The mission and goal of Argosy Dance, of Bar Harbor, Maine, is to educate and support the full experience of social partner dancing for residents as well as visitors to Acadia and Downeast Maine.   Social dance has an established and deep history on Mount Desert Island and the surrounding area, and offers a wonderful complement to our scenic beauty and outdoor activities.

How is Argosy Dance different from other schools?  Many studios and instructors focus on steps and sequences, aiming primarily for an attractive appearance and entertainment for audiences and judges in performances and competitions (indeed, we enjoy and train in this artistic aspect of dancing ourselves.)  However, our real passion is for helping people reach the joyful creativity and spontaneity that dancing can provide, when truly communicating with a partner rather than just dancing nearby and at the same time.  Conventional training often leaves even accomplished dancers with a sense of constraint and limitation due to their being able to follow mainly pre-arranged sequences and routines.  Further, it is quite common to find that people can dance easily only with their usual instructor or partner.  Ladies almost always enjoy dancing with gentlemen who lead clearly and confidently (commenting from time to time on the relative scarcity of such partners.)  Men, on the other hand, sometimes report feeling unsure of themselves (wondering if a missed lead is totally their responsibility, or whether the woman needs to have learned the same patterns.)  Our different approach to teaching and learning avoids these obstacles from the beginning and remediates previously formed limitations.

Argosy Dance offers private lessons and group classes designed to build and enhance both men’s and women’s fundamental partner communication skills and their resulting enjoyment of social dancing.  All of the usual ballroom, latin, swing, etc., dances are taught. Singles as well as couples are most welcome, as everyone rotates partners frequently.  We can also assist in making any dance occasion more participatory and fun.  The owners of Argosy Dance originally met at a dance, and 44 years later are still learning, dancing and enjoying sharing their enthusiasm with others.

During the busy summer season (June through August), Argosy Dance offers the following:

- A weekly Group Class and Dance 7-9 PM most Friday nights, usually at the Argosy II Gallery, 6 Mount Desert Street, Bar Harbor, ME.  Cost is $10/person/night, payable on-site.  In 2012, these sessions will be held from June 1 through August 31. (Special notes: On 6/22 we will be at the Hulls Cove Schoolhouse, in Hulls Cove, ME, rather than at the Argosy II Gallery in downtown Bar Harbor, coinciding with the closing event of the week-long Introductory Adult Dance Camp.  There will be no lesson that night.  Also, there will be no Friday night class and dance on June 29, due to a long-planned family event.)

- Private Lessons for individuals, couples or small groups, by appointment, at the Argosy II gallery or other locations on Mt. Desert Island.  Morning or evening lessons are available, and add a different and exciting new element to your vacation on Mound Desert Island!

- Participation or assistance with local Dance-Related Events and Activities.

From September through May, the following are offered: 

- Private Lessons for individuals, couples or small groups, by appointment, at the Argosy II gallery or other locations on Mt. Desert Island and Downeast Maine.

-  A 10-week Introductory Social Dance series (1 hour per week, introducing Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Swing, Cha-Cha, Rumba and Salsa) for individuals who:

- Have always wanted, but never had the time or opportunity, to learn to dance,

- Used to dance, have not done it for a while and want to shake the rust off, or
- Have an event coming up (wedding, family or company party, etc.) at which they would like to dance.

No partner is required.  This course represents the best value for students’ time and money, and has produced hundreds of happy dancers over many years!  Tuition is $100/person for the entire 10 week sequence, payable in advance.  The current iteration of this course started Friday, January 6, 2012, 8-9 PM, at the Maine Grind, 192 Main Street, Ellsworth, ME 04605.  Dance lessons make wonderful and personal holiday gifts!  Please call or email to inquire or register.  A previous participant's comment - "Thank you so much for the joy your class has sent into my life."

(A Single-Weekend Version of Introductory Social Dance above is also available, but covering six dances only, for people who may find it easier to schedule one concentrated weekend rather than 10 successive weeks.  The weekend version of this course is obviously more physically demanding than the 10 weekly sessions, but will get you there faster.   Please email or call to indicate interest.)

- A 10-week Intermediate Social Dance series (1 hour per week, extending knowledge of the dances introduced in the Introductory courses, or learning new dances including Bolero, Mambo, Quickstep, Samba, Viennese Waltz, etc., by participant choice.)  No partner is required, but either of the Introductory Social Dance courses above, or comparable experience, is assumed.  Tuition is $100/person for the entire 10 week sequence, payable in advance.  The current iteration of this course started Friday, January 6, 2012, 7-8 PM, at the Maine Grind, 192 Main Street, Ellsworth, ME 04605.  Please call or email to inquire or register.  As an added benefit and opportunity, registrants in the Intermediate Series are invited to stay, review and practice further by participating in the Introductory Series that takes place immediately afterwards, at no additional cost.  

(A Single-Weekend Version of Intermediate Social Dance above is also available, extending knowledge of the dances introduced in the Introductory courses, or learning new dances, by participant choice, for people who may find it easier to arrange one concentrated weekend rather than 10 successive weeks.  The weekend version of this course is obviously more physically demanding than 10 weekly sessions, but may be easier to schedule for busy people.  Please email or call to indicate interest.)

