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From tango on Museum Island to folk dances in Mauerpark: Every summer, capital city dwellers and visitors can shake a leg under Berlin's starry sky at these outdoor dance events.
If you want to dance the night away in Berlin to techno beats in the fresh air, you will find what you are looking for at numerous open-air clubs. But Berlin also has some outdoor highlights in store for fans of exotic rhythms and slow dances.
With its colorful fairy lights and magnificent view of the Bode Museum, the beach bar in Monbijoupark has long ceased to be an insider tip. In the warm summer months, there is dancing every evening on the banks of the Spree and on the northern Monbijou Bridge. The focus is on salsa and tango, but standard dances, Latin dances and swing are also on the program. For a fee, dancers can also get professional instruction in the respective dances. In case of bad weather, the dance evenings do not take place.
In front of a stunning backdrop, the Berlin State Dancing Sports Association (Landestanzsportverband Berlin) is offering free dance lessons in the Gardens of the World during the summer. Every two weeks, professional dancers instruct those willing to learn in various dance styles. Once you've learned the basics, you can directly practice them on site. A wide variety of dance styles are offered - from Tango to DiscoFox, from Rock'n'Roll to Boogie Woogie, from Rumba to ChaChaCha. The two-hour classes are free of charge, but admission to the Gardens of the World is payable.
Every Friday in Berlin's famous Mauerpark, everything revolves around traditional music and dances. Everyone can join in and make music or dance along. Depending on the style, circle, row, lane or couple dances of varying degrees of difficulty are taught. Regular participants soon notice similarities between folk dances of different origins - whether they come from Israel, French Brittany or Greece. In case of bad weather, a sign on the fence and the Folkwiese Twitter account inform where the dance event takes place.
Once a month, the Späth tree nurseries (Späth'sche Baumschulen) invite Berliners and tourist to shake a leg under the open sky. The dance evenings start at 5:30 p.m. with a course for beginners. At 6:45 p.m., a course for more advanced dancers follows. Finally, the particularly popular free dancing, which is open to all styles of ballroom dancing, starts at 8 p.m. The classes are led by professional ballroom dancer Josefina Rückewoldt. In good weather, dancing takes place on the fairground of the tree nurseries. In case of rain, the events moves inside into a party tent. The program includes waltz, ChaCha, Foxtrot, Rumba, Boogie and NightClub2Step.
Quick moves and fast-paced techniques: At the Summer of Dance in Volkspark Friedrichshain, free classes in Swing and Lindy Hop are taught every Sunday during the summer. The courses build on each other, but it is possible to start at any time because the basics are repeated at the beginning of each unit. The Swing class is aimed at beginners, while the Lindy Hop class is offered for beginners and advanced dancers. Those who attend regularly throughout the summer will notice impressive progress come fall.
The Liebermann Villa's expansive and exquisitely manicured garden extends to the shores of Wannsee Lake. For music and dance event "Wannsee after Work", which takes place here once a month from June to September, the lawn, surrounded by flowers and fairy lights, is transformed into a open-air dance floor. Refreshments are available at the Museum Café Max.
Enjoy southern Italian dolce vita in Berlin! Every Thursday in summer, the "Paranza del Tempelhofer Feld" invites you to make music and dance together. The name goes back to a Neapolitan tradition: According to the organizers, a paranza is a group that celebrates spontaneous parties with dance and music. Accordingly, on southern Italian melodies and rhythms resound all over Tempelhofer Feld.
Latin America on Kurfürstendamm: At the popular "Summer in the City" nights, Breitscheidplatz is transformed into a large open-air dance floor. From tango to salsa and from bachata to swing, show dances and live music performances take place here every day. The highlight for all hobby dancers is, of course, dancing together under the starry Berlin sky. Afterwards, various culinary delights from food trucks will tempt you to stay a while.
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