The Ten Talents will independently host upscale events where dance is the centerpiece of the evening —in other words, men and women can show up and expect to be asked to dance and dance happily for hours.

The format eschews the necessity of the 'private lesson', or the idea that dancing requires an investment of time and money or anything other than the simple prerequisite of being human. 

It is inspired by the Scottish tradition of the ceilidh. I'm Piper, writing this (the founder). I spent a few years living in Scotland for University and learnt quickly that overseas, there is a ball every few weeks and everyone is expected to dance. Sometimes it is black-tie, sometimes it is casual in an old church hall, but there is always a ceilidh (pronounced "kay-lee") band composed of a few strings and a drum set and a caller. The caller runs the show, telling everyone to get in partners or groups of six or eight —whatever it may be— and once they do, he/she instructs the steps of the dance in just a few minutes. Then everyone just does it. Five minutes later, another dance is called. Over the course of a few hours, everyone has gotten around a room of hundreds, laughing with strangers, turning and stepping, doing one dance after another and getting drinks together in between. 

As an American, I was struck by the experience. It lacked a barrier to entry. There was no hour-long pre-lesson. And because of this democratization of the dance experience, you get to dance with tons of people you would never imagine you'd get to dance with. Funny characters and staid professors and those popular yet out-of-reach boys you liked from your classes.

At our events, taking inspiration from the ceilidh format, the goal is to get all kinds of people dancing together immediately. A variety of classic dances styles will be 'called' over the course of the evening, from gliding and romantic waltz-like partner dances to swing, and even folksy group dances like those I did in Scotland, where individuals rotate along a circle, or altogether hold hands and interweave between a line of the opposite gender. The concept is to reimagine dance as something for everyone until it is a casual life skill for Americans.  We want to give people an exceptional, high-quality event and a space in each other's arms to fall in love, laugh, and get a glimpse of hope again, sharing memorable moments of human connection at a time when we need it most.