When was the last time you went dancing with your girlfriends? Well, how about tonight? Dancing is fun, freeing and relieves stress, and it’s great exercise. Going out dancing is a time-honored girlfriend tradition, and it’s especially good when your respective guys don’t like to dance (cue Abba’s “Dancing Queen,” flashing disco ball, and girlfriends dancing in a circle). But if you don’t feel like hitting your local dance club, we have some other ideas for ways to get movin’ and groovin’ with your circle of friends.

Take a class: Sign up together for a  class or workshop for a dance style you haven’t tried before. Ballroom, jazz, latin, country line dancing: There is truly something for everyone. You’ll feel more confident signing up together, and you’ll have a regular date with your girlfriends! Check local colleges, park districts and dance studios. Hint: Our friends at Breakdance Chicago claim they can teach anyone to breakdance. We totally want to try it!

Risque business: It may not be for everyone, but a bunch of our girlfriends are totally geeked on pole dancing. One real-life girlfriend, professional and mom (who shall remain nameless), organized a girls night at Flirty Girl Fitness in Chicago and swears it was a blast. “All we did was laugh,” she says. These classes are springing up all over, so even if you’re not in Chicago, we’re sure you can find one. If you’d rather practice your risque business in the comfort of your own home, check out The S Factor: Strip Workouts for Every Woman.  Here is blog post describing a strip class as an empowering, self-esteem boosting experience. (We’re not saying we’re going to try it, but we’re changing our opinion from “no way” to “maybe.”)

Belly up: Our reader Angela wrote that she was hosting  “Night of The Painted Veils” for her girlfriends—with belly dancing lessons, a palm reader and a henna tattoo artist. What a great theme idea! A great girls night planning tip here: You can find nearly any kind of professional to entertain or educate you and your girlfriends in your own home. Since they often charge for their time, rather than per person, you can treat your girlfriends to fun experiences relatively cheaply! By the way, we’re still waiting for pictures, Angela!

DDR Contest: Borrow your kids’ Dance Dance Revolution game and have a girlfriend dance competition. High score wins! Wear comfortable clothes or dress in theme-inspired gear (1970s or how about Flashdance? (See the Flashdance (Special Collector’s Edition w/ Bonus CD). Leg warmers, anyone?). Winner gets a copy of a dance mix you create yourself. Have plenty of cold drinks on hand, and you’ve got a cheap, hilarious girls night to remember. Or, here’s another cheap, dance-themed girls night idea: Next Monday night, have the girls over to watch Dancing with the Stars, and dance along. We know our real-life girlfriend Clare would be up for it!

Have a fabulous weekend, everybody. We hope you get your groove on with your girlfriends!