Dance Night
Dance Night Tickets may be picked up at the Lakehouse
beginning 6 pm Friday July 24th
Not at the Elks Club
Dine & Dance
Service begins at 5 pm
The menu will include gluten free and vegetarian entrees.
Preorders open July 22nd .
All Pre-event orders will receive a discount.
Day of orders will be regular price.
Lakehouse Canteen
with festival merch to amp your vibe.
Dance Night
Lakehouse Line Up
7:30 pm
After Midnight
8:30 pm
Dance Showcase with TBA
8:45 pm
The Carl Sonny Leyland Trio
10:00 pm
Le Jazz Hot
Subject to change.But that's really unlikely.
The Newest Tradition at the Festival is roaring right along like a barnstormer into a barn, a flagpole sitter to a pole, a flapper into a gin fizz, a racoon coat into a bear.
Friday @ The Romantic Evergreen Lakehouse for Dance Night. 7:30 pm to 11:00pm irl
Featuring super dance-able bands, playing really dance-able tunes.
Take a break and enjoy the scenery from the wide porch and landing dock.
Purchase tickets online in advance, or at the door.
Capacity is limited
Free Dance Lessons
Kick off your festival day on the dance floor! Throughout the Festival, professional instructors will lead complimentary dance lessons in the Elks Club Ballroom.
No partner is required—just bring your enthusiasm and a willingness to learn. These classes are welcoming, energetic, and a wonderful way to build confidence, meet fellow festival-goers, and celebrate the joy of dancing to live jazz. Whether you’re taking your first steps or looking to refine your technique, each session offers something fun, practical, and inspiring.
Lesson Schedule
Friday – 2:30 PM
Swing Time — Victor & Margaret
Explore the foundations of swing dancing with an introduction to several classic styles, including Jitterbug, Lindy Hop, Balboa, and Boogie Woogie. Perfect for beginners and an excellent refresher for experienced dancers, this class will strengthen your fundamentals while highlighting the unique character of each dance.
Saturday – 10:00 AM
Speed of Light — Victor & Margaret
When the band kicks the tempo into high gear, what do you do? Learn techniques to simplify your footwork, conserve energy, improve your movement, and maintain a comfortable partner connection so you can confidently dance even the fastest songs.
Sunday – 10:00 AM
At a Snail’s Pace — Victor & Margaret
Slow tempos present their own challenges. Discover how to adapt your movement, improve your timing, add musicality, and create smooth, expressive dancing that perfectly complements slower jazz tunes.
Sunday – 12:00 PM
Charleston: The World’s Easiest Dance to Learn — Ken Regelson
Step back into the Roaring Twenties and discover the fun, energy, and unmistakable style of the Charleston. This lively class is perfect for beginners and anyone who wants to add a little vintage flair to their dancing.
Meet the Instructors
Victor
A passionate swing dancer, instructor, and DJ, Victor enjoys preserving the social dances of the jazz era. His classes emphasize strong fundamentals, musicality, and making every dancer feel comfortable, confident, and inspired.
Margaret
Margaret brings warmth, clarity, and encouragement to every class. With a focus on connection, timing, and expressive movement, she helps dancers of all experience levels feel successful on the dance floor.
Ken Regelson
A longtime Charleston enthusiast and festival favorite, Ken loves sharing the infectious energy, history, and spirit of the iconic 1920s dance.
Whether you’re brand new to dancing or have years of experience, these complimentary lessons are a fantastic way to start your festival day. Come learn something new, meet new friends, and experience why dancing has always been an essential part of the Evergreen Jazz Festival.
Dance Showcases 2026
Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Savoy Ballroom (1926–2026)
This year’s Dance Showcases honor the centennial of the legendary Savoy Ballroom, which opened on March 12, 1926, in Harlem, New York. As one of the first major racially integrated ballrooms in the United States, the Savoy became the birthplace and spiritual home of Lindy Hop, inspiring generations of dancers and helping define the Swing Era.
Step back into that remarkable era with exciting dance showcases presented throughout the festival! Enjoy performances by professional dancers, championship couples, collegiate teams, and community ensembles as they bring Lindy Hop, Charleston, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, Vernacular Jazz, and other classic jazz dances to life. Featuring authentic choreography, vintage-inspired costumes, and infectious energy, these performances celebrate the music, movement, and spirit of the Jazz Age.
