RCR hosts a Cuban Dance Party every 1st Saturday of the month at the LMDC in Oakland. In May we’ll have the LIVE TIMBA of Jesús Díaz y su QBA, a Dance Performance, DJ Ritmo, and two hours of workshops with Ryan and Sidney (Son and Salsa-Casino).

At all of our monthly parties we celebrate the birthdays of everyone born in that month. Contact us in advance if your birthday is in May and we’ll put you on the guest list for the party (just be sure to bring your ID).

The Lake Merritt Dance Center is a PERFECT venue for dancing, featuring a smooth vintage hardwood dance floor with ample space to dance. We are now renting the lounge in addition to the ballroom so we have two large spaces to offer two different classes simultaneously. Ryan and Sidney will be teaching separate groups in the separate spaces for two separate hour-long dance workshops. The first hour will be Son, and the second hour will be 1-on-1 Cuban Salsa (aka Casino) partner dancing (not Rueda).

Here’s the full schedule for the night:

6:00pm Son Dance Workshops (Beginning with Sidney, Int/Adv with Ryan)
7:15pm Cuban Salsa (Casino) Dance Workshops (Beginning with Ryan, Int/Adv with Sidney)
8:15pm DJ Ritmo spins Música Cubana
8:55pm RCR Dance Performance
9:00 - 9:45pm Jesús + QBA
9:45 - 10:15pm DJ Ritmo
10:15 - 11:00pm Jesús + QBA 2nd Set
11:00 - 11:30pm DJ Ritmo

Registration Links

6:00pm Workshop (INCLUDES ADMISSION TO party)

Sliding Scale: $40 - $30 - $20

7:15pm Workshop (INCLUDES ADMISSION TO party)

Sliding Scale: $40 - $30 - $20

both Workshops (6 & 7:15pm) (INCLUDES party)

Sliding Scale: $60 - $45 - $30

Party Only (8:15 to 11:30pm)

Sliding Scale: $20 - $15 - $10

We offer all of our classes and events on a sliding scale to make them accessible to as many people as possible (we are professional artists so if you are able to pay the regular price it is much appreciated). When you check out, you can enter either 25OFF or 50OFF as codes to receive 25% or 50% discounts.

Virtuoso percussionist, vocalist, and composer Jesús Díaz arrived to the US from Havana in 1980. With his group QBA, Jesús plays his own signature, highly danceable brand of Timba with touches of American funk and R&B — you can listen to their latest album here. The musicians of QBA are Julio De La Cruz (Bass), Erick Peralta (Piano), Colin Douglas (Drums & Timbales), Carlitos Medrano (Tumbadoras), Obrayan Calderon (Trombone), Sebastian Pinillo (Sax & Flute), Richard Benítez (Trumpet), and Orlando Torriente (Vocals).

Ryan Mead (DJ Ritmo) is co-director and co-founder of Rueda Con Ritmo. Ryan has been teaching Cuban Salsa and Rueda de Casino since 2005, and he has taught and performed across the United States, and internationally in Cuba, Mexico, Canada, and New Zealand. Besides being a dancer, Ryan has been a percussionist since the age of eight. He is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory and Stanford and has taken many trips to Cuba to study both dance and music -- since 2015 he has lead Cuba Dance Trips with Sidney, where in 2018 he performed with Companía All Stars in a music video with the Grammy-winning Septeto Santiaguero.

Sidney Weaverling is co-director and co-founder of Rueda Con Ritmo and has been teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1999. She has a deep appreciation and respect for Cuban music, dance, and culture and takes great pleasure in sharing her knowledge and experience with her students. She continues to study in Cuba on RCR’s Cuba Dance Trips and is devoted to maintaining traditional Cuban dance styles as well as contributing innovative moves and choreography. She has been a longtime contributor to the thriving Cuban dance scene in the SF Bay Area where she continues to build an inclusive and supportive dance community.

There is absolutely no food or drink in the ballroom, including water — be sure to keep all food and drink (including water) in Hall 3 or the lobby.