About Us

Ballroom Dance MV is the Island's own ballroom dance group where all are welcome! The dancers meet informally once a week on a sunday, year-round to practice and to enjoy all types of ballroom dance. This includes:Swing (eastcoast & west coast); Salsa; Mambo; Cha Cha; Rhumba, Bolero, Samba; Fox Trot; English Waltz; Viennese Waltz; Quick Step; Tango; and sometimes, ArgentineTango.  The member dancers, who have been meeting since 1996, (See our History page), are year round residents, summer residents, and visitors to the island. They all share a love of dance and an eagerness to share their dance knowledge and new steps with fellow dancers. Each Sunday, a dance member gives a free half hour dance lesson. 

Ballroom Dance MV members are active in many dance venues.  They have done dance demonstrations at various town festivals. They have performed yearly in Built on Stilts, a week long summer dance festival, run by professional dancers from New York. Members have also appeared in Yard productions. This past year, some of our members danced in the Argentine Tango show at the Whaling Church in Edgartown, and at the Belly Dance Revue at the Catherine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven. One year, the members took turns teaching ballroom dance to the Charter school students in West Tisbury.   The dancers often attend dance workshops and some run their own dance classes.

Two or three times a year, Ballroom Dance MV hosted a dance party, complete with a live band.  Our treasurer Christine McLean, who  sang with "Barking Daisy" and now sings with "Serendipity" provided the music and song.   

Sine COVID, Ballroom Dance has gone through many changes. We lost our dance venues and disappeared for a while. The past summer our core dancers got together privately to maintain dance skills.  This October 2022, we were fortunate to team up with Island Theatre Workshop and their enthusiastic and talented members. Thanks to ITW director, Jennifer Knight, we were able to get the use of the Unitarian Church in Vineyard Haven, where dances are now held on Sundays at 7 PM.  Janet Holladay arranges for the dance lessons and manages to keep ballroom floating during the winter when attendance is sparse.