That's right, the Downtown Art Walk is still going strong, so put on a jacket and go check out some emerging young artists at the Hive Gallery, the L.A. Center for Digital Arts, the Temple of Visions and more than 25 other venues. After exercising the artistic part of your brain for a few hours, you'll need to release all that creative energy, so head to the Danceright party at La Cita. This week DJ Blaqstarr will be in from Baltimore to provide the booty-shaking beats.

La Cita, 336 S. Hill St., Los Angeles; Artwalk 5 - 9 p.m.; free; www.artwalkla.wordpress.com; Danceright 10 p.m. - 2 a.m.; free w/ RSVP at www.danceright.net

-- Daniel Siegal

Photo: Another wild night at downtown's La Cita. Credit: Lindus

Thanksgiving approaches, and that means the return of tried-and-true holiday traditions, like stuffing your face with turkey and then slipping into a trytophan-induced coma for the seemingly endless duration of the day's NFL games.

Still, just because Brand X provides delicious recipes doesn't mean we condone going full couch potato. After all, not only is it a good idea to dance of that third serving of marshmellow-topped yams, this year there are a plethora of exceptionally funky dance parties surrounding Thanksgiving. From the house beats and polysexual attitude of A Club Called Rhonda to the hip-hop inspired electro of Pretty Lights at the Wiltern, there's a slice of dance music for everyone. Bsides, do you really think you can take a full weekend stuck in the house with the extended family? Get out and get loose at one of these events.

Wednesday, 11.24

Awesometown at the Shortstop

Make a preemptive strike against holiday hibernation at the last-ever Awesometown party at Echo Park's disco ball headquarters, the Shortstop. This Wednesday night dance party is calling it quits after four years of inducing hipsters to call in sick on Thursday, and it's sure to go out with a bang. And since you're not headed to work this Thursday anyway, you've got not excuse not to come groove to a set by up-and-coming L.A. beat-makers Cosmic Kids. Wear flannel and order a PBR if you're worked about blending in at this dark hipster hangout.

The Shortstop, 1455 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles; 10 p.m. - 2 a.m.; free; (213) 482-4942

Fill up your dance card with more events after the jump >>

This Wednesday’s jog around Silver lake Reservoir was anything but ordinary: lighting bolts slashed across the sky, thunder rumbled over head and there was a pack of zombies in yoga pants dancing on the lawn. 

As dog walkers passed, faces glazed with confusion, a volunteer choreographer armed with a portable stereo lead a group of about a dozen “Thriller” newbies through Michael Jackson’s staggering, signature moves. It turns out that the sighting wasn’t a random, one-time event -- unlike perhaps the weather that night.

Thrill the World LA is a group aiming to make history with the largest number of people dancing to “Thriller” at once –- with the goal of busting Mexico’s record of 13,597 rug-cutting zombies. On October 23, tens of thousands are expected to decend on a secret L.A. location, ready to dance.

Register to be one of them, but get prepped with free choreography sessions at locations including the Silver Lake Reservoir, Manhattan Beach, Van Nuys, Pasadena, Santa Monica and Torrance.

See their website for details and a class schedule, or bug Thrill the World L.A.’s event manager, Elena Manzanares, at elenattwla@gmail.com if you’d like to gather your own group to learn. And don’t be intimidated.  The aim is to dance like a dead person. You can do this. (And here's some inspiration from last year's event.)

-- Alie Ward

Top photo: Members of Thrill the World Los Angeles perform a dance to Jackson songs -- including "Beat It" and "Thriller" -- in Hollywood, where fans gathered on June 26, 2010 to mark the first anniversary of the pop singer's death. Credit: Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times. Bottom photo: Scenes from the Silver Lake Reservoir on Wednesday, Sept. 29.Credit: Alie Ward/For The Times.

Ever wish “Dancing with the Stars” was just a little, um, gayer? Then check out Steve Valentine's Gay Ballroom Dance classes at West Hollywood’s Plummer Park.

Learn the Gay Games ballroom champ's best moves -- cha-cha, rumba, samba and jive -- during the six-week session starting Oct. 2.

Valentine, who grew up dancing with female partners, wanted to offer classes to gay couples. “When I came out, I wanted to learn how to dance with a guy and have it look strong, sexy and masculine,” he says.

As for who should lead, “Usually the taller person or the dancer with more experience as they have to lead and navigate the dance,” says Valentine.

Classes are $200 for couples, $125 for singles, and no dance experience is necessary. Allegedly.

To reserve a spot, go to www.gayballroomla.com, or call (310) 489-0017.

-- Jamie Wetherbe

Photo: Dance champ Steve Valentine and a partner. Credit: Gay Ballroom LA

LA Dance Mob is putting on a peace freeze to promote international world peace. Make sure you're decked out from head to toe in blue — it's the theme color of the event.

Exact location to be revealed on their Facebook/Twitter; 12 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.; Free; twitter.com/LADanceMob

-- Krista Simmons

Video: The L.A. Dance Mob puts on a performance at Santa Monica Place. Credit: YouTube.

MashUp Contemporary Dance Company is one of the newest on the L.A. scene, but it is already forging a reputation for innovative performance style and an all-girl roster. Under the artistic direction of Victoria Brown and Sarah Rodenhouse, the production “Science” premieres at the Barnsdall Art Park and features dance vignettes paying tribute to the institution of science through modern choreography and a multimedia backdrop of photography and music. Any dance troupe that wears costumes that nod to the periodic table of elements is one worthy of watching.

Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles; 8 p.m.; $25

--Alie Ward

Video: 2010 MashUp Dance Company audition by Farm Fresh.