Lindy Hop, one of the original swing dances, emerged from the vibrant ballrooms of Harlem and continues to thrive today. Danced to everything from relaxed grooves to exhilarating tempos, it is rooted in the sounds of Big Band Swing and Hot Jazz. Its emphasis on improvisation, musicality, connection, and joyful expression makes Lindy Hop a timeless celebration of jazz music and social dance.
Dance Showcases 2026
Friday.
6:00 pm Elks Lodge Ballroom MTD Jazz Hands
8:30 pm Lakehouse Jazz Moves Workshop & Tranky Doo Led by Victor Ward & Margaret
Saturday Elks Lodge Ballroom
1:15 pm CMDance Performance Team
2:30 pm CMDance Performance Team with the After Midnight Band (Live Music)
3:45 pm CMDance Performance Team
5:00 pm CMDance Performance Team
Sunday Elks Lodge Ballroom
1:15 pm MTD Jazz Hands
2:30 pm Colorado School of Mines Dance Team "the Sliderullers"
Featured Performers
CMDance Performance Team
CMDance Performance TeamThe CMDance Performance Team presents authentic vintage jazz dance inspired by the great ballrooms of the 1920s through the 1940s. Their performances blend Lindy Hop, Charleston, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, and classic jazz movement with period styling, bringing the excitement and elegance of the Swing Era to today’s audiences.
MTD Jazz Hands
The Jazz Hands are a community-based performance group organized by Melissa Trader Dance. MTD specializes in teaching social, performance, and professional partner dances throughout Colorado and the surrounding region. Their energetic performances celebrate the joy and history of vintage swing dancing.
Colorado School of Mines Dance Team – “The Sliderullers”
The Sliderullers are the Colorado School of Mines’ collegiate swing dance team. Known for their enthusiasm, athleticism, and love of swing, they showcase the next generation of dancers while honoring the traditions of the Swing Era.
Volunteer for the Dance Committee
Did you know that Volunteering 3 hours can get you a day pass to the Festival?
It takes a lot of foot work to make Dance events happen.
Setting up chairs, decorating the Lakehouse, planning the bands, running the ticket table,
putting up the banners, preparing the floor or clean up.
At the Evergreen Jazz Festival, professional troupes provide authentic demonstrations of Jazz Age dances.
Dance Showcases during the Festival feature professional performance, competition pairs, groups and ensembles to take you back to the Swing Era with their authentic renditions of the Lindy Hop, Charleston and more, and their costumes are positively “23 Skidoo!”
Prior to the post-WWII 40% Federal Excise Tax on venues that allowed dancing, dance was a popular means of social interaction.
Children were taught the basics in school, religious venues, and by their older siblings.
Every generation seemed to outdo the previous in intricacy and energy.
With the arrival of new means of mobility, more venues were open more nights for more people to socialize.
Altogether the influences generated a outflowing of innovation and creativity.
Dime-a-Dance Halls boosted moral during The Great Depression, and Swing boosted morale during the war years.
Thankfully, the dances of this period were saved from oblivion by a new generation seeking connection and social interaction. Learning from their grandparents, movies and the few remaining practitioners, a new flowering began in groups, camps, and venues across the world. We celebrate this preservation and re-imagining in new youthful energy.
The Jazz Age saw the creation of many new, energetic dances, and today it’s still a challenge to keep your feet from moving while listening to this great music.
Fortunately, there’s no need to sit still! Dancing is encouraged during every set.
The prime location is the Elks Ballroom, but feel free to use any open space!
Even dedicated toe-tappers say the dancers add an extra element to the joy of the music and are just plain fun to watch.
So whether you’re out on the floor or enjoying the scene from the sidelines, dancing is an important part of the weekend.
Flying solo? Need a partner? Wearing a Green Wristband (you’ll find them at the front desk) is the signal that you’re available to dance.
Few dances are as gentle on the body as the country 2-step or the western swing. While the 2-step gently goes long long short short in mirror pose, the Western Swing combines two graceful Walts steps with a gentle 2-steps to make the full 8 count of swing. Give it a try it's easy on the knees. (your first set or second).
During the oil drilling boom and wildcatting days along the southern states worker would get their pay on Friday after work and had exactly 24 hours to get to town and back to the rig. Watering holes along the frontier were packed with folks looking to blow off a little steam and maybe find a new regret. The King of the Circuit from '29 to '65 was Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Bob was a hard drinking band leader and knew exactly what his audience wanted to hear. Stories are that he was as hard on the musicians as he was on the bottle. Bob left a legacy in music, hospital admissions, arrests records and birthrates across the states of Texas, Oklahoma, and part of Louisiana.