So you wanna get your blues dance on?
On Thursday nights dancers converge upon the Back Room at Glen Echo Park for the best in DJ’ed dances in the Washington, D.C. area.
Back Room Blues on Thursday Nights
The Back Room
Glen Echo Park
7300 MacArthur Blvd
Glen Echo, MD 20812
Thursdays
$8 includes admission to the dance at 9 p.m. as well as a free beginner-level lesson at 8:15. No experience or partner is required.
We recommend wearing shoes with smooth soles and not much grip. Please avoid wearing strong scents if possible.
Dance runs from 9 – 11:30 p.m.
Cash and credit cards (via Square) are accepted.
Remember to check out our covid-19 policy. This policy is updated as new scientific information comes out.
Different DJs and instructors offer a unique experience every night. The space has gorgeous sprung hardwood floors, air conditioning, and a water cooler! Bring your own water bottle and help us save the planet one dance at a time.
We occasionally offer month-long series classes for dancers at various levels. Check the Classes page for info.
The lesson: 8:15 – 9:00 p.m.
Rotating instructors keep these lessons fresh and different. Our instructors are usually local dancers who are as excited about this dance as anyone, and they’re here to share that with you. No experience or partner is required.
The dance: 9:00 – 11:30 p.m.
Washington, D.C. is blessed with a number of good DJs, and every week we’ll usually have two DJs spinning great tunes and mixing things up. This way our dancers will always be exposed to new music, and every week will offer something new. Enjoy!
Getting to the Back Room
The Back Room is located at Glen Echo Park, in Glen Echo Maryland. The address is 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD.
The Back Room is in the same building as the Spanish Ballroom, which is directly next to the picnic area in the center of the park.
Facing the ballroom, turn left and walk to the side of the building where you’ll see a couple of stairs and a stand-up sign, and there is the entrance to the Back Room.
Driving and parking:
If you drive to Glen Echo, you can find parking in the small or big lots noted on the Google map above, or on Oberlin Ave or Tulane Ave by the Irish Inn. (Please do not use the Irish Inn’s parking lot unless you are also a customer.)
Public transportation:
Glen Echo Park is served by the Route 29 Ride-On bus, which leaves from both the Friendship Heights and Bethesda Metro stations on the Red Line.
The bus trip from Friendship Heights or Bethesda to Glen Echo takes approximately fifteen minutes and leaves every 30 minutes. Bus fare is $2. Note that the last bus leaves around 10p.m. on Thursdays and 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, so the bus is more useful as a way to get to Glen Echo than as a way to get home.
The Glen Echo bus stop is located at the Amoco gas station at the end of Goldsboro Road. The stop is lighted and there is a public phone available. From the bus stop it is a 5-minute walk along MacArthur Boulevard to the upper entrance of the park.
You can usually find a ride from one of the friendly dancers, and we’ll even help you find a ride during announcements around 10:15pm if you ask us by talking to a volunteer at the front desk or an organizer.
Other Dances
We host Red Hot Blues & BBQ, a weekend of music, dance, and delicious food, on Memorial Day weekend.
Outside of our main weekly blues dance, there’s an incredible ecosystem of dance and music to explore in the D.C. area. We post about our events and other local dances and concerts on a local events Facebook page. Save us a dance!