Class Timetable

See also: general class information, a map showing the venues and our price list; and remember to check the front page for upcoming events and announcements.

The timetable below contains some scheduled alterations to classes where a venue is closed on a particular date and the class has to be cancelled or moved to an alternative venue instead. If the interactive timetable below doesn't work for you then try the plain listing or Google calendar.

Please do not contact venues directly with CDC timetable inquiries. They are not responsible for the classes we've scheduled there - we are! However, do contact the venues directly about property you may have lost on their premises - or if you want to hire a hall for your own use.


    Ballroom and Latin

More fully, this is Modern Ballroom and Latin American. The standard 10 dances are: waltz, viennese, quickstep, foxtrot, tango, rumba, cha-cha, jive, samba and paso doble. Beginners typically start with waltz and cha-cha and gradually add more dances, eg quickstep and rumba or jive, as they become more proficient. All of our B&L teachers will cover these various dances but in slightly different ways.

Russell's classes are something of a jovial military romp for social dancers, building up long routines through each term to be executed en masse. Clive's classes include the option of taking a dance qualification (typically a bronze, silver or gold medal) in the spring/summer. This is broadly equivalent to the music or ballet grade system but is subdivided into separate ballroom and latin branches and consists primarily of a 1-dance Introductory Award (suitable for beginners), a 2-dance Bronze Medal (improvers), a 3-dance Silver Medal (intermediates) or 4-dance Gold Medal. Kath's classes are focused more on learning to lead and follow rather than memorising long routines. Youlie's classes are focused more on how to move well with or without partner to express the character and uniqueness of each rhythm and dance. Like Clive, she can also arrange for people to take dance exams if they want.

If you have never danced before, you should take a beginners level class. There is at least one on most weekday nights during normal terms. You don't need to go to them all - just pick the weekly time-slot or teacher which suits you best. If you are transferring existing skills from a different style of dance, eg ballet, you might want to try improvers relatively soon as a fast-track option in case beginners is too easy. Kath's workshop classes are a blend of beginners to improvers and could be the best option for someone who might miss weeks during term but can catch up by attending holiday classes.

Last term's beginners should be moving up to improvers next. You are not forbidden from repeating beginners classes across multiple terms but most people are ready to move on after 1 term. Improvers move up to intermediates whenever they feel ready to do so - typically 2 further terms but sometimes much longer.

If you want to improve your social dancing, aim to come to General Dancing (GD) on Fridays, where you can practise for free with a range of different partners and really learn how to lead and follow instead of sticking to a fixed routine.

    DanceSport

This is the competitive side of ballroom and latin dancing. Paul Walker specialises in teaching Modern Ballroom (Monday's classes) while David Mallabone specialises in Latin American (Tuesday's classes). If you want to cover all the dances you *will* need to attend both days each week (or find some other way of catching up what you've missed from a friend or team captains). The CDC is the overall management society for the Cambridge University DanceSport Team (CUDT) - which now has its own website. Our DS classes are open even to those not eligible to compete for the university, if they want to learn competitive styling and perhaps enter the open contests at competitions. However, please bear in mind that some people will be taking these classes very seriously indeed.

For those who *are* taking their dancing seriously, we also have some DS practices during term times (and occasionally beyond). The exact number of practices available, and hence the subscription fee for access to them, varies a little from term to term. These practices, unlike private team ones, are open to all CDC members. Simply pay the committee member running a practice, class or GD to go onto the practice list and be able to attend any or all of the publicly timetabled practice sessions. Or pay just the single session fee each time if you won't be attending practices regularly. This may help those who are bringing along a visiting DanceSport friend from elsewhere, who would then just pay the non-member rate for the practice instead of joining the club.

Note that some weekend practices are team-focused ones; and some other practices may also be heavily dominated by team members during the varsity season. If you attend a practice at Kelsey Kerridge, you will also need to pay KK's own day membership fee (unless you already have gym membership there).

