Our Dance Host Program
Why we have dance hosts
Joining a social dance for the first time can be intimidating, especially for new dancers. Imagine not knowing anyone there, being unfamiliar with how dance socials work since you’ve never been to one, and not being very confident in your dance skills. It can be quite intimidating trying to break into the scene.
Now imagine this: someone friendly welcomes you to the dance, asks you onto the dance floor, introduces you to the other dancers, and answers any questions you may have about how social dances work. This is a much more welcoming environment, and you’d be much more likely to come back.
We have dance hosts to make our dance socials better, not only for those new to dance, but for everyone, including the more experienced dancers. Our dance hosts are trained in nearly all of the dance music played and they’re dedicated to making sure our socials are welcoming to all. While our dance hosts are experienced and friendly, they’re not always professional dance instructors. They’ll help you have a better time at our dances!
What dance hosts do
Dance hosts make our dances more enjoyable by dancing with everyone, making introductions, and overall making sure we are promoting a welcoming environment for new and experienced dancers alike. They’ll generally invite everyone to dance at least once and try to dance with unaccompanied dancers a couple of times depending on how many are in attendance. You’ll be able to recognize them by their ‘Dance Host’ name tags. We have both lead and follow dance hosts, and many of our dance hosts can do both roles.
When a dance host asks you to dance, feel free to accept or decline. If you don’t know the dance, they’ll be able to show you the basics, or you can let them know what dances you do know so they can return later to ask. This is also a good time to ask the dance host if they’ll introduce you to other dancers of a similar level (or dancers who love dancing with those of all abilities).
When a dance host introduces you to someone new, it’s customary to ask the new person to dance. If the music currently playing/next isn’t a dance you feel comfortable with, let the new person know what dances you do like and invite them to come find you should that dance come up soon. While you shouldn’t feel obligated to dance with anyone, it’s always a good idea to be friendly and welcoming.
When you come to our dances, please put on a name tag. Our dance hosts will only ask dancers wearing name tags.
While we hope you really enjoy dancing with our dance hosts, please keep in mind that they’ll occasionally need to take some rest for a song or two, and they’re doing their best to dance with everyone. It’s also totally okay to ask a dance host to dance occasionally, but please avoid monopolizing them - we want to make sure everyone gets to dance with them.
What we look for in selecting a dance host
We want our dance hosts to be trained in most of the dances played at our socials, friendly and dedicated to creating a welcoming environment. Many of our dance hosts are able to dance at the silver level or above in many dances, have participated in dance competitions and/or have taught dance in some capacity. Dance hosts enjoy dancing with a variety of people of different dance abilities. Most of all, our dance hosts love helping us build a vibrant and thriving dance community that brings joy to all of our dancers.
How to become a dance host
If you’d like to become a dance host or have a recommendation for who would be a great dance host, reach out to a board member or fill out this form online. We’ll talk with you in more detail about how the program works and see if there’s a good fit. Dance hosts are compensated.
Thanks to our donors
Our dance host program is made possible by generous donations. We have funding to continue this program through August 2026. Want to see it continue further? Consider a donation to Austin Ballroom Dancers to support this and other initiatives aimed at bringing more ballroom dance to Austin.