SWAY The Night AWAY : A Dance Bar That Offers Boots and the ‘Tush Push’

It’s loud, dark and smoky, the wooden dance floor is uneven in places and when the place is filled with people on a warm summer night, the heat can almost be unbearable.

But combine that with boots, jeans, pool tables and a live, sometimes raucous band, and you find a place where it’s hard to find a parking space on a Friday or Saturday night.

Welcome to the Ban Dar, Ventura’s most popular country and Western bar and a gathering place for those who love country music and dancing.

The place is crowded on weekend nights with regulars and newcomers who want to do the two-step, 10-step and cotton-eyed Joe, but it’s on Thursday nights that they have to push back the tables and chairs from another, older dance floor to make room for about 10 people who crowd into the club for Jewel Holmgren’s free dance lessons.

Holmgren, 56, teaches dances, such as the Texas two-step, for couples. She specializes, however, in what’s known as line dances, country and Western’s version of the disco era’s hustle.

Holmgren, one of two instructors at the Ban Dar, says the steps of the different line dances are “basically the same. They’re just put together in a different order.”

The level of experience does not matter. “An experienced dancer may not even grasp the simplest line dance” while a novice might do well, Holmgren said.

At the Ban Dar, it’s not unusual to see a 60-year-old man dancing with a 21-year-old woman before escorting her back to her table with a courteous “thank you.” Holmgren herself is often seen swirling around the dance floor in the arms of a young cowboy.

“The people at the Ban Dar are quite different than those at the local meat market,” said Marilyn Pratley, club manager.

Holmgren said it’s the friendly atmosphere and close friendships she has with some of the people that keep her coming back.

“I have no family at all,” she said. “So the people at the Ban Dar have become my family.”

The club is also a place for non-dancers. For them, some of the line dances, such as the tush push, are fun to watch because they give dancers the opportunity to show off their tight jeans, often to the accompaniment of catcalls from the band members.

“The tush push is, without a doubt, the most popular line dance in Southern California,” Holmgren said.

* THE DETAILS: Dance lessons are Thursday evenings from 7 to 9 and Sunday evenings from 5 to 7. No charge and no special clothes required. Also, no need for partners at the club, 3005 E. Main St., Ventura.