Firehouse Swing Dance at Queen Bee’s

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Warm and inviting group of regulars with inquisitive and friendly rookies. Universally accepting of diverse personalities. Universally allergic to bad people.
THE EXPERIENCE
Still going! — Overcame a big fear by putting myself in a new situation. Lots of positive reinforcement. Made friends. Friends became as integral in my life as my own family.
THE VERDICT
Get out there and GO DANCING — This has been the single most important change in my life.

I went to Queen Bee’s to dance once night and had an amazing time! I had only one (very brief) Swing lesson before, so I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I came to the lesson beforehand, and we learned the basic moves in addition to the Charleston, which was super fun! Don’t expect an intense, in-​depth lesson. You will switch partners, so be prepared to meet new people and step out of your comfort zone if you’re shy! :)
The dance afterwards was so fun. They had a live band that played some amazing music, and they had a great playlist going when they were taking a break. Everyone I encountered was so nice! I went by myself, so I didn’t know how long I would stay, but I was there for 4 hours, and almost never sat down. All the pro dancers are eager to help out the newbies, and offer great advice if you’re doing anything «wrong» (which I think as long as you are having fun and don’t worry about making mistakes, you are doing it right).
This is definitely a great venue for both new and seasoned dancers alike. Only *warning* — there is NO water fountain! But they let you bring your own water in! So don’t forget, unless you want to sweat to a slow, dehydrating death.

I’ve been to about 10 of these lessons. They used to be better, or maybe it was just a better crowd that showed up. Lately, I’ve found that these lessons and the so-​called dance party afterwards are no good for either learning how to dance or socializing in general!
The lessons are OK if you’re just trying to get the main gist of it. You know, back forth, quick quick slow yadda yadda. But beyond learning the basic step, the lessons are useless. They go on an on with crude analogies like women are cars, imaginary line here, wind up the top, connect the moves like cursive writing, but never get more specific about how to actually do anything. For instance, they’d go on for 5 minutes with their useless analogy about connecting moves like cursive letters, but never once do they show an example of how to style the beginning or end of a particular move or how to transition from any other move into that one. They rarely (if ever) mention weight transfer, which count a movement should happen on, or how to actually lead the move they’re doing. To add to the frustration, they never use names for any of the moves they’re teaching. Earlier tonight I learned the «pivot-​pull-​step.» Nothing wrong with that particular dance move, but I feel like I would remember it more, and also be able to use it and relate it to other dance classes more if they used a proper name. Not once have I ever heard them use the terms inside turn, outside turn, they never gave the name of the style of dance they’re teaching (east coast swing I think), they just don’t use names for anything. I’ve taken dance classes from roughly a dozen different instructors over the years, and these two are some of the worst. But hey, most people don’t care about the technical aspects of dancing anyway, they’re just there for the socializing, which leads me to:
The «dance party.»
I always seem to show up on the «Firehouse» swing night where they promise live music, and wear costumes and decorate the place. I think they charge more too. Tonight I stayed for about an hour after the lesson, and it was just canned music the whole time. They said there would be live music, and there just wasn’t. Maybe there was eventually, but I got tired of waiting for the party to start and left. They couldn’t even keep the canned music going! There were many awkward silences during the hour that I stayed (I think the DJ was busy doing something besides DJing). So if you’re down to hang around and do nothing for like 90 minutes to two hours waiting for the real party to start, maybe this is OK for you. But for me, well, I’m not showing up again. The huge dead period between the end of the lesson and whenever the party was supposed to start is just too disheartening for me. It seemed like the only people enjoying it were the very experienced dancers (so about half the people on the floor were TA’s).
I like swing dancing, but I’m never driving there again, or wasting another $ 16 for a party that never happens. Anyone know a better place?

Unfortunately for me, Queen Bee and fabulous Firehouse nights are too far away for me to go every Wednesday, but in every occasion I have a blast. No experience needed, go and get a lesson or more by Meeshi, and stay for the dance party afterwards (now there is new AC, so no sweating like crazy anymore:). You will love having a teacher like Meeshi, he is such an awesome person and instructor, you will feel the good vibes and get a happy vitamin shot by just attending one of his classes. Everybody working there or going dancing there are amazing people that love to dance and have a good time. This is the perfect place, location, pricing and people. Now get your flat shoes, your flirty skirt and get moving!

Excellent beginner lessons by Meeshi and dance parties afterwards. Finding free parking can be quite hard, but folks at the nearby Old Mill café will let you park your car in their lot (for a $ 5 fee). An intermediate lesson usually happens simultaneously on a smaller dance floor in the back.
Note: there is no water fountain, so bring your own bottle — or you can purchase one at the entrance for $ 2.
As with most San Diego venues, there are somewhat more follows than leads. Size of the crowd varies, 60 to 100 dancers are typical with the skills ranging from absolute beginners to advanced. The dance is very beginner-​friendly, percentage of the beginner follows is higher than the typical one for San Diego (would expect the same to hold true for the leads, but simply do not know).

