RCR hosts a Cuban Dance Party every 1st Saturday of the month at the LMDC in Oakland. August’s party will feature live music with Sabor De Mi Cuba and two hours of workshops with Ryan and Sidney (Son and Salsa-Casino), plus recorded music with DJ Ritmo.

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 August 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
9:00 - 9:45pm Sabor De Mi Cuba
9:45 - 10:15pm DJ Ritmo
10:15 - 11:00pm Sabor De Mi Cuba 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.

A protégé of Cuban conga legend Luis “Changuito” Quintana, Havana-born Carlitos Medrano has played an important role on the Bay Area’s Latin music scene over the past decade. After several years as a sought-after sideman, he launched Sabor De Mi Cuba, a band dedicated to playing original Cuban Dance Music. The band’s debut album, released in 2012, boasts a book of Medrano’s finely wrought original tunes, and the talent-packed Sabor De Mi Cuba features many of the Bay Area’s best Cuban musicians — Sulkary Valverde (vocal), Niobel Cintra (vocal), Erick Peralta (piano), Ernesto Mazar (bass), Colin Douglass (drums), Carlos McCoy (sax & flute), Carlitos Medrano (percussion).

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.