Queer Vibes
Welcome to Queer Vibes!
Canberra’s social dance community for LGBTIQ+ identifying people to get together, have fun and get fit.
Where to find us
Tuesday classes
Queer Vibes meets every Tuesday from 6-7pm at the Majura Hall, Northside Community Services, in Dickson. We learn a variety of dance styles which to date have included salsa, merengue, swing, electroswing, Cha Cha, waltz, tango, Bachata, hip hop, pop, disco, Zumba, bollyfit and afrobeats. Join our Facebook group to find out about upcoming styles.
Monthly Tuesday dinner
After class from about 7.30pm you’ll sometimes find us at a restaurant in Dickson on the last Tuesday of the month.
Our history
Queer Vibes was founded by in March 2022 by an enthusiastic dance student Naomi Wolfe and her friends. Queer Vibes is a fun and fresh initiative designed to bring together members of Canberra’s queer community for friendly fun and fitness.
We began as Queer Zumba with start up funding through a COVID-recovery grant from the ACT Heath Directorate’s Office of Mental Health and Wellbeing in 2020 at a time when social isolation was a significant issue due to pandemic lockdown. The mental health, fitness and social opportunities for vulnerable members of the queer community were very much in need. While the clubs, gyms and traditional dance venues were closed, Zumba provided a relatively safe and socially distanced alternative while also providing a great community vibe.
Meridian Inc (formerly the AIDS Action Council of the ACT) acted as auspice agency, providing mentoring and support for the initiative, and assisting with supporting financial viability. In turn, we operated a fund-raising non-profit initiative, raising funds for Meridian Wellbeing Services which offers counselling to the LGBTIQ+ community.
Queer Zumba ran from November 2020 until February 2022, building a vibrant Facebook community of 450 members. In
During 2021 and 2022, Queer Zumba obtained additional grant funding support from Google for our inaugural 2021 Mardi Gras entry and from the ACT Government’s Office of LGBTIQ+ Affairs to conduct additional extension activities and a 2023 Mardi Gras entry to represent Canberra at World Pride.
During the 2.5 years of operation, Queer Zumba successfully hosted a range of activities – including three Zumbathons, two dance parties, two Mardi Gras entries and a number of smaller performances and Zumba classes. These extracurricular activities were in addition to the regular Tuesday night Zumba classes which have moved from southside to northside, from the Causeway Hall, Albert Hall and eventually to the Majura Hall.
After Mardi Gras 2022, we decided to try something new and learn some new styles of dance – so Queer Vibes was born! The main difference is that instead of having a fusion of dances in a dance fitness setting as with Queer Zumba, Queer Vibes rotates through a range of different dance styles, getting in a bit deeper into each over a month before rotating on to the next.