While usually rather packed on the dance floor, the atmosphere is more than enjoyable; large fans keep the place a little cooler and awesome staff are always pleasant to communicate with, the restrooms are clean, and the fee at the door is fair. Overall, this is a jammin’ place to go out with friends to.

I came in as a beginner to swing dancing and decided to drop in for Meeshi’s Swing 101 class. I liked it so much that I decided to commit to the 90 day challenge (they were nice enough to deduct my drop in fee from the cost). That decision was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made! I am much more confident and less self-​conscious as a dancer now. I’ve graduated to the 102 class, and I’m doing my next 90 day challenge.
At the beginning of class we do warm-​up and ice breaking exercises. They really help me loosen up and feel more comfortable both moving, and comfortable with my classmates. Many times after watching the instructors preview the dance we will be attempting that session, I say to myself «OMG, I can’t do that!» Remember, I’m a beginner to dancing and can get intimidated easily. However, by the end of the class my saying changes to «OMG, I can’t believe I DID that!» The instructors make this possible by going step by step, building up a little at a time, and putting the pieces together at the end.
I have gained more than just a new confidence and proficiency with swing dancing. I feel like I’m part of a community. I have met so many amazing people! The dancers of the Firehouse community are so patient and encouraging to beginners. That’s really helpful because as a beginner, dancing among advanced dancers can be intimidating. I highly recommend attending the social dances after. The music is great (sometimes live). And everybody just wants to have a good time, no matter your skill level. The dance is really cheap if you do the lesson. Usually only $ 1 more. If you’re in the 90 day challenge, the lesson is about $ 8/​week. $ 9 for an a 90 minute lesson and dancing till midnight. Not a bad deal. If you need to miss a class, or just need some extra practice, you can drop in at Infinity Dance Sport Center on Convoy/​Balboa for just $ 5.
Queen Bee’s is a great venue. They’ve always got something cool going on. Speaking of cool, they recently put in new air conditioning.
See you there!

I visited from out of town after finding out about this weekly dance on the internets. It felt like any other swing community — friendly and warm. The only difference was that I saw a lot more Balboa than I’m used to which, you know, makes sense in this area. I paid $ 10 cash for admission because there happened to be a live band the night I visited. Leads were very nice and I danced with several. They had a birthday/​visitor jam so I really got to dance with several! I enjoyed sitting back and watching the dancers as well — there are so many great dancers here! A few dancers I chatted with told me about other local dances and some upcoming parties. Meeshi and the community are doing a great job keeping swing alive in southern California. Long live Frankie Manning!

My fiancé and I recently completed the 90-​day challenge with Meeshi and Yvette (amazing deal, by the way — if you do not know about this, you seriously need to check it out!), and we enjoyed dancing in general and the classes in particular so much that we are going to sign up for another 90-​day challenge! Neither of us has much experience with any kind of dance, so we were both a little nervous, but we never felt put on the spot or embarrassed, and we had a total blast the whole time! Having a male and female instructor was great — not only are Meeshi and Yvette fun to watch, but also my fiancé is forever indebted to Yvette for teaching me how to follow, and I am forever indebted to Meeshi for teaching my fiancé how to lead :)!
My fiancé and I also started taking private lessons with Meeshi because we want help choreographing and learning a dance for our wedding. Meeshi is a great teacher and has so many fun ideas! My fiancé and I cannot wait to take more lessons and show off all the cool moves we learned!
FYI — you do not need to have a partner to take this class (great place to meet others with similar interests), but you have the option of staying together if you come with someone.

If you’ve always wanted to learn how to swing dance, but were afraid to begin, stop worrying. Start here! If you’re looking for somewhere to swing dance, this is the spot.
Firehouse is a safe, nonjudgmental space for dancers at all skill levels and ages. Everyone’s friendly and willing to help you learn new moves or practice your steps.
As a beginner, I started out with the 90-​Day Swing Challenge, taught by Meeshi and Yvette. It’s $ 100/​person for 12 weeks (1 90-​minute class/​week), including the dance session after class, during which you learn East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, and Charleston basics. They break down the steps and teach you to feel the motion and tune into the music, as opposed to focusing only on the mechanics and what your feet are doing. They also post instructional review videos on Facebook for practice.
If you practice, you’ll definitely be able to swing dance by the end of it. (Don’t have someone to practice with? Stay for the dancing afterwards and ask people to dance. Really, it’s okay, even if you suck. Just change your shirt if you’re a sweaty mess.) You’ll also get to meet a lot of cool people during class as you rotate partners throughout.
The DJs are generally good about playing a mix of tempos, so you can do everything from lindy hop to balboa and even blues if it’s slow enough.

Well, I haven’t gone to a Firehouse Swing Dance since they moved, but I’ve danced at several of Meeshi’s Firehouse events when they were at the La Jolla Firehouse (for which they are named) and the San Diego Women’s Club, and I used to dance (salsa and bachata) regularly at Queen Bee’s plenty of times, so have no problem recommending anyone interested in (lindy) swing dancing to go check it out. They usually offer classes at different levels from a variety of very good instructors prior to their public dances (which alternate between some nights with just a DJ and others with a live band). The main drawback of the Queen Bee’s location is finding parking.
Meeshi is now also promoting DanceWalking — so if you end up parking far away, it’s a perfect time to practice…

Giant beginner class! You don’t need a partner, just come out and smile. There are a zillion willing dancers of all levels. This is the most fun you can have in North Park. Extremely talented and exciting instructional staff. Don’t miss out on a chance to meet some amazing new friends /​lovers /​dancers!

