Danse Libre presents Jazz Age Afternoon at "Cabaret Hillside"

The Academy of Danse Libre presents: A Jazz Age Afternoon at Cabaret Hillside, hosted by Berkley’s historic Hillside Club on June 1, 2025, from 2-5 PM, featuring live music, dance performances, and a beginner’s workshop.

Enjoy light refreshments while supporting our 2025-2026 season.

About the Hillside Club:

Founded in the late 19th century to promote good design practices in the Berkeley hills, the Hillside Club today is a community-based membership organization dedicated to civic connection, supporting the arts and culture, and preserving our landmark building.

About the Academy Danse Libre:

Founded in 1996, The Academy of Danse Libre is the world’s premier historical dance company. Principal dancers have performed internationally, including Vienna, Spoleto, Paris, Prague, and St. Petersburg, and have appeared professionally with other dance companies such as the Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco Opera Ballet, David Taylor Dance Theatre, Amy Seiwert’s Im’ij-re, Robert Moses’ KIN, and Oakland Ballet. Notable recent performances include collaborations with Opera San Jose in Alma Deutscher’s Cinderella, Peninsula Symphony in productions of Vienna, City of My Dreams and The Golden Age of Hollywood, and the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival.

The San Francisco Chronicle describes Danse Libre’s performance at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House as “a smooth 19th century ballroom party, dispatched with much elegance by members of the Academy of Danse Libre… [A]ll those gloved couples yielding to the charms of the waltzes and polkas of the time really do suggest a historical era.”

From stately Regency dances straight out of a Jane Austen novel to the re-creation of a glittering Viennese Ball for a New Year’s Eve gala concert, the timelessness of Ragtime foxtrots on the Titanic’s maiden voyage or the high energy of a Charleston from Great Gatsby’s summer of 1922, Danse Libre has entertained and inspired modern audiences all over the world with social dances from the 1820s to the 1930s. With the exception of our film and theatre works, our choreography is carefully reconstructed from dance manuals and original source material. Costuming is historically accurate and individually handmade to reflect the authenticity and spirit of each era.

Also check out other Music events in Berkeley, Entertainment events in Berkeley, Workshops in Berkeley.