your religion, or anything else, and we don’t tolerate any kind of harassment. Whoever you are or wherever you’re from, if you want to dance, you’re in the right place.

We have a venue that you have to see to believe. This place is beautiful, and on band nights when everyone is dressed up, The Mobtown Ballroom is a sight to behold.

We like mayhem. Towards the end of the night on swing nights, we tend to get a little goofy with the music and keep things open late. It has been known to stay open well past 2:00 a.m. and devolve into a full-on, top-40 dance party. Some times you just have to swing out to Lady Gaga. On Friday nights we have silly contests (crabwalk, chorus-line kicks, arm-wrestling, etc.) This keeps things from getting snooty and sets the right mood. I have it on good authority that it is technically impossible to to be in a bad mood while crab-walking.

This isn’t as dirty as it sounds. People spend most of their time in censorious environments (like work or school), trying to appear well-mannered and bland. That’s what the day is for. Come to our evening programming and you can hoot and hollar at sexy performances, dance dirtier than Patrick Swayze, have an incredibly strong drink at the Calypso Cafe down the road, or contemplate our stained-glass windows and pray. It’s grown up time, and a dash of benign anarchy helps take the edge off the work week.

This is a great place, and it is steadily growing, so we can afford to rely on volume rather than price hikes. A normal weekly dance runs you between $5 and $7, and last from 4-5 hours. On top of all of this, dancing is actually good for you (although you won't be thinking about that while you're doing it). The Mobtown Ballroom is not a non-profit. We won't ask you for donations. We’re not trying to make you cultured or distinguished. We're trying to entertain you.