About Us
Dance Club
Anyone can attend upon paying for the admission price. Membership is available and entitles the holder to enjoy a reduced admission price for regular dances and special events as well as being able to vote at the Annual General Meeting. Memberships are valid for one year from the date of issue.The Club has around 500 members. We are a nonprofit club with an elected Board of Directors all of whom are volunteers.
Board of Directors
2021-2022 Directors are:
Mary Fulton (President)
Eva Novak (Vice President)
Colette Lapointe-Kearney (Secretary)
Brian Kearney (Treasurer)
Directors
Nenad Miric
Danny Sheehan
Corinne Tripsansky
Grace Zhang
Club History - Social Dance
The West-Way Club reached its 51st birthday in 2021. The club originally started up in 1970 and was located on Queen Street, Toronto. The club was designated as a “singles” social dance club providing an environment for singles to meet and dance to ballroom and latin music. The club became quite popular and eventually needed a larger location so in 1975 it relocated to 1407 Dundas Street, Toronto.
1407 Dundas Street is where the club officially incorporated as “not for profit” with the name West-Way Club Inc. in 1975. Dancing was held on two floors with music played on the second floor and piped down to the first floor. In 1980, the club celebrated its 10th anniversary. Over time, operation of two floors became a challenge so in 1984 the club signed a new lease at 1255 The Queensway, Etobicoke.
1255 Queensway was located in the Kipling Queensway shopping mall. The Queensway location continued to offer dances Friday, Saturday, and Sundays. It was at this location that the club began offering social dance for married couples on Thursdays. At its peak, 1255 Queensway would enjoy its largest crowds, attracting up to 800 people on some nights. Over time, the club began to have issues with the conditions of the lease and the mall wanted to expand into club space, so in 1995 the club moved to 351 Evans Avenue, Etobicoke.
351 Evans Avenue Etobicoke had a capacity of 436 and had to be renovated before moving in. This required the club to be without a home for six months. During this time the club would host dances at the Holiday Inn and other venues on weekends. Here the club began offering dance instruction and lessons to members. Instructors included Canadian Ballroom champions Danny Quillian and Manon Grenier who would drive from Montreal to provide dance instruction to ballroom competitors. The “Tea Dance” concept also started at this location on Wednesday afternoons and became quite popular. In 2004, the landlord required the 351 Evans space for expansion and he requested that the club move to the present location at 291 Evans Avenue.
291 Evans Avenue also has a capacity of 436 and the landlord was very helpful to fully renovate the club to its current design layout.
Throughout the club’s history, members have enjoyed live bands, competitions, and special events such as St. Patrick’s Day, XMAS, New Year’s Eve, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day. The Club hosted many other activities such as car rally’s, bowling, cruises, and other fund-raising initiatives.
Dancing is a great way for people of all ages to get in shape and stay fit. It has many positive health benefits and is a wonderful activity for mind, body, and spirit. Dancing improves your fitness, mental acuity, and social connections. Dancing enhances your life in so many ways.
West-Way Club has and continues to be a special place where people come to enjoy the benefits of dance, music, food, friendship, sense of community, and even a place where many have met their future life partners.
