“Dane Dances is one of the most exciting events that you’re going to find and our focus and mission have always been to bring the whole community together – all ethnic groups and people of different economic statuses … no matter what, everyone is welcome,” Dane Dances Board President Al Cooper tells Madison365. “We try to make sure we roll out the welcome mat to everyone in the community so they can feel that they are appreciated and that the event is for them, as well. This is a community event and people make it their event.”
Dane Dances, one of Madison’s most diverse, family-friendly summertime events, opens its 25th season tonight with a performance of Nepali dance by the Nepali American Friendship Association of Madison, followed by two of the Midwest’s best dance bands from Milwaukee and the Chicagoland area. Montage will get the night going with their high-energy smooth dance jams at 6 p.m. and the funk/R&B band Slave will perform at 8 p.m.
Every Friday this month, Dane Dances will host a variety of diverse bands on the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center rooftop overlooking the Wisconsin State Capitol building on one side and Lake Monona on the other.
“That’s the one thing that people love is the great views at Dane Dances and we always try to make sure we have diversity in the food that we offer at Dane Dances,” Cooper says. “We try to make everyone come and feel like they are familiar with something that’s there, whether it’s their food or their culture. We try to incorporate different cultures through different acts. We’re opening the season with the Nepali dance group doing a lesson on a dance. So we try to have a little something for everyone.”
Before the featured bands this season, DJ Francis Medrano will engage the audience at 5:30 p.m. and there will be free dance lessons for attendees. Cocktails are available for purchase at 5 p.m. and there is a diversity of food from restaurants like Kipps Kitchen, Lake Vista Cafe, La Taguara, and Melly Mells Catering.
Normally, Dane Dances takes place on four Fridays throughout August. This summer there will be five opportunities to party on the Monona Terrace rooftop.
“Every once in a while we will get five Fridays in August [for Dane Dances] depending on how the calendar falls and that is happening his year on our 25th anniversary,” Cooper says.
In week two, Dane Dances will celebrate its “25th Anniversary Special Night” on Friday, Aug. 9, with worldwide entertainer Lusito Rosario at 6 p.m. and Madison’s favorite dance band VO5 at 8 p.m. Check out the full summer Dane Dances line-up here.
Cooper has been the board president for Dane Dances for 13 years but has been a big fan of Dane Dances from the very beginning. “Through the years, I just got more and more involved with Dane Dances until I became the president,” he remembers. “When Dane Dances first got started, it got started with one band and a DJ back in the day. I think the first event we had about 400 people
“So we’ve grown from 400 people to 3,000 or 4,000 and up to 5,000 attendees, pre-Covid. We’ve had a lot of young people and a lot of old people come to the events,” Cooper continues. “I used to say the attendance at Dane Dances was from babies to 80 and 90 and 100-year-old people who come and they all feel welcome there … they find a space for themselves.
“This is our 25th year and that is quite a milestone and we are getting better, But it’s looking harder to sustain it,” he continues. “To be honest, these events become more challenging in terms of costs and getting people to volunteer to help do the work. Although it has become more of a challenge, we have a great group of volunteers and we are always looking for more.”
To volunteer during the 25th anniversary season of Dane Dances, click here.
“It’s fun to watch people enjoying themselves and being able to converse with different people that they normally don’t see at Dane Dances,” Cooper says. “There are people that you may not see them all year, but you see them at Dane Dances. It becomes an annual reunion for some people … just to be able to see people they recognize or know from other walks of life but they generally don’t socialize in the same network of people and are able to reconnect at Dane Dances.”
