Our dance "un"convention experience isn't new - but we debuted its new name in 2024 because of all of the feedback from the last few years!

Our dance conventions have always included folk/ethnic genres of dance paired with classic and more familiar styles like tap, jazz, hip hop, and contemporary; breakout sessions with wellness practitioners and industry partners, and a focus on take-home practices and techniques rather than choreography combos.

In 2024 we added something else... live music! We had live drumming in African Dance class, live accompaniment in ballet class and a specific musicality and rhythm class that featured live musicians!

We love putting together a unique schedule for each event, staffing a diverse faculty who educates on a regular basis and whenever possible, local community members in each location to serve the dancers that attend.

Keep reading to learn how one phone call from a Bollywood teacher in 2014 put the wheels in motion for our unique "un"conventional dance convention experience! You'll also find video footage from our 2024 "un"conventions throughout this page - you'll find that the joy from these events is absolutely infectious!

THE STORY: In 2014, our founder Samantha received a call from a local school of Indian classic dance who also offered Bollywood classes. Their request? To bring in a ballet teacher for their students to expand their movement vocabulary. After a wonderful conversation, both Samantha and the Bollywood teacher decided on a collaboration. They would each bring the other in to teach their students and introduce them to a style outside their comfort zone. The results? So enlightening!

The ballet students learned very quickly that even though something may look "less technical" because there aren't pirouettes or battements, it can still prove extremely challenging to learn. In their first Bollywood class, they struggled with the intricacies of the hand movements, the specificity of the movements and the different style of music. They were also so entranced by the experience. It felt new and exciting and they asked for more!

The Bollywood students had a similar experience. The postures and positions of ballet, the adagio movements and the rounded shapes were all a new way to move through space. Both groups of students were super humbled by trying the new styles and their view of dance styles beyond their own vocabulary was drastically expanded. It was truly so wonderful.

And so... when Samantha founded DECAdance in 2019 and added conventions to the schedule - this ballet to Bollywood experience was the first inspiration for creating our educational events!