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Sundance Saloon is a project of the nonprofit
Sundance Association for Country-Western Dancing.
SUNDANCE NEWS
Sundance In The Castro Saturday, April 19 • 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Noe Street near Market St, San Francisco
We're so excited to bring outdoor dancing back to the Castro! Jane Warner Plaza is no longer available for scheduled events, but we succeeded in securing the permits necessary for a street closure on Noe Street between Market and Beaver! And unlike at our Jane Warner Plaza experience, we are planning to put down a small dance floor!
We are planning a mix of partner dancing and line dancing, with a greater emphasis on line dancing than our usual format at Sundance Saloon, along with plenty of quick lessons for the passerby. The event will repeat on June 21, August 16, and October 18. This is a smoke-free event pursuant to SF Health Code Article 19L.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! We need help with set-up and tear-down, and also street monitors to keep an eye on the traffic control barrricades (required by the City for our permit).
World Premiere Film Screening Saturday, April 26 • 7:00 pm
Brava Theater • 2781 24th St, S.F.
It's here! San Francisco Dance Film Festival proudly presents the world premiere of Last Dance at the Sundance Stompede, a documentary exploring community, resilience, and joy through the lens of queer country-western dancing at an iconic San Francisco gathering: the Sundance Stompede.
The screening will include a Q&A with director Graham Clayton-Chance, an opportunity to dance pre-show starting at 6:30 pm on the Brava Theater stage, and a post-show reception. General admission is $27 plus fees. VIP tickets ($77 plus fees) include preferential seating and a pre-show reception at 5:30 pm with sponsored bites and drinks. All tickets include free admission to Sundance Saloon on April 27.
You're invited to another session when we'll have a number of Sundance Saloon instructors on hand, and you can pick one to hoard all to yourself for 10 minutes. This experience is appropriate for all dancers from the beginner-plus to intermediate level. You can choose any style of dance your instructor is comfortable with. On this night we'll have Sheila Schlicht, Ron Jenkins, Kirk Ryan, and Ingu available at your service.
Just show up, and sign up for a session. Slots will be available on a first-come, first-signed-up basis. Doors open at 6:30 pm. If time and space allow, you may be able to sign up for more than one session. There is no additional fee for this experience.
Intermediate West Coast Swing with Shin Aoki
Sunday, April 27: 5:15–6:15 pm
Sundance Saloon: Loft
Instructor Shin Aoki will hold a one-hour workshop for intermediate west coast swing on the last Sunday of the month. Attendees should be *completely* comfortable with basic WCS patterns (e.g. side pass, underarm turn, tuck, basic whips).
Unlike most of our lessons in the loft, this class will be drop-in, with no advance registration and no additional fee beyond the regular Sundance Saloon admission fee.
Sundance Community Meeting Sunday, May 4 • 5:15–6:30 pm
Sundance Saloon: Back Room
You are invited to a casual meeting where we will discuss the State of Sundance: who we are, where we've been, where we're going, and the challenges we face. If you are interested in learning how we as a community can keep Sundance thriving, we hope you can attend. We'll take this opportunity to review safety and emergency preparedness at Sundance Saloon.
Come early for a few minutes of social time and light snacks starting at 5:00 pm.
May Birthday Dance Sunday, May 4
Sundance Saloon
On the first Sunday of each month, we celebrate the birthdays of everyone who has a birthday during that month. One dance is designated when we invite the birthday folks to the dance floor, and everyone gets a chance to take turns dancing with them. We also provide the cake!
If your birthday is in May, we'll see you on Sunday, May 4!
Sundance at Union Square Dance Friday, May 9 • 5:00–8:00 pm
Union Square • San Francisco
Sundance Saloon is going to play a major role in a new weekly public participatory dance series taking place Fridays in Union Square in downtown San Francisco. Sundance will host lessons and open dancing once a month through October, usually the second Friday of the month (but not always).
The event is still in its formative planning stages, but we are told that the plan is to have a dance floor in place for us. We'll have a mix of partner dancing and line dancing and lessons in both. Future comfirmed dates are May 9, June 14, and July 12.
Sundance Reno Round-Up Sundance's 4-day CW dance weekend at the WGRF
October 9–12, 2025 • Reno, NV
Sundance is going to host a full-fledged country-western dance weekend in conjunction with the World Gay Rodeo Finals in Reno, Nevada, October 9–12, 2025. We'll have four nights of dancing in up to two rooms, three days of dance workshops in up to three rooms, dance exhibition performances. and more! It's going to feel a lot like the Sundance Stompede without it actually being the Sundance Stompede. The weekend will also host the 30th annual convention of the IAGLCWDC.
Advance registration is open now! The host hotel is a complex of three adjacent casino resorts known as "The Row." Check out more details here, including a a more comprehensive list of our offerings, and biographies of our instructors.
The Barbary Coast Cloggers are bringing their clogging classes to Sundance Saloon every Thursday. Clogging lessons take place upstairs in the loft, while our regular programming of two-step and line dance lessons continues on the ground level.
The schedule is:
6:30-7:10 - Easy Level
7:10-7:50 - Intermediate Level
7:50-8:30 - Advanced Level
The classes are drop-in and there is no additional fee beyond the regular Sundance Saloon admission.
Line Dance Pro Sundays (except 1st Sun of month) • 5:00–6:30 pm
Sundance Saloon • Back Room
Can't get enough line dancing? Line Dance Pro is an opportunity to increase your line dance abilities and challenge yourself with new line dances not included in our regular Sundance Saloon repertoire.
Our Line Dance Pro sessions run every Sunday in the Back Room of Sundance Saloon (except the first Sunday of the month)! Includes lessons starting at 5:15 pm, except the last Sunday of the month which features a line dance marathon. Check the Sundance Saloon instruction calendar for the schedule.
Volunteers Needed
Please help us! Sundance Saloon is a community effort, dependent on lots of people chipping in a little bit. We are always looking for more help, and this has never been more true. If you have not volunteered in the past, this is a great time to think about stepping in. You can become an integral part of what makes Sundance so special.
Our needs at Sundance Saloon include set-up, front door, and coat-check. Shifts are generally one hour. No experience necessary.
Supporting Sundance
As an all-volunteer, member- and community-supported organization, the Sundance Association depends on your support to keep thriving. The pandemic put an extra burden on our finances, and our needs are never-ending. There are many ways to help us, and not all of them involve monetary contributions:
Become a member of the Sundance Association by pledging an annual tax-deductible donation.
Come on down! Support us just by showing up.
Introduce someone new to Sundance Saloon.
Use our coat-check on Sundays.
Put a dollar or two in one of our tip jars.
See if your company offers matching donations or grants for volunteer time served.
Social media! Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Instagram. Share our posts. Share your own posts. Review us on Google, Yelp, Facebook, and Tripadvisor.
MONTHLY SCHEDULE
M = Main Ballroom • B = Back Room • L = Loft
APRIL 2025
Partner dance lessons: 5:30 pm Sunday & 6:45 pm Thursday. Line dance lessons: 6:30 pm Sunday & 7:30 pm Thursday.
Line dance titles and levels indicated in calendar.
