Social Parties & Practices
There are various ballrooms around the Lower Mainland that offer practice times throughout the day, afternoon tea dances and evening social parties. Here's a list of some of the Ballroom venues open to the public. Please contact them directly for specific times.
Grand Ballroom
Located in Richmond, The Grand Ballroom is the largest ballroom in the Lower Mainland and across Canada. They offer evening parties from Thursday to Saturday, tea dances on Tuesday afternoons, and practice times throughout the day.
Phone: 604-273-3130Broadway Ballroom
The Broadway Ballroom, located in the heart of Vancouver, is a relatively new studio, opened in 2007. They offer nightly parties and tea dances on Sunday afternoons.
Phone: 604-733-1779Vancouver Ballroom
Located on Prior Street, near Downtown Vancouver, the Vancouver Ballroom is a private club that offers social dance parties on Friday and Saturday evenings, tea dances on Thursday afternoons, and scheduled practice sessions Tuesdays to Fridays. You must be a member of the Ballroom, which is an annual membership fee.
Phone: 604-688-0217Fitness Ballroom
The Fitness Ballroom is located in Vancouver on Fraser Street at 41st Avenue. It offers nightly parties 7 days a week, tea dances on Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, as well as practice times throughout the day.
Phone: 604-327-8930Crystal Ballroom
Located on Marine Drive, between Cambie & Oak St., the Crystal Ballroom holds nightly parties 7 days a week, tea dances on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons and practices throughout the day.
Phone: 604-323-1238
Competitor Practices
It is very important to find a place to practice that welcomes competitors and provide an environment that is conducive to DanceSport training. Most social dance parties change their music per dance (or 2 dances), as they want to provide interest and variety for their customers. However, when you're trying to practice a particular amalgamation in a particular dance, it can be quite frustrating when the music suddenly switches over to a new dance. That's why competitor practices with longer cycles of songs are often more conducive for regular daily practices.
In an ideal world, it would be great if competitor practices were exclusively for competitors. That way, we wouldn't have to worry about bumping into others, as competitors are used to a bit more physical contact from their neighbours. However, since there is not enough of us to support the local dance halls in Vancouver, competitor practices often include social dancers. Take it as an opportunity to practice your floor craft, as this can be prove to be a very valuable skill in the competition arena.
Grand BallroomThe main floor is used for Standard, while the floor in the back is used for Latin. There is a set program of music that is played throughout the session, consisting of each of the 5 dances, with approximately 5 songs per dance. The program is played twice, and at the very end of the practice session, the 5 dances are played singly to simulate a 5-dance competition.
Time: 8:30pm – 10:30pm
Cost: $5/person or $3/member
This is a Standard-only practice. A set CD is played, which consists of each of the 5-dances, being repeated in cycles of 3. i.e. 3 W, 3 T, 3 VW, 3 SF, 3 QS. The cycle is repeated twice, and then there is a 5-dance simulation. Any remaining time left over is filled with a few Waltzes.
Time: 6pm-7:30pm
Cost: $3/person
Fitness Ballroom (41st & Fraser)
This is not a competitor-only practice. It is a Standard-only social evening that welcomes competitors. A set CD is played, consisting of about 5 songs per Standard dance. After 10:30pm, the regular party music, consisting of 2 Standard and 2 Latin dances resumes.
Time: 8:30pm-10:30pm
Cost: $4/person
JC PEAK Training Sessions
This is a Standard competitor only training session organized by Joel & Clara. It features individual exercises, couple exercises, basic routine practice and competitive routine practice with focuses on floorcraft, presentation, mental preparation, stamina training and other competition aspects. It is designed based on European training methods to help competitors to reach their optimal PEAK performance at just the right time.
Time: 8:15-9:45pm
Cost: $15 drop in per person ($10 for regular JC students)
Check out our PEAK page for more info.
Grand BallroomThis is not a competitor-only practice. It is a social evening that many of the local competitors regularly attend. Cycles of 4 Standard and 4 Latin songs are played and repeated throughout the evening.
Time: 8:30pm – 11:00pm
Cost: $8/person
Crystal Ballroom
This is a Latin-only practice with continuous pre-recorded music.
Time: 6pm-7:30pm
Cost: $3/person
