No partner is required for any of our classes! Social dancing is a great way to meet people and our teachers regularly rotate partners to give everyone the opportunity to dance with different people.

In social dancing, everyone is strongly encouraged to rotate partners to meet new people but you will not be forced to change partners if you don’t want to.

No, we welcome absolute beginners! In fact, every social dance is a beginner-level class unless otherwise noted. Just bring yourself and we’ll do the rest!

Yes! We accept new dancers until the first competition of the semester which is Harvard Beginners. Harvard Beginners usually takes place in the middle of October (tentatively October 16th this year). You can also contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

No! We believe that Ballroom Dance should be accessible to all, and so we accept all new members to our team. We do have a two week trial period where you can try out the classes and then decide if you would like to register.

Wear something that makes you feel comfortable and allows you to move. No special shoes required.

Classes are taught by experienced members of the Harvard Ballroom Dance Team or friends of HBDT from studios and teams around Boston.

General logistics available to the public are found on the Join Us page. If you are a registered HBDT member regularly attending classes, access our Member page for further details, including OH schedule, routine videos, and more.

HBDT’s rookie program is open only to Harvard Affiliates, which includes:
- Harvard College full-time undergraduate students
- Harvard Graduate students,
- Harvard Extension School degree-seeking students
- Harvard College or Graduate school alumni
- Harvard faculty/staff (including Faculty Deans and tutors)
- The spouses/partners of these affiliates

On the other hand, HBDT’s vet program is open to all willing and able members of the Cambridge and greater Boston community with previous ballroom experience (typically dancing at the level of Bronze/Silver and up).

We offer very discounted rates for our group classes compared to local studios or private lessons. We also offer free rentals of men’s and women’s costumes for competitions as well as heavily discounted ballroom dance shoes. We further have a financial aid policy for those who qualify and are unable to pay.

Yes! Classes are open to everyone, regardless of interest in competing, and we do plenty of other ballroom related social events.