So you’re single, pushing 50 or 60 or beyond, and you gotta dance. Where to go?
Lots of places, and we’ve rounded up some for you to check out.
We’re not just talking about ballroom dancing. Older people are out there doing Latin dances, various types of swing, country & western dances, the Hustle, traditional barn dances and more.
Your dancing doesn’t have to be “Dancing With the Stars” quality, but some places do attract good amateur dancers. So we’ve also included a couple of dance studios where you can hone your skills. These offer open dancing for non-students too.
Our list begins with the obvious: singles dances. We’re not focusing on the best places to meet other singles, though; this list, drawn from personal experience and interviews, is geared more to dancing. With that in mind, we’ve also noted the places where it’s better to bring along a partner.
At dances that include lots of couples, here’s a hint for singles: watch the crowd and ask someone to dance that has been dancing with more than one person.
And remember, most men, too, love to be asked to dance.
Dancing’s a great way to have a good time and get some wonderful exercise to boot (no pun intended, you country & western fans). So go for it!
Cure for dance fever
It’s a question we’re often asked: Where can a single “mature adult” go dancing?
We asked our local expert, Margaret Patterson, who has been burning up the dance floor since she retired from the Tribune a few years ago, to name a few places. And, boy did she.
Here’s what she found: There’s lots of space on the dance floor. You just need to know where to look.
SINGLES DANCES
Good Time Charley’s Singles
Illinois hotline: 708-445-4450; Indiana hotline: 219-650-2111; www.gtcsingles.com
Admission: $6-$9
Where: Dances held in the west and southwest suburbs and northwest Indiana.
Ages: Mostly 40s and up
The dances at the biggest venues draw crowds in the hundreds, especially on Fridays and especially the ones held at the Willowbrook Ballroom in Willow Springs. Some come mainly to meet people, others mainly to dance. Married couples who like to dance have been known to show up too. DJs provide the music.
Thunderbird Singles Parties
847-604-3446; www.thunderbirdsingles.com
Admission: $5-$7
Where: West and northwest suburbs
Ages: Mostly 40s and up
These well-attended dances are held in ballrooms and meeting rooms. Serious dancers may become frustrated if there isn’t enough room to really move, especially in the smaller venues. Music is via DJs with an occasional live band. On the Web site, click on Dancing in Chicagoland for more dancing ideas.
SINGLES CLUBS
New Horizons Singles Club
Arrowhead Golf Course Clubhouse, 26W151 Butterfield Rd., Wheaton; 630-653-5800 (clubhouse); 630-415-3369 (hotline); www.newhorizons2.com
Admission: Members $4, nonmembers $6.
Ages: Mostly 40s and up
The club meets every other Tuesday evening on the second floor of the Arrowhead clubhouse, a new, nicely appointed venue built by the Wheaton Park District. Some nights there is a line dance or swing dance lesson before the open dancing. About 40 or 50 people usually attend, and there is plenty of room for dancing. (Note to those of you who like to do a lot of turns: The floor can be a bit sticky.)
St. Charles Singles Club
Riverside Receptions, 35 N. River Lane (just north of Illinois Highway 38), Geneva; 630-584-7632, then press 3; www.stcharlessinglesclub.com
Admission: Members $6, nonmembers $8
Ages: Mostly 50s and up
Dances for this crowd of 100-150 people are held in the banquet hall on the second, fourth and fifth Monday evenings (with lessons beforehand on the second and fourth; a live band on the fifth). You can’t beat the view–the dance floor overlooks the Fox River. Occasionally the club holds dances in Batavia too.
SINGLES MINISTRIES
Some religious groups have singles ministries that occasionally hold dances.
Christ Church of Oak Brook
31st Street and York Road, Oak Brook; 630-654-1882, 630-654-3233 (singles ministry); www.cc-ob.org
Willow Creek Community Church
67 E. Algonquin Rd., South Barrington; 847-765-5000; www.willowcreek.org
Christ Church and Willow Creek both have large singles groups for various ages that are ministries of their churches. When each of the groups occasionally holds a dance (open to nonmembers and well attended), the information is listed under “Ascend” on Christ Church’s Web site and under “Single Adult Event” on the Willow Creek Web site.
SINGLES AND COUPLES DANCES
Cadillac Ranch
1175 W. Lake St., Bartlett; 630-830-7200; www.aceplaces.com
Cover: $3-$5
Ages: 21 and up
Put on your boots and cowboy hats (optional, but many do dress up) and enjoy country & western dancing on the good-size dance floor. Best day for older people is Sunday. Throughout the week, the crowd becomes younger the later it gets. There are free line dance lessons on Tuesday; free couples dance lessons are on Friday. Occasionally live bands perform. (It takes a few steps on the Web site to get to the information; scroll down to a box called ACE Websites, find Cadillac Ranch, click on that and then click on Country.)
The College of DuPage Older Adult Institute
West Commons room (via Room 146), West Campus, Building K; Fawell Boulevard at Lambert Road, Glen Ellyn; 630-942-2700; www.cod.edu/conted/oai/
Admission: $6
Ages: Mostly 70s and 80s
The Ken Roberts Orchestra provides music for dances held one Sunday afternoon of the month (usually the third Sunday). Next dances are Nov. 19 and Dec. 17. There’s a large floor. Some go just to watch, but most take advantage of the orchestra’s big band sound to get out there and trip the light fantastic. Married couples and singles attend.
Dance Mania Chicago
Diplomat West banquet hall, 681 W. North Ave. (just west of Illinois Highway 83), Elmhurst; 630-279-9700 (Diplomat West), 847-813-1910 (hotline)
Admission: $12 Tuesdays, $8 Fridays
Ages: 45 and up
Dance Mania Chicago holds dances on the first Tuesday of the month and on some Fridays. The Tuesday dances (for couples and singles; hosts and hostesses are at the ready for whomever does not have a partner) draw about 100 people mostly ages 45 and up–and that does mean up, as there are some in their 80s and 90s still dancing. Style is ballroom, music is via a combination of a 10- or a 17-piece live band and a DJ. There is a dance lesson beforehand. At the Friday dances, a DJ plays modern music for the somewhat younger (40s and up) crowd of about 400 mostly singles.
Frankie’s Blue Room
16 W. Chicago Ave. (2nd floor), Naperville; 630-416-4898 (hotline); 630-416-3310 (Features Bar & Grill, at 10 W. Chicago, the parent firm); www.frankiesblueroom.com
Cover: $7 Wednesdays, $5 Thursdays, weekends $6-$10.
Ages: 20s to 60s
On Wednesdays, swing dance lessons (included in the cover charge) begin about 7:45 p.m. (go to www.carlandkarrie.com for more information). Doors open between 7 and 7:15, and CDs play beforehand for practice on this large floor. Afterwards, the Rhythm Rockets play for the mostly young and energetic crowd. There are usually some dancers in their 50s and 60s who can more than keep up with the jump-jive/swing music. Thursdays are salsa nights with dancing to CD music. Live bands of various styles play on Friday and Saturday nights; Saturday’s crowd tends to be older than Friday’s.
Hotel Baker
Rainbow Room, 100 W. Main St., St. Charles; 630-584-2100; www.hotelbaker.com
Cover: $10-$15
Ages: All ages
This restored 1928 hotel, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, has some unusual touches, not the least of which is the Rainbow Room, with its lighted glass-block dance floor. Tommy Dorsey, Guy Lombardo, Louis Armstrong and other name bands played here. Check with the hotel for the next entertainment in this room. (The hotel has live bands, with no cover, in its Charlemagne Lounge, but there is no room to dance there.)
Willowbrook Ballroom
8900 S. Archer Ave., Willow Springs; 708-839-1000; www.willowbrookballroom.com
Cover: Varies
Ages: Varies
Huge (6,000-square-foot) dance floor, the best in the Chicago area. If you love to dance, this is the place to go. The business was founded in 1921 as an outdoor dance hall. The present building has seen the likes of Count Basie and Benny Goodman and is still going strong.
There is much happening throughout the week, both lessons and dancing. Sunday afternoon ballroom dancing with live bands (admission $14) is a particularly good event for seniors, but it would be best to take at least a few lessons first to keep up with the good dancers. Also a good bet are the country & western nights on Mondays and Tuesdays (admission $8), which include couples and line dancing. The Sunday night swing dances (admission $10) draw a mostly young crowd–fun to watch, and some dress in vintage clothes–but there are always older people there too. For the swing events, occasionally there is a live band, including The Gina Knight Orchestra. Knight, 23, whose seven-piece band plays “bluesy, mambo-swing,” in Knight’s words, has been playing drums professionally since she was 15.
If you like rock ‘n’ roll and love to swing dance, don’t miss John Mueller’s annual re-creation of Buddy Holly’s final winter tour performance, which took place on Feb. 2, 1959, in Clear Lake, Iowa. The next show will be held on Jan. 19, 2007. Keep checking Willowbrook’s Web site or Mueller’s Web site, www.yourbuddyjohn.com, for details. Tickets are usually $20, or $25 at the door (call to make sure the event hasn’t sold out).