    Rock and Roll

All our social/authentic rock'n'roll classes are suitable for beginners and improvers because a different figure or move will be introduced in each class and it isn't necessary to have covered all previous ones. We also have a dancesport rock'n'roll beginners class combining the high-kicking continental style of footwork with acrobatic moves. If you have a flair for RnR dancing, you might want to join the Cambridge University Rock'n'Roll Team (CURnR) and compete against other universities at various competitions during the year. However, this will require a greater level of commitment and attendance of team practices. Contact the team captain for more information, eg on eligibility for entering contests.

Occasionally during the year there are Rock'n'Roll social dances (announced separately).

    Salsa

We sometimes offer 2 different styles of salsa. The Cuban style is more relaxed and includes Rueda - a form of group dancing in a circle where the figures are called out during the dance. The cross-body (NY/LA) style is more linear and is typical of crowded nightclub dancing. It may sometimes include some Bachata - a much slower partner dance. Note that there are also plenty of commercial salsa classes and other social salsa dancing opportunities in Cambridge where you can try out what you've learned.

    LindyHop, Argentine Tango and alternative latin dances

In the past, we've offered a wider range of partner dancing styles. These go in and out of fashion somewhat though. At the moment, there are some separate groups in the area offering lindyhop or argentine tango or bachata. But we will occasionally still include these on our timetable when we can - even if only as a one-off workshop event. Further styles we've had before include: west coast swing, mambo, bossa nova, lambada and merengue.

Line Dancing, Sequence Dancing & Party Dances

Some dances have fixed choreography which everyone dances together - singly (ie line dancing) in couples (ie sequence dancing) or even in larger groupings. They feature a lot at tea dances (and occasionally at GD) and can even be danced competitively. The underlying dance style is often but not always the same as one of the standard dances. So these can be seen as a useful companion to regular classes by giving you routines that you can practise or use socially.

General Dancing

GD is the free social dancing session on Friday evenings at the University Centre (Grad.Pad) off Mill Lane. It's the one timetabled event to continue outside term time most weeks of the year. You do not have to be a member of the club to attend. Visitors are welcome and even innocent bystanders may get dragged onto the dance-floor. The early part of the evening is typically the safest for beginners and improvers to try out their steps, as it tends to be quieter than the later part of the evening. Normally, unless there are specific requests (eg for salsa), the music is a mixture of the standard modern ballroom and latin american dances. Occasionally we hold special themed GDs but dressing up remains optional.

More Dancing?!

Please do check out the events listed on our home-page and the other dance organisations listed on our links page.

Some of our teachers run their own classes or can be hired for private coaching. Eg: Clive Hurt, Youlie Mouzafiarova, Kath McGuire, Ben Taylor & Stefanie Bossen.

Venue Etiquette

Heel Protectors:
We have been asked to remind all ladies wearing Ballroom and Latin shoes that they need to wear heel protectors in all venues please. The spiked heels of high-heeled shoes damage the wooden floors.

PBAB:
Dancing can be hot and thirsty work and not all our venues have functional drinks machines. If it's a hot day or you are attending a long class or more than one class, it would be advisable to bring your own personal bottle of drinking water with you.

Be on time:
It is difficult for our teachers if people arrive late, partway through a class. At the end of a class, there is usually another class waiting to start or the caretakers need to lock up the venue after us for the night. So please try to arrive and leave promptly.

Lost Property:
If you find something abandoned after an event or class or accidentally pick up someone else's stuff when leaving, it is always best to hand it in to the caretakers of the venue where you found or misappropriated it. Please do so as quickly as possible since that should be the first place the rightful owner goes to look for it.

Revision Notes

Revision notes are available for some classes. See the list on the Revision Notes index page in the classes drop-down from the main top menu. This page also includes examples of music suitable for the various dances, so that you can practise away from classes.


As part of the website revamp, the timetable page has undergone a major redesign with more advanced filters and a new way to draw the timetable. If you have any comments, find any problems with the timetable or have ideas on how to improve it (or any other part of the website) please contact the webmaster.