Super fun lesson! Minus one star for being so «school» about it. why can’t you play music WHILE teaching the steps? That kind of annoyed me.

Stopped by to dance a bit, since I’m from out of town, and dragged 3 of my friends with me. Two of them had never danced before, so they were in the beginner class (which was HUGE) and my other one fell asleep in the car, so I left him there while I went to the lesson, with the promise I’d call him when social dance started.
The lesson was fun and informative — lots of stuff was thrown at us, without too much time to practice them in between, though. From what I hear, my two friends (who were very scared of dancing) had a blast at the beginner lesson. I even danced a couple songs with them before they left for the night.
People were very friendly and varied in skill level. I’m still a beginner myself, but still had an amazing time dancing with all the different people, even when I did make mistakes. It was so odd seeing how many follows there were! Definitely not used to it, coming from San Jose.
Would love to come back. Really fun music choices, nice people, fair sized dance floor, and an empty room where you can just relax or use the mirrors to practice.

Fun well taught classes in a cool venue. The teachers have an entertaining way of teaching. In the advanced classes the teachers are well traveled dance competitors. After the lessons is open dancing. Lots of students and skilled dancers in attendance.
Great LIVE MUSIC on some nights in a style you wont hear anywhere else unless. All geared toward swing and Lindy dancing.

I started going to the firehouse for swing dancing about 3 months ago now. I fell in love. Wednesdays are now officially reserved for dancing and lessons at the firehouse.
Meeshi and Alena are excellent instructors. They make the classes fun, upbeat, informative, and easy to understand. Don’t be afraid if you are a first time learner. They break everything down into steps. The dancers are also very friendly. I have made many new friends over the past several months. I am really happy I took a chance and crawled out of my shell and gave the 90 day challenge a try.
Its an excellent price and you get more than what you pay for.
Also you dont need to take a partner to go to the classes. There are mostly singles there and Meeshi and Alena do a great job of rotating everyone around throughout each lesson. Go for it!

Five Stars! Five Stars! Five Stars!
Why?
Because this places let Cattle Decapitation (Vegan Death Metal band formed in 1996), Swing Kids (broke up in 1997), and Bastard Noise (formed in 1991), all play together under the same room! This line-​up was probably their first time together since ¹⁹⁹⁶⁄₁₉₉₇.
The venue was indie and super clean. Just okay acoustics, but that was probably the sound man’s fault. Keep it up!

You know the story… My friend convinced me to try swing dancing with her but I was only going to try it for one night. However, I got hooked! I’ve completely fallen in love with Swing dancing and I can’t seem to get enough of it.
The Firehouse is a wonderful venue. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed. The lessons are well-​explained and demonstrated. The instructors are professional and encouraging. And the people are great. It feels like family. I’ve made some really wonderful friends through the Firehouse.

I wanted to learn how to swing dance for a long time, and for various reasons alway found an excuse not to go. Then my coworker Ashley brought me to firehouse and I haven’t looked back since! I cannot say enough good things about this place, the instructors are easy to understand and a joy to learn from.
The best part about the place is the attitude. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming! You never need to worry about being a beginner because everyone adjusts to your level.
If you have reservations about coming alone– don’t worry about it! The instructors encourage everyone to rotate partners throughout out the lesson because you learn more, and in the words of Meeshi it’s much easier to take criticism from someone who is not your partner!
Make sure to call ahead to make sure that they are accepting drop-​ins, and bring cash! They are cash only, but there is an ATM across the street if you forget :)

Once upon a time, in the late 90’s…
Here’s the story of a lovely lady
Who was bringing up three very lovely girls. (Actually…no)
All of them had hair of BROWN, like their mother,
ERICA C, the hottest girl!
Here’s the story, of a man named CHUN P,
Who was busy with three boys of his own, (Um…no)
They were four men, living all together,
Yet they were all alone.
Till the one day when the lady met this fellow
And they knew it was much more than a hunch,
That this two would somehow form a family.
That’s the way we all became the CHUN P Bunch.
The CHUN P Bunch, The CHUN P Bunch!
That’s the way we all became the CHUN P Bunch!
OK, so above story is not 100% true, but the part where ERICA C eventually becomes ERICA P is true… we met on the dance floor. Who knows… maybe you too can meet that special someone on the swing dance floor?
Wednesday nights… come check it out! Large smooth hardwood dance floor, good music, and friendly dancers. All ages… and strangely, lately it feels like 1999 all over again with the Girl to Boy ratio about 3 to 1! Little café built in but no alcohol… but then again, its not easy swing dancing after the 4^th cocktail ;-)
As for the venue itself, checkout the reviews…4.5 Stars: