Want to learn to swing dance? No partner or experience required, come on out to The Breakaway in Oakland on a Thursday night for a night of fun, meeting people, learning an active hobby, and jazz!
Dip your toes with our 45 minute taster class (free with admission) on any week, or sign up for the Beginner series at the start of the month. Either way, we'll teach you enough to start social dancing your very first night!
--
The Breakaway every Thursday
🕖 Series Classes: 7-8pm
🕢 Beginner Taster Class: 7:30pm-8:15pm
✨ no partner or experience required for Beginner Series or Taster class!
🕗 Social Dance: 8-10pm
📍Lake Merritt Dance at 200 Grand Ave, Oakland CA
💵 Check link in bio for pricing and registration
#lindyhop #swingdance #oakland
Happy first week of May! There’s still time to sign up for classes this month! Sign up online or at the door!
Beginner: Kick Steppin’ to the Beat w/Alex and Stas
It’s time to learn some Charleston! If you’ve seen people kicking their way across the dance floor, you’re probably familiar with some of these energetic moves! Aside from learning Charleston moves, you’ll also focus on good footwork, so that you know how to stay balanced while moving confidently across the floor. Then learn some fancy steps that will help you express your own personal shine when you’re dancing with others! No partner and no experience necessary.
Intermediate: Classic Moves w/Kacey and Bryan
Lindy Hop has certainly changed in many ways since the 1930’s, but there a lot of things that are so cool and so awesome that they’re ingrained into and help form the bedrock of this dance. We don’t always have names for them, we don’t always teach them the exact same way, but Lindy Hoppers from around the world can take one look at be like “Oh yeah, I know that one.” Come learn some classic lindy steps this month!
Int Elective: Intro to Balboa w/Kate and PJ
Balboa is a swing dance that originated in Southern California in the 1920s and enjoyed huge popularity during the 1930s and 1940s. Because it emphasizes rhythmic weight shifts, subtle movements, and closed-position partnering, Balboa is ideal for very fast tempos (around 180 to 300 beats per minute). As a dance, balboa is frequently integrated with lindy hop, with dancers sometimes even switching back and forth within one song!
Adv Topics: Flip it and Reverse it w/Kristin and Gary
Of course leaders use their left hand and rock step with their left foot, and followers with their right. But what if we shook things up? In this class you’ll learn about handholds and footwork that flip what we’re used to. They’re fun to do, and they teach us about how to smoothly navigate surprises and changes in improv dancing!
We taught the Big Apple in our elective class this month! Who already needs a refresher on the second half?! 👀✋😭
Series classes for May start this Thursday for all levels from Beginner to Advanced!
--
The Breakaway every Thursday
🕖 Series Classes: 7-8pm
🕢 Beginner Taster Class: 7:30pm-8:15pm
✨ no partner or experience required for Beginner Series or Taster class!
🕗 Social Dance: 8-10pm
📍Lake Merritt Dance at 200 Grand Ave, Oakland CA
💵 Check link in bio for pricing and registration
#lindyhop #swingdance #oakland
It’s live band night and we’ve got a real treat for you: the Budhrani Brothers! And band nights mean we’ve got an extra half hour to dance the night away! 👯
Never danced before? A drop-in lesson from 7:30-8:15 is always included in the cost of the dance!
#oaklanddance #thingstodoinoakland #oaklandevents
Third Thursday means we’ve got a fast room! Shufflers and shaggers come dance in the lounge at 8:30! Or hang out in the main ballroom and do some lindy hop!
Ready to try something new this weekend? 💙
Join us at Breakaway Blues this Saturday, April 18 in Oakland
✨ Beginner & intermedia lessons
✨ No partner needed
✨ Welcoming, supportive community
Whether it’s your first time or you’ve been dancing for years, there’s space for you here.
Come join us on the dance floor.
#BreakawayBlues #OaklandEvents #BluesDance #BayAreaDance
It’s the first week of the month! There’s still time to register for this month’s classes, sign up with the link in our bio!
#oaklanddance #thingstodoinoakland
Registration is open for April classes! Sign up with the link in our bio. Check out what’s up this month:
Beginner: Moving Together with Cat and Bryan
The focus of this class is something fundamental to social dancing: Connection! After all, coordinating movement with another person is what makes Lindy Hop a partner dance. Starting with some basics and building up in complexity each week, you’ll learn different moves to get you and your partner on the same page and jammin’ together on the dance floor! No partner and no experience necessary.
Intermediate: Transitions and Textures with Hannah and Kevin
As they say in the Shim Sham song, “Tain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it!” In this class you’ll learn to smooth out your movement with patterns old and new, and help you find the texture that makes your dancing feel like a million bucks.
Intermediate Elective: The Big Apple
The Big Apple is a classic jazz routine, best known for its performance by Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers in the film Keep Punching (1939). We’ll tackle this challenging choreography all month long, and we’ll perform it at the dance on Live Band Night. This class will move at an aggressive pace, and some familiarity with solo jazz dancing is expected. Get ready to sweat!
Advanced Topics: Moves with Flow
Channel your inner waterbender as we moving with flow, learn some neat combos that have especially nice flow, and talk about influencing and adapting with flow from both the leader’s and follower’s side! Join this class if you want to go chase some waterfalls instead of sticking to the rivers and the lakes like you’re used to!
Tonight’s the night! Come party with us and Clint Baker’s Golden Gate Swing Band and celebrate ten years of community, music, and connection. 👯👯👯👯
$20 at the door! #oaklanddance #thingstodoinoakland
