The dancing at the parties may include waltzes, hambos, schottisches, set dances, and mixers, as well as regional dances whose styles are particular to the area from which they come. People who have not done much dancing before will find some dances at the parties done at a basic level which they can follow and willing partners to help them along. Those comfortable with partner dances may find themselves challenged by the subtleties of many of the regional dances. Dance classes are taught each week on a beginning, intermediate and advanced level and before most bi-monthly dance parties. Skandia instructors, many of whom have traveled and studied in Scandinavia, teach the classes.
Different classes cover a wide range of material.
One can learn the basics of partner dances, or some of the figure dances that are performed or some of the fun variations of polka, schottis, or waltz that abound. The annual Skandia Ball in the fall has hundreds of people dancing to the music of several groups throughout the night. W interdansen brightens a dark winter's night with another major dance party that can feature musicians from Scandinavia. Springdans Northwest provides a chance to get away for a whole weekend of dance and music in a Puget Sound location with instructors from abroad. During each year, Skandia sponsors many prestigious folk dancers and musicians from Scandinavia to demonstrate and teach their music and dance at special dance and music workshops in town.