- Full-Day Dance WITH Your Partner © (although no partner is required) Workshops (usually Saturdays), in which we typically focus on one dance per day.  After three 90-minute training sessions followed by a voluntary pot-luck dinner break, a 90-minute open dance is held, with mixed recorded music (welcoming requests) covering many styles but emphasizing the dance(s) featured earlier in the day.  In the three training sessions, a series of standard dance elements and sequences are introduced or reviewed.  Then (and this is the gist of our unique approach), emphasis is placed on the branch points (options) where leaders signal and initiate different figures, and followers receive these signals and respond instantly and appropriately.  Several branch points are explored and practiced each workshop day, and all participants rotate partners frequently for practice (and feedback) in communicating and dancing together.  Such training leads to greater skill and enjoyment in social dancing for both women and men, with regular or changing partners, and is worthwhile even for competitors or performers.  Other teachers are welcome to propose, or will occasionally be invited to present, cooperative workshops.  Cost is $50/person for the entire day, payable on registration at the door, or $45/person if registering and paying no later than the day before the workshop.  The Pot-Luck dinner and dance only is $10/person.

The next of these workshops will show participants how to upgrade their Foxtrot to the smoother and more elegant four-count Continuity Style, and will take place at the Neighborhood House, 1 Kimball Road, Northeast Harbor, ME 04662, on Saturday, March 3, 2012, from Noon to 6 PM, with Pot-Luck dinner from 6-7:30 PM and open dancing from 7:30-9:30 PM.  Dancers not taking part in the Noon - 6 PM workshop are invited to come later for the Pot-Luck and Dance, as the Neighborhood House is one of Maine's nicest dance floors and facilities.  Please email or call to register in advance, if possible.  Singles as well as couples are most welcome, as everyone rotates partners frequently!

Comments on previous workshops include "I so enjoyed our afternoon of dancing - the instruction, the dinner, my fellow dancers", "I had a ball (no pun intended) and really enjoyed meeting so many interesting folks" and "Thank you so much.  I had a really good time, learned a lot and also much enjoyed getting to know the other people who share a love of dancing. I will definitely come to your next workshop."  The final full-day (Saturday) workshop at the Neighborhood House scheduled for this season will be on Intermediate East Coast Swing, and will take place on May 5, 2012.

- Week-Long Adult Dance Camps, for beginning or experienced dancers, similar in design to the full-day workshops described above, but focusing on different dances each day and taking place over an entire week.  Time is reserved each day for non-dance activities during the afternoon in our unique outdoor environment, or for optional private lessons (at additional cost) as desired.  These week-long events make wonderful centerpieces for different, rewarding and enjoyable vacations in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, and provide new friendships and skills to take home in addition to the usual photographs and memories.  The cost is $250 per person for the group dance component of the week, which must be paid in advance when registering.  Participants are strongly encouraged to organize attending with a partner or individual who will concentrate on the opposite dance role (i.e. leaders and followers), as we aim to have approximately equal representation of each on the floor, and unaccompanied individuals will only be accepted in such numbers as balance can be maintained.  Please email or call to inquire or register for these events:

- An Introductory Adult Dance Camp will take place at the historic Hulls Cove Schoolhouse at 6 Neighborhood Road, Hulls Cove, ME 04644, from Monday June 18, through Friday, June 22, 2012 (coinciding with Bar Harbor's island-wide Legacy of the Arts Week), and

- An Intermediate Adult Dance Camp will take place, also at the historic Hulls Cove Schoolhouse, from Monday, October 15, through Friday, October 19, 2012 (immediately following the famous Bar Harbor Marathon [not that we expect people to run and then dance!], and at average peak foliage season for coastal Downeast Maine.)

Special rates for accommodation have been arranged for these Dance Camps with a number of fine Bar Harbor establishments. Participants should contact these (or other) lodgings on their own, but citing and asking for the pre-arranged rates for the Argosy Dance Camps at:

- Two wonderful Bed and Breakfast (B&B) establishments, Cleftstone Manor, www.cleftstone.com, 207-288-5357 or 888-288-4951, and Anne's White Columns Inn, www.anneswhitecolumns.com, 207-288-5357 or 800-321-6379.

- A premier-quality hotel, the Bluenose Inn, www.barharborhotel.com, 207-288-3348 or 800-445-4077.

- A more economical hotel, the Wonder View Inn and Suites, www.wonderviewinn.com, 888-439-8439.

(Additional options are also available through the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce web site: www.barharborinfo.com.)

- Dance Excursions, in which groups of participants travel together for dance events or activities locally or elsewhere, at least once per month.

- Participation or assistance with Dance-Related Events and Activities.

Please call or email for more information, to make suggestions and requests, or to register.  (Payments are accepted by cash, check, credit card.)  Check back often as this web site and the offerings of Argosy Dance are updated regularly.  We hope to see you dancing!

Argosy Dance

Bar Harbor, ME

207-288-0428

info@argosydance.com

www.argosydance.com

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Reprinted with permission, as a service to dancers, partly from Abbie McMillan's wonderful Calendar (#428) of Maine Dance Events: