The Sun Dance 36 was the smaller sister of the Sun Odyssey 51, with a 10.65 m hull length. She was presented at the Paris boat show in 1988. With only five months from design start (in June 1988) to launch, Sun Dance was the fastest development out of the J&J yard so far. Tooling was done in Haderslev, Denmark. 

She features three good cabins, two semi-circular bathrooms, and an extremely roomy and light-filled living area, with a number of hatches and portlights. Again, J&J was responsible for the concept, the deck, and the interior arrangement design. IOR champion Daniel Andrieu designed the hull lines. Olivier Lafourcade created the light, ash wood veneer interior design which accentuated the lines of the living spaces. The rig was simple and stable: the new Sparcraft mast profile with important longitudinal inertia and a 12.5 degree spreader angle made it possible to do away with back lower shrouds. 

Due to her open uncluttered deck, easy sea access, ample sunbeds and ability to be sailed by only two people, the Sun Dance 36 became a very popular private yacht and the backbone of many charter fleets. The strong and no-nonsense Jeanneau construction guaranteed good service and high resale value. Superior comfort and convenience lifted the Sun Dance 36 above her competitors, and close to 700 were sold.