Good food, nice staff, great music. Gets a little chilly in the later evening but for the most part…read morenice crowd of locals and Beaufunk was great entertainment when I was there.

I thoroughly enjoyed the music on both floors. It was lively and I had a great time. This seems…read morelike a good spot to go dancing.

Ok so you have seen a few reviews that talk about alcohol... if your goal is to come and drink…read more This is not the venue for you. This is a BALLROOM studio, where you learn and practice ballroom dancing. Think of ballet studio or jazz or hip hop, you would not expect those studios to have alcohol. This studio is probably the best in the Bay Area for ballroom dancing. Excellent teachers and instructors. I have taken both beginner, intermediate, series, and bronze level classes. I have some dancing experience but my partner doesn't, so he is now able (after 4 classes) do the basic steps for Viennese Waltz. This studio hosts events, which is fun but again it won't have alcohol. This studio emphasizes on ALL levels and welcomes ALL. You can always ask the staff questions before attending a class to see which level you fit into. The area is safe but it is an urban area, so please stop putting 1 star reviews bc your stuff got stolen from your car. It's not relevant to this studio. It's not their responsibility ... stop being dramatic. I don't work for Allegro and don't get compensated in any way by them. I just find it annoying that people post 1 star reviews for the heck of it. This is an excellent place to learn ballroom dancing and compete. If you are new or advanced, you will find an appropriate level for you!

I am looking forward to taking more classes on Sundays! They offer bachata at 6:30 and salsa at…read more7:30 p.m. Excellent instructors who teaches the steps slowly with many opportunities to practice before partnering and rotating partners throughout the classtime. It used to be located in Emeryville but now they are located in Richmond next to a grocery store which feels much safer when parking. I went here with three friends and we all plan to keep coming back at least 1-2x a month when we can!

It's a down to earth, barn like music venue with a very small bar and amazing music!…read more Hard to find a place like this in a city!

I come for a weekly Bhangra class which I love. It's a get your body moving and the more you put…read morein the better your workout will be. The instructors, especially Andrea, is consistently welcoming. I also find her easier to follow because her pants are not override and it easier to see the leg movement. Viki, the lead instructor, is nice on email but when I try to talk to her in person, I find the interaction awkward. Maybe it's me but I see her interacting with others. Come! Great music, energy, joy and movement. A great way to spend an hour.

Once a year, Ecstatic Dance takes their party outside. This is their fourth year, the format is…read moresimple, come and enjoy. Starts at noon, ends at five. Each DJ plays an hour set. A friend asked me to join him for their fourth year celebration and I agreed. Armed with our picnic lunch from Phat Matt's, we set up our blanket in the shade. From the left, we had an excellent view of the DJ set up, dance floor (located at the Bandstand), dancers (young, old and everything in between), jugglers, acrobats, babies and dogs. What a beautiful day and awesome time. I heart Lake Merritt and I hella heart Oakland.

Great place to dance! Beautiful huge hardwood floor. There is a stage with "Boogie" Band once a…read moremonth. I went last week for first time and I am going again tonight. Fun!

Post-pandemic update:…read more The Breakaway is a weekly (Thursdays) swing dance venue in Oakland that goes on at the Lake Merritt Dance Center. This is a major event for the East Bay, with 100+ dancers in attendance. Masks are required. The entrance fee is $10 on DJ nights (credit card only), $20 on live band nights (typically last Thursday of the month). The location: From the point of view of a swing dancer, this venue is about as good as it gets: huge main ballroom floor of near-perfect quality, swing times-appropriate Art Deco interiors. Some logistics: parking is not a problem: there are a couple of connected parking lots on both sides of the building. Note that the signs will read "Veterans Memorial Building", "Senior Center", "Lake Merritt Dance Center" - this is all the same building and the same entrance. Getting into the parking lot is a bit tricky: the building with an adjacent park occupies an entire block, in order to enter you need to be circling this block clockwise. If you get into a counterclockwise motion, perform a U-turn on the Bay Place, a street between the center and the lake (one of the openings into the parking lot is labeled "Exit only", but is actually OK to use that late in the day). The neighborhood is safe and clean by the Oakland standards, so parking on the Bay Place across from the building is quite OK if the parking lot is full - or you cannot find that U-turn. The building entrance is on the Bay Place side, the dance is going on upstairs. Water is not allowed on the dance floor, so leave your bottle on the special tables outside. There is a water fountain in the hall next to the main floor entrance. The free dance lesson for beginners starts at 7:30PM (with two sets of progressive lessons at 7PM), dance party starts at 8PM and goes until 10PM (10:30PM on live music nights). The crowd: On a DJ night, over 100 dancers, with noticeably (but not disastrously) more follows than leads; the ratio evens out toward the end. The level of skills of the follows is similar to Wednesday Night Hop in Palo Alto: there are a lot of intermediate dancers, few truly advanced, the beginners mostly have pretty good basic skills; there are very few true beginners (fewer than in Palo Alto) - real delight for an intermediate lead.

Thursday nights at the Sanchez School, you, too, can Dare to Be Square!…read more Square Dance is fun, fast, and fabulous! We use all sorts of music, from techno to disco to pop to rock to country to folk to you-name-it. Dances are hella easy to learn. The calls are easy to learn, and they string together to create an infinite number of dances! Foggy City Dancers hosts a weekly open dance event - no experience necessary, and they also teach square dance, hold hoedowns four times a year, and do other social things for the LGBT community. I always have fun when I'm there - and I know you will, too!

Persephone offers beginning and intermediate lessons in victorian (rotary) waltz on Tuesday nights…read moreat the Lake Merritt Dance Center, and also hosts a monthly dance party in Berkeley (see her web site for details). I've been taking the beginning waltz class for a few weeks, and am really enjoying it. Every class covers some basics, but also adds in something different each time so it never gets dull. I particularly like that she starts with open waltz steps. The closed rotary waltz is a bit tricky for a complete beginner, but with open waltz, you can feel like you're really dancing (not just stumbling onto your partner's toes) right away. p.s. Her web site has changed, and Yelp is taking a while to update it: www.vintagewaltz.com

Persephone (the dance teacher) is uniquely gifted in her ability to teach the movements and feel of…read moredance. She uses analogy, sound effects, and mnemonics, adjusts body position, creates tailored exercises and more. Whether you are an auditory, kinetic, visual or tactile learner, you will learn to dance. You will not just learn how to move, but why you move that way. I've danced for over a decade in the SF Bay Area, and Persephone is the best Vintage dance teacher here.

I was rolling with a Group of Friends , That were going to Brunch and we happened upon this Blues…read moreFestival. It happen to be "The 20th Annual Jazz on Fourth Festival " . 20th Annual Jazz on Forth Festival is presented by the Fourth Street Merchants and KCSM/Jazz 91 . 20th Annual Jazz on Fourth Festival took place on Sunday May 17, 2015 from Noon - 5 PM. 20th Annual Jazz on Fourth Festival benefits Berkeley High School Jazz Program a very Worth While Cause. The Performers were : 2 Berkeley High School Jazz Combos Mal Sharpes Big Money In Jazz Band With Special Guest Kellye Gray Terrie Odabi and Edgardo + Candela - A Salsa band . The Jazz on Fourth Festival has raised over $175,000 for Berkeley Highs School Jazz Program since the Festivals Inception. Its a wonderful Festival that doesnt charge an Admission fee . It is Free.

What a great weekend festival in Berkeley! I ran right into this event before going to brunch with…read morea couple of friends and didn't even know it existed! The 20th Annual Jazz on Forth Festival took place on Sunday 5/17/15 from 11AM to 5PM. I was on my way to have breakfast brunch with my dinner crew and seen all the stages and booth set up! It was such a delight. They had two music stages: One near Bette's Diner and the other near the Pasta Shop. Both stages were playing great music and had a lovely band that had me swinging my hips back and forth. They had tons of food booths even Bette's Diner selling many different varieties of foods such as: Corn on the cob, Pizza, BBQ and hotdogs. They even had a free photo booth from Photolabatory.com which is a photo print lab! Although I didn't get a chance to take a free photo I will definitely look for that booth next year! I will definitely be back to this again next year! It was tons of fun and so many venders! WAY TO GO JAZZ ON FOURTH!