RCR hosts a Cuban Dance Party every 1st Saturday of the month at the LMDC in Oakland. February’s Party marks the beginning of Clave Month (2/3 to 3/2) — the workshops before the party will be devoted to clave, the rhythmic essence of Salsa, Timba, and most other Cuban music.

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 February and we’ll put you on the guest list for the party (workshops not included, see below).

The Lake Merritt Dance Center is a PERFECT venue for dancing, featuring a smooth vintage hardwood dance floor with ample space to dance. Here’s the full schedule for the night:

5:00pm Rhythm & Listening Music Workshop: Clave in Cuban Music (understanding Cuban music taught by Ryan, description below)
6:15pm Musicality Dance Workshop: Dancing with Clave (Sidney and Ryan)
7:30pm 1-on-1 Cuban Salsa (Casino) Dance Workshops (Int/Adv with Ryan, Beg with Sidney)
8:30 - 11:30pm DJ Ritmo spins Música Cubana

Registration Links

5:00pm Workshop (INCLUDES ADMISSION TO party)

Sliding Scale: $20 - $15 - $10

6:15pm Workshop (INCLUDES ADMISSION TO party)

Sliding Scale: $20 - $15 - $10

7:30pm Workshop (INCLUDES ADMISSION TO party)

Sliding Scale: $20 - $15 - $10

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

Sliding Scale: $10 - $7.50 - $5

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.

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, the Lounge, or the lobby.

Clave (pronounced "CLAH-vay") is a simple instrument with a profound significance. Consisting of just two wooden sticks, clave is the rhythmic foundation of almost all Cuban music, including Salsa, Timba, Son, and Rumba. Understanding clave will enhance your appreciation of Cuban music and increase the rhythmic depth and precision of your dance.

Ryan (who devoted his Stanford Thesis to the clave) will be teaching a special workshop at 5:00pm, beginning with understanding the four different types of clave found in Timba music (2:3 vs. 3:2 and rumba vs. son) before moving on to other topics such as implied clave, clave accents, clave orientation and changes, and more. Feel free to come with specific clave-related questions.

We will explain and practice the material in many forms, by vocalizing and physicalizing the rhythms (through claps and steps), by counting and writing the rhythms (no musical notation experience required), and by listening and dancing to examples of the rhythms in recorded music.

Open to all levels of dancers and Cuban music lovers.

We will have pairs of Cuban claves available for sale for $10/pair at the workshop. (Claves are NOT necessary to take the class — clapping will work just as well for all the exercises.)

Want to do some prep for the workshop? Check out the clave entry in the Media section of our website (scrolling down to "Clave"), and download the Clave App for Android or Iphone.