Making Time for Each Other

Hi everyone, dance friends!

How are you doing? I hope your September is off to a good start.

One of the things I love about living in Canada is the change of seasons. I grew up near the equator in Kenya, where we really had two seasons: rainy and dry.

Here, each season feels a little different. And sometimes that change gives us a chance to reset - to restart something, reconnect with someone, or simply look at where we are and where we want to go next.

Of course, not every change is easy.

Sometimes we lose people we love. Sometimes life changes in ways we didn’t expect. And sometimes the world around us feels like it’s moving faster than we can keep up with.

In those moments, community matters.

Being together gives us a chance to slow down, connect, process what we’re feeling and remind ourselves that we don’t have to go through everything on our own.

So, from wherever I am to wherever you may be, I’m sending you a big dance hug.

Keep going.

Let’s move forward together and make the world a little happier - one day, one dance step, one dance class at a time.

It’s been a pleasure meeting so many new students over the last few weeks, and also welcoming back familiar faces returning to the dance floor.

Although we didn’t get enough signups to continue running our regular group classes in Erin and Stratford this season, we’re really glad we had the chance to host our Next Step Socials and Dance Open Houses in both communities.

We met some wonderful people, and we hope to see many of them again — whether that’s through future events in those areas or by joining us in nearby communities.

A couple of quick announcements:

1. West Coast Swing and Line Dancing: At the moment, we are not offering regular group lessons in either of these dance styles. For now, our regular group classes are focused on Salsa and Bachata. I’ll keep you updated if that changes.

2. Group class cutoff: We’re now at the 3-week cutoff for some of our group dance classes. A few communities have already passed the cutoff, while others are still open for new students.

If you’ve been thinking about joining us, here’s where you can still jump in:

• Georgetown | cutoff September 21

• Arthur | cutoff passed September 15

• Brantford | cutoff September 23

• Milton | cutoff passed September 17

• Guelph | cutoff September 20

So, if your community is still open and you’ve been thinking about joining us, you’re more than welcome to sign up and jump in.

[View Group Dance Classes & Communities →]

A New Dance Season - And a New Saturday Night Tradition

One of the bigger changes this season is what’s happening with Friday Night Salsa Fix (FNSF).

I’ve been teaching and hosting social dance events since the early 2000s.

For many years, especially west of Toronto, there were very few consistent places to dance. That was a big part of why I kept creating them.

From 2004 to 2024, I ran the Flying Dance Festival, along with regular group dance classes and events at the Ebar. Then, from 2012 to 2026, Friday Night Salsa Fix became a weekly part of the community here in Guelph - every Friday, for 14 years.

Looking back, that was a lot. 😂

And today, the dance landscape is very different.

There are many more instructors, organizers, socials and communities throughout this part of Ontario. People have far more places to dance than they did when I first started doing this.

That’s a good thing.

It also means I don’t feel the need to keep filling every weekend with another event.

After years of doing festivals, weekly socials and regular events, I’m intentionally slowing things down a little.

• Fewer events.
• More time and energy put into the ones we do.

And more focus on the kind of experience I want Flying Dance to create now.

Introducing Saturday Night Dance Fix (SNDF)

Instead of bringing back another weekly social, we’re moving to Saturday Night Dance Fix - approximately five evenings throughout the year.

Saturday gives people more time to travel, especially those coming from outside Guelph or from the different communities where we teach.

It also gives us a chance to make an evening of it, rather than rushing out after work on a Friday.

Our first Saturday Night Dance Fix is:

Saturday, October 17, 2026
Red Chevron Club
34 Elizabeth Street, Guelph
6:00 PM until late

The idea is simple:

Light dinner. Familiar faces. New connections. Dancing!

We’ll start with food and time to sit together, followed by two dance sessions, performances and social dancing.

You can join us for the full evening from 6:00 PM, or if dinner doesn’t work for you, arrive at 7:30 PM for the dance sessions and social.

But the biggest change isn’t really Friday to Saturday.

It’s what we want to make more room for when we do get together.

We See Each Other All the Time. But Do We Know Each Other?

One of the funny things about social dancing is that you can dance with the same person twenty times and still know almost nothing about them.

I have. 😂

You share a three-minute song, smile, say thank you and move on to the next person.

Do that often enough and you may know someone’s favourite Bachata song, recognize exactly how they lead a turn, and still have no idea what they do when they’re not wearing dance shoes.

• Three-minute songs are great for dancing.

• They’re not really built for conversation.

So we made room for one.

Saturday Night Dance Fix will start earlier than a typical social so we have some time to actually sit down together before the dancing begins.

• Time to eat.

• Time to talk.

• Time to introduce a friend.

• Time to reconnect with someone you haven’t seen for a while.

• Then we dance.

A Night for New and Experienced Dancers

If you’re newer to social dancing, this is meant to make that first step easier.

• You don’t need a partner.

• You don’t need to know dozens of patterns.

And you definitely don’t need to already know everyone in the room.

If you’ve been dancing for years, this isn’t about needing another beginner lesson.

• Come because there are people you haven’t seen in a while.

• Come because there are people you’ve danced with many times and barely know.

• Come because someone new to the community today might become one of your favourite dance partners six months from now.

And yes - come because you still love dancing.

What We’re Hoping For

We want Saturday Night Dance Fix to feel like more than a room full of people dancing beside one another.

• We want it to feel like a room where people actually know each other.
• Where someone who came alone leaves knowing a few more people.
• Where students from different cities finally meet.
• Where old dance friends reconnect.

And where the next time you see someone across the dance floor, they’re not quite a stranger anymore.

That’s the spirit behind:

Move. Meet. Belong.

We’re looking forward to this new chapter and to sharing it with all of you.

Before I go, here’s a quick look at where you can still dance with us this fall.

Nico
Flying Dance Community
Move. Meet. Belong. with Nico

Find Your Fall Dance Community

Each community has its own schedule, instructors, dance styles, and class levels — find the one closest to you and see what's open.

Guelph — Our biggest lineup: the most class levels, styles, and social events of any location. Explore Guelph Dance Classes →

Georgetown — Progressive Salsa and Bachata in a close-knit local setting. Explore Georgetown Dance Classes →

Milton — Salsa and Bachata dancing, with a full community to practise alongside. Explore Milton Dance Classes →

Brantford — A growing Salsa and Bachata community, open to new and returning dancers alike. Explore Brantford Dance Classes →

Arthur — Beginner-friendly partner dancing, built for Arthur and the surrounding area. Explore Arthur Dance Classes →