Yorkville American Legion Post 489
9054 U.S. Highway 34 (just east of Illinois Highway 47), Yorkville; 630-553-7117 (post), 630-553-0153 (Rick Falato, band director); www.yorkvillebigband.com
Cover: $14
Ages: 40 and up
On the third Sunday of the month, September through May, ballroom dancers (usually 100 to 125 people) can sway to the sounds of the 17-piece Yorkville American Legion Big Band and two vocalists. Admission includes a dance lesson from 5 to 6 p.m. with open dancing until 9.
DANCE CLUBS
Chicago Jitterbug Club
708-388-JUMP (5867) (hotline); www.chicagojitterbugclub.com
Glendora House Ballroom, 10225 S. Harlem Ave., Chicago Ridge; 708-425-3686
Admission: Members $5, nonmembers $10
Ages: Mostly 35 and up
Chicago South Elks Lodge #1596
4428 W. Midlothian Turnpike, Crestwood; 708-597-7465
Admission: Members $5, nonmembers $8
Ages: Mostly 40s and up
Some people call this the South Side Jitterbug Club. It’s a friendly crowd. Some dances include lessons beforehand, and special dances may include demonstration performances. Glendora House has a large floor.
Chicago’s Windy City
Jitterbug Club
American Legion Post 974, 9757 W. Pacific Ave., Franklin Park; 847-678-7474 (post), 630-616-2100 (hotline); www.jitterbugchicago.com
Admission: Members $5, nonmembers $8 (higher when the club holds dances at other venues)
Ages: Mostly 35 and up
See the Web site for a schedule of lessons.
Fermilab Folk Club
Warrenville Community Center, 3S240 Warren Ave., Warrenville; 630-840-2061 (Lynn Garren), 630-840-2971 (David Harding); www.fnal.gov/orgs/folkclub
Admission: $6; under age 12, free; ages 12-18 and 65 and over, $3.
Ages: All ages
The Fox Valley Folklore Society, the Chicago Barn Dance Company and the Warrenville Park District (630-393-7279) co-sponsor barn dances, open to non-members, evenings on the second Sunday of the month from September through June, and afternoons on the third Sundays from November through April. They always have live musicians. The dance floor in the multipurpose room is the size of a small basketball court. These dances are fun, and you don’t need a partner. The leaders always walk through the dances beforehand for those who are unfamiliar with them. Also, click at the top of the folk club’s Web site on “International Folk Dancing and Scottish Country Dance” for information on those styles (and also English country dancing) held in the Village Barn on the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory grounds in Batavia, or call Mady Newfield, 630-584-0825, or Doug Jensen, 630-840-8194.
Genesis Dance Club
Diamond Dancesport, 7767 W. 96th Place, Hickory Hills; 708-237-9464; www.genesisdance.com
Admission: $6 members, $10 nonmembers
Ages: All ages
This is a new dance club for all ages of singles and couples. It is to begin regularly in January, when the club plans to hold dances on the first Saturday and the third Sunday of the month (lesson beforehand is an additional $5). Music will be provided by a DJ for dancing swing, Hustle, nightclub and more. The venue has a good-size dance floor. The club will hold a grand opening dance Dec. 10 (admission free for members, $10 nonmembers, lesson $5).
DANCE STUDIOS
It is not necessary to have a partner at these dance studios.
Big City Swing
1012 W. Randolph St.; 312-243-0700; www.bigcityswing.com
Group classes: $60 for a 4-week session; $5 discount for early registration usually available
Ages: Varies
This studio holds a practice dance on Tuesday nights. Suggested donation is $5, and you don’t have to be a student here to attend. The ages vary on any given night, everyone from teens to 60s. The studio is often invited to teach a beginning swing lesson at bars, clubs and citywide events (you may have seen their dancers at SummerDance in Grant Park). Free street parking just outside the studio.
DuPage Dance Center
1163 E. Ogden Ave., Naperville; 630-369-3699; www.dupagedancecenter.com
Group lessons: $12 each, discounted if prepaid for the month
Ages: Varies
Every Thursday night the dance center (about two blocks north of Ogden and a few doors west of Iroquois Avenue in the Iroquois Shopping Center) holds a practice party open to the public for a $5 admission fee (it’s free to those who have taken a class that week). Once a month the center holds a dance party with a theme, usually on a Friday night. Admission to those is $8 in advance, $10 at the door. Music is usually recorded. Also offering lessons at the dance center location (and in Wayne, too) is the DeSarge Danceworld studio. Call 630-309-9256 or go to www.desargedanceworld.com for a schedule. Danceworld uses the same group structure and group prices as above, so students can move easily from class to class in either studio’s programs.
May I Have This Dance
Call 773-635-3000 or go to www.mayihavethisdance.com for information on this studio’s lessons and events (open to non-students) at various city sites. Events draw all ages.
ROCK ‘N’ ROLL BANDS
Some older singles and couples follow these bands for dancing or just listening. They all have schedules on their Web sites with a list of venues. The dance areas usually are small, so the floor can get crowded as the night goes on. That makes it good for freestyle dancing (with or without a partner), which doesn’t take up much space.
The Incognitos
www.theincognitosband.com
They play ’50s-’90s music, but when they add a saxophonist and call themselves The Ragtops, they play mainly ’50s-early ’60s.
Johnny Star and the Meteors
www.johnnystarandthemeteors.com
’50s-’60s music.
The Neverly Brothers
www.theneverlybrothers.com
This band bills itself as “’50s Rockabilly Meets ’60s British Invasion.”
Route 66
www.rte66.org
Get your kicks with Route 66!
The StingRays
www.thestingrays.com
’50s-’70s music.
BAND VENUES
Following are some of the places where the bands above might be playing.
Chambers Seafood Grill & Chop House
6881 N. Milwaukee Ave., Niles; 847-647-8282; www.thechambersonline.com
Cover: $5 only for some shows
No dance floor as such; the staff moves away tables.
Ki’s Steak & Seafood
705 North Ave., Glendale Heights; 630-469-4757; www.kissteakandseafood.com
No cover
A nice date place with formal decor, though many people dress casually. No dance floor as such; they move back tables, and sometimes they don’t move enough. Fridays are usually less crowded than Saturdays.
Manhattan’s American
Bar & Grill
300 S. Schmale Rd., Carol Stream; 630-871-2991; www.manhattansgrill.com
No cover
A friendly place with reasonably priced food. It’s a good idea to call ahead, as occasionally there’s a large party of diners that delays the staff’s clearing back the tables for a dance floor.
Rain Restaurant & Lounge
State and Bennett Streets (Ill. Hwys. 38 and 25), Geneva; 630-232-2222; www.rainrestaurant.net
No cover
Elegant decor with a fountain on one side and a wall with falling water behind the bar that really does sound like rain. This is also a nice date place. There is no dance floor as such but the staff moves back enough tables. There’s live music Wednesday through Saturday nights, some more conducive to dancing than others. It’s in a fairly new retirement building at the northeast corner and is a little hard to see from the street. Free valet parking off Bennett Street; otherwise it’s difficult to find a spot without a tow warning.
Rolling Lanes
6301 Joliet Rd., Countryside; 708-352-7262; www.rollinglanes.com
Cover: Usually $5
Dance floor is a decent size considering it’s next to a bar in this bowling alley. A quaint diner-like restaurant is accessible from the bowling area.
Viking Steakhouse
27W150 Roosevelt Rd., Winfield; 630-653-2110
No cover
The dance floor accommodates about 10 or 12 couples. Decor is formal, but as long as you don’t wear jeans, casual dress is OK.
SINGERS
Dan Haley
On Thursday and Saturday nights at Ciao Bella Ristorante (18W333 Roosevelt Rd., Lombard, 630-620-0090, www.ciao-bella-ristorante.com; no cover), Dan Haley entertains diners with a pleasing repertoire of Sinatra, Bennett, Elvis, Bobby Darin, Tom Jones and more. There is a very nice little dance floor that usually is not crowded unless there is a party going on. For dancing, bring a date. Free valet parking, though sometimes there are self-park spaces open.
The Moods
This quartet (www.the-moods.com) sings Motown, blues, pop, rock ‘n’ roll, jazz and more with high-steppin’ energy. See the Web site for venues and call for information on cover charges and the dance floors.
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First step
Keep a few of things in mind:
– Even a simple dance can be strenuous, so if you don’t dance regularly, check with your doctor first before getting on the floor.
– The dance floors in most of these venues are wood; veterans halls or some church centers might have tile floors.
– Some dances include munchies or appetizers in the admission fee.
– Call or check the Web sites for times; schedules can change.
Next step
Here are some Web sites that have links for dance information:
If you need a dance partner, either for social or competitive dancing, you could go to www.dancepartner.com, a worldwide dance partner search site. It’s free, or you can sign up for either of two added-benefit levels, costing from $14.95 per month to $99.95 per year.
www.danceaholics.com, for information on events in the Chicago area featuring various styles of dancing.
www.ballroomchicago.com (scroll way down to Links and find the Greater Chicagoland Dance Schedule).
Three sites for chapters of USA Dance, a ballroom dance organization — www.usadancechicago.org, www.dancefoxvalley.org, and www.danceframe.com (the Rockford chapter).
–M.P.
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atplay@tribune.com
