Dancing in Tahoe: Unique Events on the South Shore

So you’re here because you LOVE to dance? Me too. I put together a list of the most unique places to get down while you’re in town. Dancing in Tahoe is a popular pastime. With a local population who stay active in all seasons, we have indoor and outdoor options where everyone is welcome to come and shake, shimmy, line dance (yep!), and otherwise bust a move to your heart’s content! Beginners are welcome in all of the events listed, and most are free, sliding scale or otherwise very affordable.

In case you need any more motivation to keep dancing while you travel, dancing has the largest impact for improving symptoms of depression, so one could deduce that it would also help guard against depression. So what are you waiting for? Dust off your dancing shoes, pack your party pants and check out these options for dancing in Tahoe. 

Live at Lakeview
Free Event | All Ages | Multiple Genres

Live at Lakeview is held at Lakeview Commons and has ample space for travelers and residents to boogie together as the sun sets over Lake Tahoe. The stage sits right on the water, so if you get there early you can go for a swim while the sun is still high and splashing and sandplay are available for all. Plus you can enjoy dinner while you’re out, as Live at Lakeview features several foodtrucks, not to mention a full-on beer garden. This event typically has an after-party held at The Woods and/or The American Legion. 

Country Line Dancing
Free Weekly Event | Most all ages, depends on location | Country Music

Roxy Kushner grew up dancing with different performance teams. One day after moving to South Lake Tahoe, she heard a radio commercial advertising line dancing at a honkytonk in Sparks, NV, so she went and tried it out. About 3 months later, she saw that someone was hosting a line dancing night here in town, so of course she went! The organizer broke his leg shortly thereafter, and Roxy wound up taking up the challenge of teaching country line dancing, and she hasn’t looked back since! “I love the way line dancing brings people together and gets them smiling and giggling. And once you know the dances to particular songs, you can jump on the dance floor with people who you might have never met before and do the same dance with them; that part never ceases to make me smile,” says Roxy.

Classes are weekly and free at a range of different locations, and she also plans to offer workshops and country swing classes. For more information click here.

Ecstatic Dance South Lake Tahoe
$15-25 Sliding Scale | All ages welcome, kids dance free! | Mostly Electronic Music

I host a weekly year-round Ecstatic Dance. Not to be confused with erotic or exotic dance(!), Ecstatic Dance is an alcohol-free, family friendly event for groovers and shakers of all stripes and ability levels to come together and relish the experience of being embodied. In the summer this event is held on the beach (direct message South Lake Tahoe Ecstatic Dance on Facebook for the full details), and Fall through Spring, indoors at OMNI Tahoe. Ecstatic Dance is an international community united by a love of expressive movement and beyond-words connection. A space for embodiment, play, stretching, and strutting our collective stuff with an emphasis on sobriety and consent. Cacao is served at the beginning of every dance and kids dance free.

Urban Dance Classes
Price Varies | All ages welcome | Hip-Hop, House, & More

Julz Lozovia has called Tahoe home for over 10 years. Originally from Russia, she started dancing when she was seven years old and has never stopped. She always had (and still has!) a ton of energy, and she began teaching dance by age 17. After graduating from college, she moved to California and continued teaching. She’s performed in NYC and LA and has been cast in several music videos. As a teacher, she’s encouraging and adept at suggesting modifications and adapting choreography to the level of the students in the room. If you’re shy, she’s a perfect teacher to work with. As Julz put it, “I do like sharing the stoke, and I like teaching people about body awareness and maybe help open up some new pathway so that people can move in a different way. It’s nice for people to try and take themselves out of their comfort zone and see them have that, ‘Wow, I did it!’ moment.” Check out her Instagram stories to find her class schedule, or drop her a DM if it isn’t posted.

Latin Dancing Classes + Social
$15 per person | All ages welcome | Latin Music

Dan Shocket grew up in a family who love to dance. “I always felt like we were dancing around the house,” Dan says when asked where it all began. So for him there wasn’t really a time before dance was a big part of his life. In college he started doing more formal dance training and has never looked back. For Dan, partner dancing is where it’s at. “You both learn from each other and laugh with (and at times AT) each other. It involves nonverbal communication and play, and then you can create something beautiful through that communication.”

An ER doctor by day, Dan saw the lack of partner dancing opportunities in South Lake Tahoe and decided to get something started. His classes emphasize Bachata and Casino Rueda (Cuban style salsa). Classes are beginner friendly but he hopes to build a community over time and to be able to offer more advanced Latin dance socials for passionate dancers to enjoy. Find out about the next Latin Dance Social here.

The events detailed above are unique, hidden gems.

In addition to these special classes and events, the casino resorts have nightclubs, and breweries like Aleworx and Shedcat Distillery often have DJs playing. I also recommend checking our events calendar to see what’s going on at Rojo’s Tavern and the American Legion, and for other pop-up special events that may interest you.