Dane Dances

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courtesy Luisito Rosario

Luisito Rosario in front of a light colored background.

Luisito Rosario

August in Madison means the return of everyone’s favorite rooftop community dance party: Dane Dances. Each week features DJ Francis Medrano at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. along with free dance lessons, which will be put to immediate use thanks to the band lineup, this week featuring international salsa star Luisito Rosario and Orquesta SalSoul del Mad. Food and drink will be available at 5 p.m. from Lake Vista Cafe, La Taguara, Melly Mell’s Soul Food and TLC Catering. After a pair of rain cancellations in 2022, an indoor location is secured this year (most weeks at Monona Terrace, with Aug. 18 moving to the Alliant Center if rain; for weather updates, call 608-261-4094). Watch for updates at danedances.org.

With DJ Francis Medrano 5:30 & 7:30 pm, Orquesta Salsoul del Mad 6 pm, Luisito Rosario 8 pm.

media release: Dane Dances is enthusiastically kicking off its 24TH season Friday August 4, 2023 “A SEASON OF TOGETHERNESS”.  New this year we will engage the audience with DJ Francis Medrano & FREE dance lessons starting at 5:30 PM every week.  This year Dane Dances is celebrating the contributions of all those who are making our COMMUNITY GREAT. Opening night is “SHOW YOUR COLORS NIGHT”.  Come out dressed to represent your Company, Club, Church, Country, Greek Organizations, Non-Profits, Schools, and/or Profession.  We are celebrating what we bring to the Community.  We want everyone to feel welcome at our events.

Week 2: August 11 Save Our Children Night - Get down with Madison’s premiere Latin-Soul Band, bringing together the fire of Latin rhythm and the groove of Soul with English lyrics, ORQUESTA SALSOUL DEL MAD at 6:00 PM.  Continue the rhythm through the night with an international Recording Salsa Artist with high energy style of Latin music.  A show you do not want to miss with LUISITO ROSARIO at 8:00 PM.  Luisito was the lead vocalist with the legendary Larry Harlow of the Fania All Stars fame orchestra for 23 years in New York City.  

Dane Dances will be recognizing Dane County Executive Joe Parisi for his great leadership in representing ALL of Dane County, Friday August 11th. He created the first Dane County Office – Immigration Affairs, Equity & Inclusion and groundbreaking job pipeline partnerships with Centro Hispano, The Latino Academy for Workforce Development and The Urban League. Joe proposed and developed the Beacon Homeless Day Resource Center, put mental Health teams in Dane County schools. Led efforts to keep us safe and protected the most vulnerable during the pandemic. He created the farm to foodbank program that provided millions of dollars to local farmers to provide fresh food to food pantries during the pandemic and grant programs for childcare providers & small business to help them survive in the early stages of the pandemic, oversaw the distribution of tens of millions of dollars so renters could stay in their homes. Joe is a champion for our environment, led efforts to clean up our lakes and has made Dane County a nationally recognized leader in greenhouse gas reduction, the first in the state and only the 4 th in the nation to offset 100% of its electricity use with clean, renewable electricity.

We will also pay tribute to the late DJ Casper of Chicago who performed at Dane Dances August 9, 2019 with his line dance songs. He created the Cha Cha Slide and started an evolution of new line dances.

Food and cocktails are available for purchase at 5:00 p.m.

Food by: Kipps Kitchen, Lake Vista Cafe, La Taguara, and Melly Mells Cater

In the case of inclement weather, Rain back-up is at Monona Terrace for August 4, 11 & 25, and at Alliant Energy Center for August 18 with FREE parking

IMPORTANT SECURITY INFORMATION!

· All bags will be checked by a security representative. This includes: food bags, food coolers, chair bags, etc. Guests should be prepared to open their bags for inspection and may be asked by a security representative to shift and possibly remove contents.

· Contactless walk-thru security screenings will be in place. For the safety of everyone at Concerts on the Rooftop, all persons will walk through a metal detector or be screened with a hand-held metal detector to search for prohibited items (no weapons or alcohol). Guests may return items to their vehicle or surrender to security without return.

Dane Dances thank all of our Sponsors, Friends and Volunteers that enable us to continue the local tradition of free, family-friendly music, dancing, and community spirit each Friday in August on the Monona Terrace rooftop! This year we are inviting and reaching out to all ethnic groups, associations and businesses to help us connect and have everyone feel the welcoming “MAGIC” of Dane Dances!

To volunteer: https://signup.com/go/zmknhxy

To Sponsor: https://danedances.org/sponsors.php