Mixer dance

A mixer dance, dance mixer or simply mixer is a kind of participation dance in a social dance setting that involves changing partners as an integral part. Mixing can be built into the dance choreography or can be structured to occur more randomly. Mixers allow dancers to meet new partners and allow beginners to dance with more advanced dancers. Some people may take advantage of mixers to assess dance skills of other persons without fear of being stuck with a poor match for an entire dance.

Some mixer dances have traditional names.

The descriptions of "mixing procedures" vary, however there are several common basic rules.

The basic rule of dance etiquette "thou shalt never say 'no'" is partially waived during certain procedures of the mixer: if you have already danced with the person, you may smile to each other and skip the choice. The reasoning is that the basic purpose of the mixer — to make people dance with many new partners — has the precedence.

Sometimes a "lost and found" place is designated (e.g., the centre of the dance circle), where unmatched dancers may find each other. Reasons for the occurrence of "unmatched dancers" include the mixing process inherent in the particular dance, gender imbalance, and dancer confusion.