Regularly-Scheduled Dance Series

BACDS operates twelve regularly-scheduled dance series on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. If you live in the greater San Francisco bay area, one of our regular dances is close to you.

Contra and Square Dances

Contra dancing is a simple yet lively social dance form that originated in New England during Revolutionary times. All of our dances are accompanied by top-notch musicians performing music from Irish, English, and American folk traditions and led by dance callers with local and national followings. Contra dances can be found in the following bay area communities:

• San Francisco on the first and third Saturday evenings and fourth Friday evenings of each month.
• Berkeley on the first, third, and fifth Wednesday evenings of each month.
• Palo Alto on the second, fourth, and fifth Saturday evenings of each month.
• Oakland (formerly El Cerrito) on the second Friday evening of each month.

A thirty-minute class precedes the Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Oakland contra dances.

English Country Dances

If you've ever been to a Renaissance Pleasure Faire or have seen the recent film version of Jane Austen's novel Emma, you've probably seen English country dance. English country dances are social dances that range from the elegant and graceful to the raucous and exuberant. We're proud to feature some of the nation's finest dance leaders and musicians at our dances. English country dances can be found in:

• San Francisco on the second Saturday of each month.
• Berkeley on the fourth Saturday and second and fourth Wednesday evenings of each month.
• Palo Alto on the first, third, and fifth Friday evenings of each month.
• The former San Jose English series, now in Mountain View on the first, third, and fifth Wednesday evenings of each month (with a break from late June through Labor Day).

With the exception of the fourth Saturday dance in Berkeley (which is geared towards the experienced dancer), all of our English dances are appropriate for folks of all dance levels. A short lesson often precedes the Berkeley Wednesday dance.

English Ceilidh Dances

English ceilidh ("kay-lee") dances, which you can call barn dances if you can't pronounce ceilidh, are raucous social dances similar to those found at pubs throughout England. Different in both style and music from both Scottish and Irish ceilidhs, English ceilidhs combine traditional English music performed by amplified ensembles with dances that are derived from but (usually) simpler English country dances. These are entry-level dances, extremely welcoming to groups of first-timers, children old enough to dance apart from their parents, and even morris dancers. Our English ceilidh dances are held occasionally, usually at Humanist Hall in Oakland; see the ceilidh page to find out whether we have any scheduled now.