Thursday night, get ready to bust out your best artsy, avant-garde dance moves because the brilliantly bizarre audio-visual collective We Are the World begins its "Clay Stones" record-release residency at the Echo, featuring Sir Ryan Heffington's "Fingered."  Always the one to bring blissful innovation to his artistic projects, Heffington's "Fingered" event is part contemporary dance performance, part dance party, and even a little dance instruction by The Hef himself.

The Echo, 1822 Sunset Blvd., $8, 8:30 p.m.

-- Ramie Becker

Video: "Clay Stones" by We Are the World.

Yasmine Vine is not a therapist, but her private Club Dance lessons can be just as emotional as a session on a shrink's couch.  For her patients, er, students, learning to dance ties into issues of confidence and body image.

On a recent session with Vine, we stood with our right hands in front of us, closed our eyes and were instructed to pulse our fingers along to the beat-heavy techno. It wasn't the "Jersey Shore" fist pump, but it was just as embarrassing.

"Listen to the music and isolate the one instrument you connect with. Now move your hand to what you hear," said Vine, before instructing us to do the same with our left hand, shoulders, hips and eventually our feet. She was looking for the part of our body that moved most fluidly to the music -- our "dominant dancer," if you will. Soon would come a mental breakthrough.

Vine, a free spirit in bright lipstick and tall platforms, helps people overcome their fear of dancing in public. "The exercises we do work on the psychological issues, as well as the physical," she says of her private Club Dance lessons, which take place inside a small mirrored room at Millennium Dance Complex in North Hollywood. (For the purpose of our article, Vine let both of us in for the lesson.)

It might seem ridiculous to people who freely hit the dance floor, but for the inhibited, the very thought of going clubbing is enough to elicit anxiety. She says her students are afraid that people will judge them. The judgment, Vine insists, comes from within. But before dealing with the little voice that prevents hips from swaying back and forth, she begins by teaching her students simple, good-looking dance moves.

Her first Club Dance student, in February 2009, was a gay man in his 20s who'd recently come out of the closet and wanted to finally learn how to let loose on the dance floor. Now, he's a go-go dancer. Another was an older gentleman in his 60s; his bride-to-be wanted him to dance at their wedding, so Vine got him out of his shell -- for the first time in his life.

Vine, also a burlesque dancer at such venues as Bordello and Three Clubs, as well as a pole-dance teacher, hasn't always moved-to-the-groove so easily. Growing up in Iran, Vine was a devout Muslim -- but something changed within her when she moved to Los Angeles at 19 and swapped her veil for fishnets. Dance lessons were a way for Vine to get back in touch with her own body after having been more inhibited while living in Iran. She took to the dance floor voraciously, eventually becoming a pro; but her first year dancing for an audience was fraught with self-consciousness, and she developed tricks for conquering her trepidation. Now she's writing a book about the experience, tentatively titled "So You Think You Can't Dance."

"When a new student comes in, they're not focused on music or a positive state of mind. It's fear, self-doubt and insecurity," she says. "Literally every body can dance to rhythm, we just have to tap into that."

Vine's class begins with a personal assessment, somewhat similar to an intake form at the shrink. Next, Vine locates the part of her student's body that dances most freely; for men, it's usually the shoulders. Eventually during the course, which costs $250 for five classes,  the student is ready to freestyle, with the "dominant dancer" leading the way. The goal is for each person to get so  connected with the music that people, and their perceived judgments, disappear. Beyond dance moves, Vine seeks to help students get past the "wall of shame."

"It breaks my heart when people prevent themselves from dancing. It's a huge joy in life that they don't get to participate in."

www.yasminevine.com

--Alexandra Le Tellier and Krista Simmons

Photo of Yasmine Vine by John Skalicky

 

I don't dance. In the six years I've covered night life, I've circumvented the dance floor as if it were surrounded by an electric fence, preferring instead to tap into my French and Jewish roots by double-kissing cheeks and gossiping. That doesn't mean I don't want to. Just ask my neighbor, who nicknamed me "Riverdance,"-- he'll tell you my secret.

My phobia recently ended at Nightclub Cardio, an aerobics party on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. at Level 3. In a dark room with flashing lights, I busted out moves for the first time in public. For Jennifer Brugh, who started this class in Houston a year ago, the inspiration came after wishing she could club in sneakers instead of heels. Regular Gini Trask became so hooked that she started an L.A. outpost in November after she moved here from Texas.

Scene: DJ Rad Ryan spins top 40 remixes, while Ashley Marriott demonstrates easy-to-follow moves such as chest pops and running in place ala"Flashdance"

Dress code: Gym clothes and big earrings.

Hangover: Since only five minutes were devoted to stretching, I was sore for days.

Cover: $15 at the door; $12 if you register in advance at www.nightclubcardio .com; $40 for a four-class pass.

-- Alexandra Le Tellier 

Photo: Ashley Marriott leads Nightclub Cardio at club Level 3. Photo: Colin Young-Wolff / for The Los Angeles Times.

In case your discerning musical theater palette finds Bollywood opulence to be a little bland, step it up with L.A.-based dance troupe Blue13's new production "Mischief," which offers all the camp of Indian musical numbers, fortified with extra "frivolity, melodrama and sexy, scandalous behavior." Under the artistic direction of Achinta McDaniel, the series of vignettes explores the themes of bad behavior via traditional dance fused with jazz, hip-hop and even tap. Spicy!

Highways Performance Space, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica; 8:30 p.m.; $20

--Alie Ward

Photo: Blue13 in "Mischief," courtesy Highways Performance Space.