Wednesdays at
Lake Merritt Dance
Announcements:
See you in class Wednesday, November 20
November Classes: East Coast Swing “Charleston” and then Country-Western Two-Step
December 4: End-of-Year Social Dance and Party!
November 6, 13, 20
Class 1: 6:45 PM
East Coast Swing with “Charleston” Variations (Beginner)
Instructor: Citabria
Class 2: 7:45 PM
Country-Western Two-Step (Beginner-Plus)
Instructor: Citabria
December 4
Dear Community,
We’re so excited to celebrate with you! Since opening our doors in August 2024, we’ve been proud to offer a welcoming space where LGBTQ+ folks and friends can learn, practice, and enjoy social dancing here in our community.
Whether you’re brand-new to dancing or you dance all the time, we hope you’ve left our classes with a little more confidence and a few new connections to take out into the world.
Over the past few months, we’ve explored a variety of dance styles:
Series Classes: Citabria has taught our 3-week series classes in Country-Western Two-Step, Country Waltz, East Coast Swing, and Nightclub Two-Step.
Fabulous Guest Instructors: We were honored to have Ron Jenkins, Photis Pishiaras, and Danny Leong teach us Cha Cha, Salsa, Progressive Two-Step, Waltz and Hustle.
Now let’s celebrate!
Party Details
6:45 PM: Beginner class (Two-Step and East Coast Swing). No experience needed!
7:40–8:45 PM: Social dancing! We’ll dim the lights, play a mix of music for the dance styles that we learned, and even include a few 1-minute recaps you can record for later.
A Few Notes:
We will provide some snacks and drinks. Feel free to bring something to share.
Photos will be taken during the last few minutes of the class and the first few minutes of the dance for marketing purposes. We’ll let you know when this happens so you can opt out if you wish.
Pricing:
Class: $18 (at the door)
Social dance: Sliding scale $5–$15
Whether you’ve attended every class or none at all, we’d love to see you there. This celebration is for everyone.
Thank you for making this community so special. Let’s dance the night away!
Warmly,
Nancy & Citabria
Holiday Schedule
Assuming that you plan your life around the Wednesday dance class schedule—we do—here’s what to expect:
November 27: Closed for Thanksgiving
December 4: Last class of the year + Social Dance Party
We will be closed for the rest of December—Holidays
January 1: Closed for New Year’s Day
January 8: See you again!
Typical Schedule:
6:30 PM Doors open, registration and warm-up
6:45 PM Class 1: 50-minute class
7:35 PM 10-minute break for practice with music and registration
7:45 PM Class 2: 50-minute class
8:35 PM 10-minute practice with music
8:45 PM Close
Cost:
One class is $18.
Two classes in one evening is $30.
Discount for pre-registration.
Location:
200 Grand Ave., Oakland, CA. We are in the “lounge” on the first floor. Enter at Bay Place at Grand Avenue and go up a few stairs. It’s the room on the left with the glass doors.
Yes, you can dance!
Our classes are designed with beginner dancers in mind.
We try to offer at least one beginner-level class each day. You can choose to lead or follow. You do not need to bring a partner—we rotate partners regularly.
The types of dances we teach include: Country-Western Two-Step & Waltz, East-Coast Swing, Nightclub Two-Step, Lindy Hop, Ballroom, and more!
About
Our mission at Oakland Queer Dance Studio is to provide a place where students can learn popular social dance styles and be able to fully participate in social dance within, and beyond, the Bay Area queer dance communities.
Who are we?
We are Citabria and Nancy. Citabria is the main dance instructor for Oakland Queer Dance Studio. Citabria enjoys bringing queer community together to experience the joy and connection that partner dancing brings. She looks forward to seeing both new and familiar faces out on the dance floor.
Nancy enjoyed regular two-step classes for queer people—at Zoe’s Trip the Light Fantastic—before the pandemic and is excited to return to queer social dance classes. Nancy supports this program with all kinds of administrative activities other than teaching.
Instructors
Citabria Phillips
Citabria has experience both dancing and teaching International Standard and American Smooth ballroom, Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, and Salsa and more. She studied extensively through the Ballroom Teachers College in SF, where she learned both the leader and follower role of many dances, along with how to be an inspiring teacher and coach. Citabria has also competed nationally and internationally with much success, including garnering several titles in Dancesport as North American Champion, as well as medaling at worldwide Gay Games. Citabria offers private lessons, group classes, and teaches many different styles of social and competitive dance.
