This blog post is going to break down the San Francisco dance scene in full detail. The most natural way for us to begin has to be listing the best dance schools and studios in your area.
Whether you are trying to find lessons for kids or adults one of the studios on this page should be able to help you out. There should be classes for Samba, Salsa, Hip Hop, Ballet, Tango, The Waltz, K-Pop, or other styles and routines somewhere near you and we will do our best to help you figure out where to take them.
Contents
Following the lessons we will pivot to some of the best dance clubs and bars in San Francisco. There will be stores around where you can buy shoes, clothes, and other supplies that will need to get a shout out.
Aerobic dance routine workouts like Zumba, Jazzercise, Barre, Buti Yoga, or even Pole Dancing are all the rage these days so of course they will be covered. Then we will dive into local dance and music festivals both here and around the region.
If you want to get a better feel for where all these spots are located you will find a map towards the conclusion. And anyone that is interested can find more of our posts on the Pacific Northwest at that link.
Best Dance Studios & Classes In San Francisco
The best San Francisco dance classes and studios where you can find lessons for kids and/or adults would be:
- Rae Studios at 414 Mason St #705
- City Dance Studios at 60 Brady St
- Dance Mission Theater at 3316 24th St
- Geary Dance Center at 5036 Geary Blvd
- CY Dance Works at 25 37th Ave, San Mateo
- Motion Arts Center at 217 S Claremont St, San Mateo
- Principal Creative & Performing Arts at 1528 S El Camino Real #208, San Mateo
- Studio S Broadway Academy of Dance at 2047 Broadway, Redwood City
- Tutu School Redwood City at 960 Main St, Redwood City
- Mambo Groovin’ Latin Dance Theater at 2047 Broadway, Redwood City
- Dance Connection at 4000 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto
- Groovitude Dance at 4000 Middlefield Rd L-3 #A, Palo Alto
- Luna Dance Studio at 2635 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto
- Shawl-Anderson Dance Center at 2704 Alcatraz Ave, Berkeley
- Van der Zwaan Dance Studio at 1537 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley
- The Beat Berkeley Performing Arts at 2560 Ninth St #119, Berkeley
Ballet, BollyX, Contemporary, Dancehall, Hip Hop, Jazz Funk, K-Pop, Zumba, and other dance classes near you are available at Rae Studios.
Urban dance styles like Popping, House, Breaking, Locking, TopRock, Tutting, Waacking, and 90’s Hip Hop are the focus of City Dance Studios who also provides lessons in other styles including Jazz, K-Pop, Tap, Tango, Salsa, and Contemporary.
Preschool movement, Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Creative Movement, Funk, Jazz Funk, Musical Theater Jazz, Choreography, Character, Modern Dance, and Adult Ballet are among the local classes that Geary Dance Center in San Francisco provides.
Tango, Salsa, Bachata, W.C. Swing, Bollywood, Hip Hop, Latin Jazz, and Bollyx are taught at Motion Arts Center.
Children ages 5 and older can take dance classes in San Mateo at Principal Creative and Performing Arts for a variety of styles like Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, Lyrical, Contemporary, Acro, and more.
Studio S provides dance classes for adults and children in Redwood City in Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, and Acro.
The main goal of the Mambo Groovin’ lessons are to improve rhythmic Afro-Caribbean body movement while Salsa and Bachata are what they do best.
Dance Connection in Palo Alto provides classes from beginner to intermediate levels for students aged 3 to adults with Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Tap Dance being on the menu.
Luna Dance is a one-of-a-kind community-based facility that offers dance, art, Zumba, and yoga programs in your area to children aged 2 to 15 as well as adults of all ages.
The Beat is a non-profit company that offers a comprehensive dance curriculum in Berkeley that includes Salsa, Tango, Tai Chi Chuan, Yoga, Afro Cuban, Brazilian, Swing, Jazz, Samba, Haitian Folkloric, Ballet, and Rhythm Tap as a means of fostering cultural innovation and artistic expression.
Dance Clubs & Bars
There are some really fun dance clubs and bars near you to show your skills off at:
- F8 Nightclub & Bar at 1192 Folsom St
- Halcyon at 314 11th St
- Raven Bar at 1151 Folsom St
- Temple at 540 Howard St
- Public Works at 161 Erie St
- 1015 Folsom at 1015 Folsom St
- Monarch at 101 6th St
- Madrone Art Bar at 500 Divisadero St
- Love + Propaganda at 85 Campton Pl
- Monroe at 473 Broadway
These days most will have a mix of house, techno, hip hop, and pop because they are often the easiest music genres to dance to.
Shoes, Clothes, & Supply Stores
Anyone that wants to buy dance shoes, clothes, or other supplies can head to stores in your area like:
- SF Dance Gear at 551 Hayes St
- The Pointe Shop at 545 Golden Gate Ave
- Dance Theatre Shop at 414 S Ellsworth Ave, San Mateo
- Move Me Dance Boutique at 2747 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley
You can expect those shops to all sell shoes, clothes, and other apparel for dancing but if you need something specific follow their links to make sure they have exactly what you are searching for.
Aerobic Dance Workouts
When you want to get a sweat in visit one of these aerobic dance workout studios:
- Uforia Studios at 1561 California St
- VRV3 Studios – Pole Dance & Fitness at 520 Haight St
- San Francisco Pole + Dance at 301 8th St #225
- Pure Barre at 3727 Buchanan St
- Holly Roser Fitness Studio at 120 2nd Ave, San Mateo
- Wild & the Barre at 2504 El Camino Real, Redwood City
- Jazzercise at 1120 Roosevelt Ave, Redwood City
- The Bar Method Palo Alto at 855 El Camino Real #151, Palo Alto
- Pure Barre at 299 California Ave, Palo Alto
- Berkeley Pole + Dance at 1636 University Ave, Berkeley
- Pure Barre at 2055 Center St #C, Berkeley
Check out their links to find the right time for you to take your next Zumba, Jazzercise, Barre, or Pole Dancing class.
Uforia Studios offers the best combination of high-energy music and dance driven fitness classes near you with Revolutions which is a 45-minute dance and music-inspired cycle class being one of their more popular offerings.
The Bar Method in Palo Alto is a boutique fitness studio that offers barre courses for people of all fitness levels.
If you want to dance and get in shape in Redwood City Jazzercise is a great option.
Music Festivals In Your Area
These local dance and music festivals are a lot of fun for everyone:
- Bay Area Beatles Tribute Redwood City in June
- Palo Alto Twilight Concert Series in June
- Berkeley World Music Festival Berkeley in June
- San Francisco International Music Festival in August
- San Mateo Tricycle Music Fest in September
- Alamo Music & Wine Festival in September
Through performances, international festivals, educational opportunities, and outreach initiatives the San Francisco International Music Festival aims to preserve the piano duo art form.
The Berkeley World Music Festival’s goals are to foster creative vitality and social value in the world music scene for the benefit of regional communities as well as to support and promote local performers and artists.
You can also check out our posts on:
- Oakland Dance Academies
- San Jose Dance Academies
- Sacramento Dance Academies
- Portland Dance Academies
Have Fun Dancing In San Francisco
We will do our best to update this post a few times a year so check back in the future. We hope that your local dance classes, studios, music festivals, aerobic workouts, clubs, bars, and stores to buy all kinds of supplies near you are a little easier to figure out now.
If you notice anything incorrect or if you want to share your own tips and tricks for your area feel free to use the comments. Have fun dancing in San Francisco!