LYNNWOOD — Just north of the city limits, men wearing tuxedos and women in formal gowns came together for a special night of ballroom dancing.

Their destination was a dance hall located within The Hayloft RV Park &Dance Hall, 15320 35th Ave. W.

Carmen Nelson and Dale Garnica hosted a special “Cinderella Ball” last month through their business, Carmen &Dale’s Strictly Ballroom, a social dance venue the two started early last year.

In October, they began teaching and offering weekend dance events at The Hayloft, an old gathering spot for meetings, dances and other social events.

“In its heyday, it used to be a grand ballroom,” said Nelson of the 2,500-square-foot dance hall. “We’re trying to bring people back to it.”

Nelson and Garnica say their goal is to “reintroduce” social dancing as a good way to get some exercise and to spend a night out.

“Our focus is simply to provide a fun venue to enjoy ballroom dancing,” said Garnica, a Seattle police officer.

The two met at The Rocking Horse Dance Barn in Renton, which offers ballroom and country western dances on weekends. Nelson was team teaching with a disc jockey; Garnica was “just dancing,” he said.

They danced the cha-cha and, well, “it was love at first dance,” said Nelson, who trained professionally.

In a sense, the couple are riding the crest of a wave of ballroom dancing popularity spurred by the TV show “Dancing with the Stars” and some well-received films, such as “Strictly Ballroom,” and “Shall We Dance.”

But where “Dancing with the Stars” is all about glitz and athleticism, Nelson and Garnica say they want to bring people back to ballroom dancing’s roots.

“One of the things we’re passionate about is teaching the traditional ballroom,” Nelson said. “What you see on TV now is not traditional ballroom, it’s the new era of ballroom. A lot of it is choreography.”

Traditional ballroom dances generally include fox trot, waltz, rumba and cha-cha, but ballroom dancing is often extended to include a range of other dances, from Argentine tango to East Coast swing, and various other two-step forms.

At the ball, Linda Probstfeld of Edmonds took a break from dancing with her husband, Steve. The two started dancing at The Hayloft last October.

“I like Carmen and Dale,” Linda said. “I like the fact that it’s not in a bar, there’s no alcohol and the fact that they are encouraging people to dress up.”

As dancers circled around, Dale, dressed in a tuxedo and top hat, instructed the dancers.

“Gentlemen, no death grips on your lady,” he said.

“We’re going to be fingertip to fingertip as if there’s a screw holding it in place,” Carmen chimed in.

Dancers swapped partners frequently as they made their way around the dance floor. Dale, tall and slender in his top hat and tuxedo, offered periodic advice to those with two left feet.

“Here’s the key, gentlemen: If you keep your toes on the floor, you won’t step on your partner’s toes and you’ll be in their good graces the rest of the evening.”

Dancers of all skill levels show up for Hayloft dances. A mix of dancers — from high school students and young adults to middle age and senior adults — bring their varied dance skills to the hardwood floor.

Perdis and Kurt Jacobsen of Shoreline said some fellow classmates from a dance studio they attend told them about Carmen and Dale. The Cinderella ball was their first event at The Hayloft.

Matheu Root, a student at Jackson High School in Mill Creek, showed up with his sister, Alexa, and his father and mother.

“We told him girls like guys who can dance,” said his mom, Maria Cote.

As dancers waltzed around the floor, Ann Robertson of Kirkland sold tickets and served beverages.

She’d met Carmen and Dale at The Rocking Horse Dance Barn, where she used to work as a cashier.

“They asked if I would come here and I said ‘sure,’” she said.

Robertson said she’s noticed that “people like to dress up.”

“Sometimes the husbands are more dressed up than the wives are,” she said.

Like Nelson and Garnica, Robertson says she longs for opportunities to dress up for a night out. When people dress up, she said, “their whole attitude changes.”

But dressing up is only part of the story, Garnica and Nelson say. Social dancing, they agree, is really about connecting with others.

That’s one reason they call their business a dance venue, not a dance studio. Studios, they say, place an emphasis on competition, which can be off-putting to beginning dancers. And The Hayloft isn’t a “meat market,” Nelson added.

“We’re losing the ability to have a social evening with other people,” Garnica said. “We’re entertained; we’re videod and movied. We go out for an evening and have no interaction with the person we’re with.”

Partner dancing provides that opportunity, he added.

“Instead of watching reality TV, you go out there and you are the reality,” Nelson said.