Our Origins

Dance the Bay was founded in the summer of 2013 when Elissa Lee brought Everybody Dance Now to Berkeley. It was officially established as Dance the Bay in Spring 2014, led by Gordon Lai and Elissa Lee so that we could reach a wider audience beyond just children.

Volunteer Branches

Youth Program

Youth Program’s mission is to provide free volunteer-based dance classes to local youth. We recruit volunteers every semester to teach classes at after school programs and finish each semester with a showcase featuring all our students. Dance is important to kids because it helps them gain body awareness and confidence.

Community Workshops

Community workshop’s goal is to bring underrepresented styles of dance to the Berkeley Dance Community and to give students the opportunity to improve their own dance repertoire. We achieve this by bringing in guest choreographers and providing free dance workshops the UC Berkeley campus.

Outreach Program

The Outreach Program’s mission is to bring movement and dance into the lives of people in our local community who would otherwise not have access to such activities. We recruit volunteers every semester who will bring movement to people at sites such as senior homes and medical centers.