So many friendships have been made, connections and networks nurtured and cultivated, and a lot of personal healing has happened for us all (especially for me-- you all became my family while I went through some very trying mother-of- teenager times! thank you for the support, empathy, visions and understanding).

Dance keeps evolving. Out of the free-style dance jams have come many other dance elements and styles including 5Rhythms (TM), Soul Motion, hooping, NIA, Earth Dance, and many others). Dancers have often found their joy at free-style events and then built on that experience to create other types of expressive dance.

So, there are many more places to dance now in Ventura, and in the Southern California zone, than there were 10 years ago. I know you all will keep dancing and I encourage you to support local venues such as SB Dance Away every Friday night, Pulse Drumming (Panzumo African Dancing), the NIA studios, Dance Medicine in Ojai on Thursdays, the 2 month old SB Dance Tribe on Sundays 11-1 and going really strong, hooping classes, yoga classes, and all the couple dance classes offered by Connexions Dance Studio, the Cities of Ventura and Santa Barbara, and Ronit's Thursday Dances.

I am so grateful to the many DJs who have spent their creative time preparing for their gig, and for all the fantastic tunes they played. If anyone needs a DJ for a special event or party, please contact me, I have a great list. We 'grew' many DJs during the 10 years--people who wanted to learn to DJ often debuted at Dance Jam! What a great way to build confidence. I could never have been a DJ, so I am in debt to them all.

Live music YUM session at March 4th Dance Jam.

Dance Jam Ventura is a space for people to dance, with or without partners, in a free-style manner, to a wide, lively variety of danceable music. It is a smoke-free, drug-free, and alcohol-free environment, a family friendly event, conducive to free expression without judgement. The motto is "Dance like no one is watching."

Dance Jam Ventura is usually held the second and selected Fridays of the month. The evening begins with warming-up music at 7:00 PM, and ends at 10:00 PM. Good music, a large dancing room and water are offered. The cost is $7-10 per person, and $2 for people aged 16 and under.

Participants at free style dance locations often report a spiritual uplifting from the dance, along with a great work-out with friendly people. A rotating DJ schedule ensures that no evening is ever the same. Music ranges from rock and roll, new age to modern, world beat to jazz, hip hop, techno, swing, Latin and anything you can dance to.

Dance Jam Ventura has become one of hundreds of dance evenings across the planet, which are often associated with churches, schools, and colleges. Our participants range in age from under 2 to over 80. Dancers include people from all walks of life, classical ballet students, yoga practitioners, children, college students, and just plain folks.