Dean Paton manages our bi-monthly dances. He abandoned the baseball diamond for the dance hall in 1994, and fell so hopelessly in love with waltz that he founded the Valse Café Orchestra, an ensemble committed to the art of playing music for dancers. He teaches waltz and foxtrot classes regularly at Seattle’s Century Ballroom, as well as all manner of dance classes at the Senior Center of West Seattle. He also teaches workshops for NDN and Left Foot Boogie. When he teaches rotary waltz, Dean stresses mastering the core of the dance—turning left, turning right, transitioning between the two—then helps dancers use this foundation as a platform on which to build organic, graceful movement as well as a few elegant moves. Contact the Dance Manager.