This is what it looks like to really dance with your dog.
Dog dance, also called canine freestyle, is a movement-based sport built entirely around your relationship. You choreograph. You interpret music together. You find out what your dog is actually capable of when someone's finally paying attention.
What This Actually Is
It's a sport. It's also something else.
Canine freestyle is a competitive dog sport with titles, judges, and real technical depth. But the reason people stay — the reason I built a whole business around it — is that it changes the way you see your dog.
You stop asking them to comply. You start asking them to collaborate. The choreography is almost beside the point. What you're really building is a new kind of attention between you.
Who It's For
You might be exactly who I had in mind.
You're not necessarily someone who grew up doing dog sports. You might not even think of yourself as athletic. You’re the person who loves their dog in a way that feels almost too big for regular life
Dog dance tends to find people who:
Have tried training that felt more like management than relationship
Want to do something with their dog before the time runs out
Are moved by music, or storytelling, or the idea that movement can mean something
Suspect their dog has more in them than they've been asked to give
If any of that sounds like you, you're in the right place.
What It Looks Like in Practice
Here's what we actually do.
Every dog dance journey starts with the same thing: learning to notice. What does your dog offer naturally? What do they love? What's their pace, their style, their personality on the floor?
From there, you build a vocabulary of moves: heelwork, spins, distance work, tricks that become transitions. And eventually, you put it to music. You find a song that fits your dog. You map it. You rehearse it. You perform it, or you title it, or you just do it in your living room because it's yours. 💛
My dog Brontë is opinionated, medium-paced, and deeply unimpressed by shortcuts. She's been my best teacher. You'll meet her in the choreography videos.
Train With Me
However you learn best, there's a way in.
In person — Chicago
Weekly classes and occasional workshops at Urban Pooch in Chicago.
This is where you get real-time feedback, floor time with your dog, and the particular energy of a room full of people who take loving their dogs very seriously and also laugh a lot.
Check the upcoming schedule below for what's open right now.
Online
In May I'm launching two new ways to train with me from anywhere:
Group class — Weekly 60-minute classes via Zoom, live and recorded so you never miss a session
Solo choreography courses — Dog dance foundations plus individual choreographies that take you through whole songs, at your own pace
Both are built around your dog's actual personality, not a generic curriculum.
More online options coming in May. Join the waitlist.
UPCOMING EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
A one-night choreography party! Come learn how to dance to “Dance the Night” with your dog — great for first-timers, curious friends, or established teams who just want to have fun. Six spots available.
Friday, April 10 @ 8:30 pm
Urban Pooch Training: 5400 N Damen, Chicago, IL
Dance the Night Workshop
Building Your Own Dog Dance Routine (humans only)
Saturday, April 11 @ 2:15 pm
Urban Pooch Training: 5400 N Damen, Chicago, IL
Song selection, choreography building, performance prep. No dogs — just you, the material, and a clear path forward. This is the deep dive for anyone getting ready to title or wanting to understand how routines actually work.
Not in Chicago? You can take the same course online here.
Friday, April 18 , 25, and May 2 @ 2:45 pm
Urban Pooch Training: 5400 N Damen, Chicago, IL
Dog Dance Office Hours
Bring your headphones and whatever you're working on or want to learn. I'm on hand for focused guidance, and in a group this small you'll also learn from what others are navigating. $45/student, max 4 .
Thursday, May 21, 5:00–8:00 pm
Urban Pooch Training: 5400 N Damen, Chicago, IL
Dog Dance Filming Session
You and your dog get the whole ring, tripods set up, ready to go. Run 1–2 dance throughs and walk away with footage you can submit for a title. Bring a small audience if you want the full performance experience. Timed perfectly for the MDSA titling event May 31st. $25 for a 15-minute slot.
Book your slot: 5:00 · 5:15 · 5:30 · 5:45 · 6:00 · 6:15 · 6:30 · 6:45 · 7:00 · 7:15 · 7:30 · 7:45
About Titling
If you've been curious about titles, let me make it less mysterious.
The Musical Dog Sport Association (MDSA) offers titles for canine freestyle at every level — including one that's genuinely designed for people just starting out.
The MDSA Canine Freestyle Fun Award is exactly what it sounds like. Any video of you dancing with your dog can qualify. You don't need a polished routine. You don't need a filming session. If you have something — or think you might — and you're not sure whether it's "enough," just ask me or reach out to the MDSA.
The May 31st MDSA titling event is coming up fast. The filming session on May 21st is designed with that deadline in mind.