Start here — using DanceGuide

Portland has an active partner-dance scene spanning many styles. This page is a starting point — not a history or venue guide — to help you find your first event.

Browse by time

Use the tabs at the top of the discovery pages to switch views:

• Today (home) — what's on now in the Portland area
• Tomorrow (/tomorrow) — the next day
• Weekend (/this-weekend) — Friday through Sunday
• This Week (/this-week) — Sunday through Saturday

Your filter choices carry over when you switch tabs, so you can start on Today and hop to This Week without resetting.

Choose what to show

The Show menu (top right on discovery pages) switches the event type:

• Dances — social dances and practice parties (the default)
• Classes — recurring lessons
• Workshops — one-off or short-series instruction
• Live music — gigs where dancing may happen

When you pick Classes or Workshops, look for the Upcoming Classes or Upcoming Workshops section above the day list. It surfaces series that have not started yet but begin within the next two weeks — useful when you are planning ahead.

Filter on This Week and Weekend

On /this-week and /this-weekend, two dropdowns narrow the list:

• Day — limit to a single weekday still ahead in the window
• Style — show only events tagged with that dance style

Choose All days or All Styles to widen the view again.

Location and distance

On first visit, your browser may ask to share location. If you allow it, listings sort by distance from you. If not, DanceGuide falls back to the Portland metro area — the page still works.

Distance appears on event cards when location is available.

Read an event card

Each listing shows the event name, time, venue, and tags such as:

• Beginner friendly — organizers mark the event as welcoming to newcomers
• No partner needed — you do not need to bring a partner
• Style chips — which dances are featured or taught
• Price, level, and drop-in details on classes and workshops

Tap a card to open the full event page.

Event detail pages

On an event page you will find:

• Date, time, and venue (with a map link when we have coordinates)
• The hosting organization and any performers
• Price, pre-dance lessons, and a written description when provided
• Share — copy a link to send to a friend
• Flag — report a problem with the listing (signed-in users)

Cancelled events are marked clearly at the top of the page.

Style pages and guides

Every dance style has a landing page with upcoming Portland events, for example:

• Blues
• Lindy Hop
• West Coast Swing
• Tango
• Contra

Many styles also have a beginner guide under Guides → Style guides. New to a style? Start there, then come back to its style page for live listings.

Organizations and performers

Browse Organizations for studios and dance groups with published events, and Performers for bands and DJs. Each profile links to its upcoming listings.

Signed-in users can suggest a missing organization from the Organizations page.

Personalize your feed (account)

Create a free account to save preferences:

• My dance styles (/settings/dance-styles) — pick the styles you dance. Your saved styles filter discovery automatically so you see more of what you care about.
• Showing your styles banner — confirms the filter is on. Use See everything or choose All Styles in the week/weekend filter to browse the full calendar again.
• Settings (/settings/notifications) — choose email notifications when you are ready. Nothing is turned on by default.

You can browse events without signing in. An account is only needed for preferences and notifications.

Helpful guides

Under Guides → Useful guides:

1. Your first social dance or class — if you have never been out dancing
2. Understanding class and event levels — what skill labels on listings mean

From there, explore the other useful guides (etiquette, choosing a style, your first lesson, and more) at your own pace.