Cut Loose: Adult Dance Classes Are Keeping The Western Slope In Motion
Photos courtesy of Elevation Academy of Dance
You can dance if you want to, but you don’t have to leave your friends behind. At studios, bars and community centers across the Western Slope, dance classes welcome people of all ages and skill levels to leave the real world far behind.
“Dance is for everybody,” says Monument Country Dance Club founder Tyler Thorp. He started the Grand Junction-based club in 2024, and it now welcomes dozens of participants for weekly line and swing dance lessons.
Thorp, and other dancers and instructors around the region, believe the benefits of dance are numerous; it’s a full-body workout, outlet for creative expression and unique social opportunity. And it comes in all forms, for people of all abilities willing to take the chance.
Whether learning all the steps to the Footloose line dance, swinging your partner round and round, practicing a classical style or even holding up your bodyweight while executing stunning pole techniques is your jam, there’s somewhere to try it on the Western Slope.
“Each style has its own benefits and its own energy,” says Kaleigh Hinkson, owner of Elevation Academy of Dance in Montrose.
Dance allows participants to tune into their own body and feelings. According to Ecstatic Paonia Rhythm Sanctuary organizer Tanya Blacklight, “the benefits are ancient.” She notes dance is seen as a traditional, healing practice in many cultures, and provides benefits for physical, mental and spiritual wellness that can still be felt today.
Of course, stepping out on the dance floor, be it in a crowded bar or quiet studio, can seem nerve-racking, especially for those who have never tried it.
Hannah Mallory, owner of pole dancing school Chrome Athletics, says most of her students have no background in dance, and that’s just fine; everyone progresses at their own pace. Students, she says, can come into class with any level of experience and any goal — or no goal at all except having fun.
“We’re adults,” she says. “We can choose to make it what we want.”
WHERE TO DANCE ON THE WESTERN SLOPE
If you’re ready to cut loose, there are a variety of dance classes and clubs waiting for you.
Monument Country Dance Club
Grand Junction
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Monument Country Dance Club members are dancing every weekend, and the group’s free line and swing classes draw 30 to 70 participants on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at Quincy Bar and Mama Ree’s.
There’s no judgment, no experience required, and Thorp says solo swing dancers are welcome to join in the fun.
“Just jump in,” he says.
Elevation Academy of Dance
Montrose
Elevation Academy of Dance offers a mix of more traditional dance classes, special events like recurring country dance nights and adaptive dance opportunities for adult students.
Hinkson offers a rotating schedule of courses like tap, dance and ballet just for adults, and notes Elevation’s Unified Dance Group offers practice and performance opportunities for people with all abilities.
The group’s goal, she says, is “providing a supportive, nonjudgmental environment where dancers can feel safe, seen and celebrated.”
Chrome Athletics
Grand Junction
Pole dancing is a full-body workout, but Mallory says, “Strength is built as you go — you don’t need it to start.”
She teaches courses for all levels, and students can pop in for a private girls’ night, drop by for lessons as they see fit or attend classes multiple times per week. As a certified personal trainer, Mallory aims to help students safely progress and develop mind-muscle connections, and she says her classes and choreography are designed to be adapted by athletes of all levels.
Ecstatic Paonia Rhythm Sanctuary
Paonia
Ecstatic dances are held around the world, including twice a month at Paonia’s Blue Sage Center for the Arts.
These unique events are for all ages, and Blacklight explains they allow participants to dance however they like, guided by a few rules: no drinking, no talking once the dancing begins and respecting those around you.
Each begins with a warmup where participants can speak their intentions, and then the DJ takes it away, providing a playlist that allows the group to move freely before closing with a quick debrief.
Originally published in the spring 2026 issue of Spoke+Blossom.