Blues Union

I’m a horrendous dancer. After a 1-​hour lesson with Josh and Amanda, I felt like I could hold my own at blues dancing. For 5 bucks, I received a huge ego boost and a greater understanding of why Boston loves to dance! A word to dates: if you come here with a special someone, expect that you and your partner will dance with other people. Don’t worry: it’s nothing personal!
After the lesson, the studio turned into an open dance featuring live music from Chelsea Reed and the Fairweather Five, an amazing swing band from Philadelphia! The floor was jumping and everyone was having a blast cutting a rug. I personally asked to dance with several people and was surprised to find how gracious and encouraging they were in accepting and subsequently dancing with my square self. The dancers here are very courteous and interested in the improvement of everyone in the club.
The snacks and water were provided in copious amounts.
The community is strong in this one. I’ll be back, Blues Union, and I’ll be bringing more people who are interested!

We were in the Boston area for a wedding and hit up as much lindy and blues as we could fit while we were there. We ended up here for the blues night. it’s a little hard to find if you’re not familiar with the area. But, the facility has beautiful floors, and the dancing was excellent. Probably on par with Bluetopia in Chicago, only a little smaller. The night we went they had live music and went till roughly midnight.

Awesome floors. Bad location (Union Square is horrible). Nice vibe.
The DJs are usually good but 20% of them are simply terrible.

There are many venues to dance at in Boston; Blues Union is the only one I make sure never to miss.
In the end, it’s the community of people that makes Blues Union special. DJs, instructors, people who can bake, and dancers of all skill levels come together to have fun in each others’ company for an evening. If you don’t know how to dance, or come from out of town and don’t know anyone, people will go out their way to dance with you and get to know you. If you’re already an experienced dancer, people will recognize that and be happy to explore a shared passion with you.

I’m home from college for the summer and really missing swing and blues dancing — so I decided I’d head down to Boston and check out Blues Union. We got there too late for the lesson (there are intermediate and beginner lessons every week for $ 5), but paid our $ 5 to dance from 9 – 11!
The dance is in a really pretty room with a wonderful hard-​wood, slippery floor (you leave your street shoes outside, so bring dance shoes or wear socks you’re not embarrassed about). Apparently, someone brings a baked good each week, so not only was there water available, but there was really good food, too! I was particularly impressed with how friendly people were — everyone was very welcoming and asked people they didn’t know to dance, which I appreciated as an occasionally shy person who’d never danced in Boston before. The DJ-​ing was fun, the dancing was hot, and it was a fun evening! Don’t let the level of dancing intimidate you — there were some really amazing and experienced dancers, and there were some beginners, and there were some people in the middle. Everyone was willing to dance with everyone else, and all in all it was a successful evening.
(Just make sure you have very clear directions if you’re not familiar with Somerville… getting in and out was complicated, but that was not the fault of Blues Union, more the fault of google maps and Boston’s intimidating road factor.)

I love blues union, and it’s definitely the best (and possibly the only) place to blues dance in the boston area. The djs are always great, the floor is really nice, there are yummy baked goods every week, and the lessons (whether you’re a beginner or slightly more seasoned, there’s one for you) are consistently helpful. The teachers are passionate about spreading the blues dance love, and so are more than willing to help people with questions and what not. And it’s just funnnn!