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Toronto has group classes in West Coast Swing five days a week, in every part of the city, and one community site gathers them all. For anyone who wants to start, or to find a social this weekend, TOWestCoast is the front door.
On a Monday night on Beverley Street, a beginner class starts at 8:45. On Tuesday, the class is up at the Prosserman JCC. Wednesday is Joy of Dance in the east end. Thursday is Etobicoke. Saturday morning, Etobicoke again.
None of these studios share an owner. What they share is a listing on TOWestCoast.com, a community portal for West Coast Swing in the Greater Toronto Area.
Who built the map
Julie Epplett formed TOWestCoast in 2001. Her aim, as her profile on the site puts it, was to promote the dance in Toronto and bring social dancers together. That was 25 years ago.
She still teaches group and private lessons. She still competes, and she is often asked to judge. She also helps event directors with hotel arrangements for competition weekends.
The site’s About page describes it as a meeting place for anyone who offers instruction or social dancing in the style: teachers, studios, non-profits and collectives. Gary Pastor is credited as webmaster. The audience it names is broad on purpose: instructors, seasoned dancers and excited beginners.
What West Coast Swing is
West Coast Swing is a partner dance, sometimes called “modern swing”. It is danced in a narrow lane, and it leaves a lot of room to improvise. The site describes it as known for its versatility and for being danced to a wide variety of music.
Two more things lower the bar. The site’s classes page says anyone can learn to lead or follow, since neither role is tied to gender. And several listed classes say plainly: no partner required.
Where to take a class in Toronto
The classes page lists six weekly programs inside Toronto. They cover five days of the week and four parts of the city.
| Day | Area | Program | Listed price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Downtown | Toronto Swing Dance Society, with Michelle Regal | $65 for 7 weeks (members), $80 with membership |
| Monday | West | Toronto Dance Spot, with Ania and Adam Czub | On the studio’s site |
| Tuesday | North | Prosserman JCC, with Julie Epplett | Through the JCC |
| Wednesday | East | Joy of Dance, with Steven James | Drop-ins welcome |
| Thursday | Etobicoke | Shelley Dance, with Shelley Saxena | $99 for 5 weeks |
| Saturday | Etobicoke | The West-Way Club, with Mary Adams | $20 per lesson |
Where a price is listed, we turned it into a cost per hour of class. The Toronto Swing Dance Society series works out to $9.29 an hour for members and $11.43 for newcomers, since the $80 fee includes the membership. The West-Way Club’s 90 minute lesson comes to $13.33 an hour. The Shelley Dance series comes to $19.80. So the cheapest listed hour costs less than half the most expensive one.
Those figures are a snapshot. Prices and dates change by season, and the site itself says so. Check the studio before you go.
One small detail is worth knowing. At Joy of Dance, the classes page says beginners are invited to stay for the social after their class, free.
More than a Toronto scene
The home page speaks of 22 communities. The Community menu names 16 groups. Eleven are in Toronto, from the Toronto Swing Dance Society, formed in 1989, to Swing Bandits, Social Collective Toronto and the Toronto Open. Five are elsewhere in Ontario: Ancaster, Barrie, London, Niagara, and Remix Swing in Waterloo. The events page also lists a regular social in Burlington.
That spread is the real use of the site. A dancer in Hamilton or Barrie can find a night close to home, and a Toronto dancer can find a reason to drive.
Where to find a social
Classes are the entry point. The social dance is where people practise. The About page puts it simply: after the lessons, go to a social and dance in front of a DJ or a live band.
The Toronto Swing Dance Society’s own listing adds the part beginners worry about most. You do not need to bring a partner. It is normal to arrive alone and to ask someone you did not come with.
The events page is where the dates live, updated as they change. Its calendar page asks dancers to verify details before going, because weather, venues and travel delays move things. Some dates this season show the range. The Toronto Swing Dance Society, Shelley Dance and Swing Bandits all have lesson and social nights on the calendar. A CAMH fundraiser at Joy of Dance is set for November 18. Julie Epplett’s profile describes her as an advocate for mental health.
Further out, the site lists competition weekends. The Waterloo Ontario Open runs February 4 to 7, 2027. Swing in Bloom is in Ottawa, April 22 to 25, 2027.
Toronto’s Latin dance nights now have their own app. West Coast Swing has had its shared calendar on a website since 2001.
How to get started
- Subscribe to the TOWestCoast newsletter or join the TOWestCoast Facebook group.
- Pick the night and the area that suit you from the classes page.
- Register with the studio. Some series are online only and do not take drop-ins.
- Sort out your shoes. Street soles grip the floor, and West Coast Swing asks you to slide and turn. Many dancers switch to a suede-sole dance shoe, and a pair with an elastic strap goes on and off quickly between songs. If you are not sure yet, see the cheaper option under “Worth having” below.
- Go to a social within the first few weeks, even if you only know the basics.
If you already dance salsa or bachata, West Coast Swing is a separate partner dance with its own basics. Our salsa vs bachata guide covers how those two compare.
A social dance floor is live culture in the plainest sense: it happens in a room, in front of people. In Canada’s national culture accounts, live performance is the domain that produces the least economic output per job. Scenes like this one run on the teachers and organizers listed above.
Worth having
Stick-on suede soles turn an ordinary pair of sneakers into something that turns on a studio floor. They let a beginner try a few weeks of class before deciding whether dance shoes are worth buying.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I learn West Coast Swing in Toronto?
TOWestCoast lists weekly group classes in Toronto on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, downtown, north, east and in Etobicoke, with links to each studio.
Do I need a partner to learn West Coast Swing?
No. Several classes listed on TOWestCoast say no partner is required, and the Toronto Swing Dance Society says it is normal to arrive alone at its dances.
How much do West Coast Swing classes cost in Toronto?
Among the prices listed in September 2026, an hour of group class ranged from about $9 to about $20, depending on the studio and on membership.
Sources and method
From the source. Everything about TOWestCoast, its founder, its groups, class times, prices and event dates comes from TOWestCoast.com, read on September 24, 2026: the home page, the About, Classes, Events and Calendar pages, the profile of Julie Epplett and the listing for the Toronto Swing Dance Society. The “22 communities” figure is the site’s own wording. Class details should be confirmed with each studio, as the site advises.
Raw POV analysis. The cost per hour of class was calculated by Raw POV from the prices and class lengths listed on the classes page, only for the four programs that list both. The count of 16 named groups, 11 in Toronto and 5 elsewhere in Ontario, is our count of the site’s Community menu, excluding the event flyer link. The difference from the 22 communities on the home page is not explained on the site, and we do not try to explain it.
