Things to Do in Kalamazoo

Nature has proved that dance is an effective way of attracting mates and restoring forgotten celebrities to the public eye. Strut your ballroom stuff, hop your funky hips, or practice the perfect pirouette with today's Groupon to Society Hill Dance Academy: $35 gets you one 45-minute private dance lesson for an individual or a couple, a $120 value. You can choose the style of dance you want to learn, including ballet, ballroom, hip-hop, and belly dance. Plus, this Groupon gives you a chance to practice your moves and socialize with fellow dancers at one of Society Hill's dance parties every Thursday at 9:15 p.m. at SHDA's Center City location, an additional $20 value for couples. Follow @Groupon_Says on Twitter.

During the final edit of Slumdog Millionaire, a movie some Americans consider very Indian, director Danny Boyle struggled to find an appropriate way to capture the joy of the film's conclusion. Just as he was about to scrap the entire project, Boyle had a moment of inspiration: create a brand-new dance style for the cast to perform during the closing credits. He envisioned the barefoot dancers with ornate, flowing costumes incorporating a heavy dose of jazz hands. After spending weeks honing the moves in front of his personal assistant, he knew that his dance form, which he called Bhangra, was the perfect ending to what the Academy deemed a perfect film.

The course at Sauganash Golf Club showcases two eras of golf-course design: it features a front nine built in 1924 by A. W. Tillinghast, prolific designer of such legendary courses as Bethpage Black and Baltusrol, and a back nine built 47 years later. This baby of cross-generational construction challenges golfers of all skill levels, as players must try a wide spectrum of golf shots to get through the holes spanning 6,194 yards across the heavily wooded land adjacent to the St. Joseph River. The front nine demand precise drives down tight fairways, and the back nine require a firm handle on distance to avoid penalty strokes for winding up in the river or any one of the Great Lakes.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course

• Total length of 6,194 yards from the back tees

• Three sets of tees per hole

Surfari Joe's—a safety-focused, safari-themed water park under new management—helps families to splash to their hearts' content with 18,000 square feet of indoor opportunities to get wet. A pair of extreme slides flings riders out of the building before funneling them back inside, where colorful runs for tykes share space with low-speed attractions such as Lino's Lagoon, a plesiosaur-free pond that warms guests with an 84-degree embrace. Between thrills, visitors can explore a video arcade or refuel at The Water Hole Bar & Restaurant, which teems with hearty sandwiches, housemade pizzas, and fiber-rich faux palm trees. Surfari Joe's happily handles parties and special events, and its onsite hotel reaches out to dedicated water sliders with cozy suites featuring flat-screen TVs, free WiFi, and access to a fitness center for burning off any steam remaining after a day on the slides.

A glittering, two-story marquee and Spanish-style terra-cotta façade extols the Michigan Theater of Jackson's 82-year history to anyone who passes. Established in 1930, the theater originally presented movies and vaudeville shows to the public, who viewed the spectacles from the lower level or balcony seated between gilded columns under an ornate, plaster ceiling. Though the entertainment industry continued to evolve, The Michigan Theatre retained much of its lavish, vintage charm—including rich, damask draperies, stained-glass light fixtures, and WWII-era Pacman machines—until it closed down in 1978. The historical theater was acquired in 1993 by a not-for-profit organization, which reopened the theater's doors and restored the building to its current state.

Today, the entertainment hub hosts classic and art-house films as well as live theater and concerts. In the first-floor lobby, an old-fashioned candy counter sells sweets and popcorn to make sure audiences have something to throw at the screen during midnight screenings of Chinatown.

The youthful romanticism of Juliet. The raging jealousies of Othello. Richard III's outsized villainy. All are found in the pages of Shakespeare's works, and all are brought to vibrant new life at the Michigan Shakespeare Festival. With characters so rich, it's not surprising that the company exclusively staged the Bard's works for over a decade. But, recognizing that Shakespeare's reach extended far beyond the end of his own quill, the Festival now showcases one piece from an additional playwright each season. But whether the curtain opens on a comedy or a tragedy, a dramatic history or a tender romance, the organization aims to move audiences with timeless stories.