Ballroom Dancing At the Cubberley Pavilion

We were regulars here for 10+ years and celebrated almost every New Year at this place. The last one was 2020. We will never come back after so called "re-opening". There is no Saturday dance anymore and great instructors are gone. I wonder why. A man dropped dead on the dance floor... took bad pharmaceutical products? They require to show proof of the experimental injections to participate. Which is illegal under California laws and they lie that they follow "CDC guidelines". But who cares, just get a fake card, plenty of them around and they won't check. They also collect private information for "tracing", regardless if you're a county resident or not. I emailed them asking questions about safely of their storage for medical and other private info, never got any reply! I suspect, they just get paid by the government for collecting your private details. Go elsewhere, there is no lack of studios around that aren't creepy, won't lie, won't kill you and won't spy on you. Your well-being and privacy are worth more than $10.

What: This weekly dancing has been around for the past 20+ years. I remember coming here when I was 13 years old (20 years ago) with my aunt and uncle and of course being the youngest one here with the average age of attendees being 40 years old. 20 years later...I come here and it hasn't changed at all. Still an older crowd. How: Inside is like a big gym like being at a high school dance haha. Outside parking like you're parking at high school and walking in to go to PE. You can go on the website for a calendar of what dance they're teaching for that week. Overall: A-OK in my book...it's definitely not a spot for a crazy night out and you will feel out of place if you're any younger than 40 years old. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but that's the reality of the population that frequents this venue.

Friday nights: Sammy is a great teacher. His lessons are very easy to understand plus he keeps you laughing as you learn. Check the calendar to see what dances are being taught. This is one of the few places in the bay area that includes salsa rueda in their dance lesson selection.Cubberley Ballroom attracts the over age 45 crowd, but there are often other ages as well. The price is very inexpensive: $9.00 and even less if you are a student. The price includes snacks. Lots of parking.

I live to go dancing at the Cubberley. Cubberley has the biggest dance floor I have ever danced on. The dancers and instructors are very friendly. I feel very comfortable there. Lots of parking and very safe. Gillian Smith

It supposed to be a spacious place to take class and to dance out a fun night. Unfortunately they can't stop a bully problem on Saturday night dance there -- Instead of asking, a regular male guest tends to just grab woman to dance with him, and he even harasses you if you dare to refuse him and protest. Whoever runs the dance just responded about our complain, "I want people come here to be happy...I want peace." How though? Not by allowing the same misbehavior for sure at their place for sure.You'll see him - one the tallest and biggest guys there, with black hair and black mustache, in black T-shirt, black pants, named 'Robert' according to the lady at the gate, who knew whom we referred to right away once we started to share with her regarding this guy.It is too bad indeed...

I went to the Friday night dance to learn waltz. It was $9 for 22 year olds and up. CASH ONLY. It is a community center after all. The class was slow-paced but you should at least know the very basics of ballroom to get your money's worth since you don't get any one on one time. If you are lucky you will dance with a more experienced dancer who can help you through it. I kept up fairly well because I know other dances. After the class session is over, there were a couple of open practice with the lights on. After that the lights dimmed and they opened the floor for other styles. They display what dance is being played as well the upcoming ones which is very useful. I learned swing from a very patient man and had a blast. It is very laid back but there are many experienced dancers moving quickly so be aware of your surroundings. They also have a nifty water fountain that has a spout specifically for filling water bottles as well as the classic school yard spout. The water was crisp and delicious! Always refreshing after a work out.

Review #200. It is supposed to be for something special. I guess I could tell you all about the wonderful time I had at this ballroom dancing venue.I was sent here by my instructor at a ballroom dancing class I am currently taking. It was a Friday night and they were having intermediate west coast swing, beginning and intermediate waltz classes. I was there for the beginner waltz class. There were a lot of people from my class there and it was a bit difficult to hear the instructor because of the echo in the gymnasium. At the end I still learned a few new steps and the waltz social mixer afterward was fun. The party afterward was interesting. I only wish I know more dances. People were friendly and there were quite a few advanced dancers there. I had fun just watching them dance. The dance floor is nice. It is huge and you have a lot of room to move around. It is really perfect for those traveling dance. Don't worry. It has decent lighting even though is it just one giant gymnasium. I can't wait to check this place out again once I have learned more. I would say this place is more suitable for people that are serious about ballroom dancing. If you are just looking for a social dance party to mingle and meet people this might not be the best place.$8 for the lesson. $5 if you are a full time student with a valid ID. Free (non-alcoholic) refreshment provided.

This weekly dance event has really gone down the tube. It's run so unprofessionally, it's a joke.DON'T WASTE YOU TIME going there on SATURDAY NIGHT!Haven't been back in a while, I decided to go there last Saturday night to dance a little without confusing my brain with more dance steps. I typically prefer to gp there after dance lessons have concluded, paying the after 9:15 door fee, dance for about an hour then head home.The drinking fountain machine was broken & removed for quite a while now, the only water you can get is the water on the counter. Last Saturday evening we were surprised with a NEW rule that if you come after 9:15 and ONLY paid the $3 per person fee to come in, YOU BETTER BYOW (bring your own water). When I went to the counter to get some water from the water bottle they put on the counter, the fee collecting woman (& self proclaimed bouncer) insulted my friend in her face. She came over & told us that the $3 per person I paid is ONLY for dancing, the fee does NOT include drinks or snacks on the counter (nothing fancy & we did not touch the late night snacks) Note that there's NO water anywhere in the dance venue except water tabs in the restrooms.) The staff and event owner's behavior was stupid and absurd. The "peace" loving event organizer/owner (Phil Mast? per web site) was standing by the counter when I questioned the fee collecting woman: "AM I NOT supposed to drink water?" Phil just played dumb and remained silent.If you have no interest learning endless more complex dance steps and just want to dance stretch out a little after the lessons are over, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. You are better off go to any dance clubs in town, you could get a beer or cocktail and enjoy the ambiance better. If you still insist on going to Cubberly ballroom to dance, DO NOT DRINK THE WATER ON THE COUNTER! DON'T EVEN GO THERE. I advise the event organizer post their new rules notice ON THE COUNTER and notify people who are paying the entry fees as they come in.WHAT A JOKE. Side note, I just checked the web site again and noticed they removed the wordings about coming after 9:15 for $3 per person which they have been doing for a long time. If they changed their policy, they should POST it openly on the web site AND at the door! DON'T TAKE door fee and be rude/insulting customers.

They really should remove the quote they have on their website as it makes it look like an invitation to creeps:Dance Quote of the DayDancing is an AMAZING activity. You can go up to a gorgeous woman that you've never met before, spend three minutes touching her virtually anywhere on her body, and she THANKS you for it afterwards!Real dancers do not even realize they are touching because their brain is listening to the music and feeling the dance. It is such a disappointment that "Mario Robau, Jr." is so ignorant.

If you are located in the South Bay or the peninsula this may be a good place for you but it has both good and bad. There are a some nice people that go there and it's mostly an older crowd of 50+. Dancing ability varies significantly as to be expected but one big negative is that a lot of the men that go there seem to have a particular type of woman that they like to dance with and whether or not you get invited to dance has to do with the way you look or the ethnicity you are versus your dancing ability. Also met a few creeps there. Many of the women constantly invited to dance do not have good dancing skills but look a certain way or are younger and therefore get invited to dance a lot more than others who have great dancing skills but maybe a bit older or may not have a certain look. I was one of the youngest people there but I did not feel comfortable with the men that go there. Also some nasty women who get upset if their partner asks you to dance and they take it out on you.