For private lessons email Citabria at: Citabria@oaklandqueerdance.com
Danny Leong
Meet Danny, an enthusiastic social dancer with over 20 years of experience spanning Lindy Hop, Salsa, West Coast Swing, and Ballroom. Having learned from masters and competitive dancers worldwide, he's now excited to share his passion by opening a dance studio for the community. Danny is certified in the DVIDA dance syllabus, specializing in teaching American Smooth and Rhythm styles. Join us and dance with a true expert!
Ron Jenkins
A gold-medalist in ballroom dance, Ron Jenkins is a beloved instructor at Sundance Saloon—country-western dance association in San Francisco for LGBT+. Ron teaches occasional workshops and is available for private lessons.
For private lessons email Ron at: ronthedanceteacher@gmail.com
Photis Pishiaras
Photis Pishiaras, a Greek Cypriot, first performed folk dancing in kindergarten and continued to dance through his teenage years. While attending college in Athens, Greece, he taught ballroom dance and 39 years later is still teaching. He studied a choreography program in Berlin, Germany.
Photis is a certified professional ballroom dance instructor.
For 2 years he ran his own ballroom dance studio in Cyprus, and for nearly 10 years Vima Dance Studio in San Francisco, CA.
With a 16-year dance partnership, Photis and his dance partner, Ron, together known as “Photon,” competed in the US, Canada and Europe, winning several national and international titles. They are the founders of the all-male performance group, Vima Vice Squad.
Guest Instructors
About once a month, we will have a guest instructor teach something special. If you know someone whom you’d like to see teach, send us an email.
FAQs
Do I need a partner?
No, come as you are. We will partner up and switch regularly throughout the class.
Do I need to be queer to attend?
This class is open to people of all genders, age, color, religion, sexuality, and abilities—as long as you’re in support of our mission to provide queer-friendly dance instruction.
What should I wear?
Anything that’s comfortable. Dance shoes or dance slides are nice to have. It makes turning easier on the knees and body.
What should I bring?
Bring water.
Are masks required?
Masks are optional. If you feel sick, please stay home. We’ll still be here when you feel better.
What is the cancellation policy?
Pre-registration helps us plan better. We understand that sometimes your plans change. We allow cancellations for refund up to 3 days prior to the start of a multi-week series or 3 days prior to a one-time special class.
Parking and Directions?
We are located at Lake Merritt Dance (a.k.a. the Veteran’s Memorial Building; a.k.a. the Oakland Senior Center) at 200 Grand Avenue, Oakland. We are in the “Lounge” with the glass doors on the first floor up a few steps. There’s a parking lot right out front—enter on Bay Place next to Grand Ave.
Can I take a class in the middle of a series?
Yes, you do not need to sign up for the entire series. We try to move the content forward, so it’s easiest to start at the beginning of a series, but if you miss the first class, you’ll probably still be able to keep up.
Can I take an intermediate level class?
You probably can try the intermediate or “beginner-plus” level class. Many people start as “follows” then re-take the class as “leads.” We switch partners regularly during class, so any learning-struggles will be evened out.
Also, if you just took the beginner-level class and want to watch the second class, you’re welcome to hang out on the side and watch.
Are the bathrooms gendered?
There are several bathrooms in the building. We don’t care which bathroom you use, and most, maybe all, of the other tenants in the building are queer and queer-friendly.
How do I pay for class?
Classes are $18 each and $30 for two classes in one evening.
We accept payments at the door via credit card (preferred) or cash (exact change preferred).
We offer discounts for pre-registration. We also offer limited volunteer positions in exchange for a discount. Please email nancy@oaklandqueerdance.com about volunteer opportunities.
Where do I go to dance?
Many of us go to Sundance Saloon in San Francisco for social dancing. It is a country-western themed dance for the LGBT+ community and it happens every Thursday and Sunday.
There, we dance country-western two-step, country waltz, west coast swing, east coast swing, nightclub two-step, and do line dances.
Some of us also go to Starlight Strut, which is very similar to Sundance Saloon, but for women, trans people, and non-binary people. That happens on the second Saturday of the month in the same building as this class.