Free Thursday salsa and bachata classes offer a cure for Vancouver's grey November

The clocks have gone back, it's dark by about 4:30, and Vancouver's rainy season has settled in. For anyone looking for a reason to get off the couch on a weeknight, a local dance society is offering one for free: salsa and bachata lessons every Thursday night, with no partner or experience needed.

Rueda de la Vida, a non-profit salsa and bachata society, runs free absolute-beginner classes each Thursday at Anomaly Studios on West 6th Avenue, followed by an hour of social dancing.

The evening

The night starts with a beginner salsa class from 7 to 8 p.m. A beginner bachata class follows from 8 to 9 p.m. From 9 to 10 p.m., the studio turns into a social dance, open to all levels, where new dancers can try out what they've just learned.

The whole evening is free. Registration is required, through the society's page on Dancefloor.

You don't need a partner or special shoes, and people are welcome to come on their own.

A cure for the grey

The pitch is simple. November in Vancouver means wet streets and short days, and it's easy to stop going out at all. A dance class offers some exercise, music and a room full of people. It also offers something to look forward to midweek.

Salsa and bachata are among the more forgiving partner dances to start with. The basic steps are easy to learn, and both are danced socially across the city, so a beginner who keeps at it soon has places to go.

After the beginner class

The free classes are the society's entry point. Dancers who want to keep going can move on to its paid improver and intermediate classes on Sunday evenings, which include entry to the Sunday social from 7 to 9 p.m.

Free beginner salsa and bachata
Thursdays, 7–10 p.m. (salsa 7 p.m., bachata 8 p.m., social 9 p.m.)
Anomaly Studios, 76 W 6th Ave, Vancouver
Free; registration required: dancefloor.social