Dance Wednesdays at Union Square | Summer Schedule
- raestudiossf
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Rae Studios is proud to be the 2025 programming partner of the San Francisco Recreation & Parks, OEWD, and BRV; continuing to provide FREE CLASSES to the Union Square Neighborhood to increase equity and access to dance & wellness for all ages, abilities, and levels. Cardio Wednesday will feature outdoor cardio dance classes provided by Rae Studios on Union Square Plaza (Across the street to Macy’s). Classes offered will range from K-Pop, BollyX, Hip Hop: Grooves, and Shuffle. All classes offered will be free and easy to follow. We encourage all participants to sign up in advance to help the instructor prepare for a successful class. Q2 begins May 7th. See you on the square!
Ticket Reservations: Register via Eventbrite or the MindBody app.Cardio Wednesdays Details:
Hosted By:
Rae Studios | @raestudiossf
San Francisco Recreation & Parks | @sfrecpark
Office of Economic & Workforce Development | @sfoewd
Featured Instructors:
OCHE VALLEJOS | @_oche13
KYLIE IRELAND | @kyliecircus
MALVIKA RAJ | @malvika718
TASHI COWAN | @tashitheeterminator_
Union Square Class Program (May-July):
Every Wednesday 5:30pm - 6:30pm on the Union Square Plaza
Every 1st Wed: K-Pop (All Levels)
Every 2nd Wed: BollyX (All Levels)
Every 3rd Wed: Hip Hop: Grooves (Beginner)
Every 4th Wed: Shuffle (Beginner)
Ticket Options:
All classes FREE. Spots limited. RSVP in advance
REGISTER HERE: https://www.raestudios-sf.com/union-square
Ticket Reservations: Register via Eventbrite or the MindBody app.Meet the Team of Amazing Instructors:
Ticket Reservations: Register via Eventbrite or the MindBody app.
Oche Vallejos
K-pop (All Levels)
Every first Wednesday of the month
Oche (he/they), also known as Jaden, began their dance journey later in life. Growing up, Oche always had an interest in dance, but came from a household that saw it as a “girl thing.” Most of their childhood was spent on soccer fields, and while they were good at it, they knew it wasn’t their true passion. Oche would watch dance videos alone, trying to learn moves on their own. At 15, they joined their high school’s cheer team in secret, and that experience sparked a deeper love for dance. Since then, Oche has been a cheerleader for 6 years and has taught jumps and cheer-style dance at multiple gyms for about 3 years. Though they’ve loved cheer and the opportunities it provided, Oche wanted to broaden their craft, so they began training in Jazz-Funk over a year ago. This journey has led them to substitute K-pop and Jazz-Funk classes, where they found a love for teaching. When Oche isn’t dancing, they’re a full-time student pursuing a Master’s in Design. Fun fact: Oche is hard of hearing, culturally Deaf, and fluent in both sign language and English, with a passion for making dance accessible to the Deaf community. Follow @_oche13 on Instagram for teaching updates and to catch some of their dance videos and covers!
K-Pop (All Levels):
K-Pop, short for Korean popular music, is a form of music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as Pop, Hip Hop, R&B, Experimental, Rock, Jazz, Gospel, Reggae, Electronic dance, Folk, Country, Disco, and Classical on top of its traditional Korean music roots. Originally known as 'Gayo' in Korea, modern K-pop "idol" culture began in the 1990s. Our KPOP instructors will either highlight other KPOP choreographers reteaching combos from various music videos or create their own choreographed influences from various styles of dance. Students should expect to learn fun combos and increase their performance quality.
Ticket Reservations: Register via Eventbrite or the MindBody app.
Malvika Raj
BollyX (All Levels)
Every second Wednesday of the month
Meet Malvika, a proud Austin native and a dancer whose passion for the art is unending. Her journey into dance began with Bharatanatyam at just four years old, sparking a lifelong love for exploring diverse dance cultures. A highlight of her dance career was competing with her college team, Cornell Bhangra, on the Quarterfinals of America's Got Talent in 2014. Now based in San Francisco, Malvika has fallen in love with a variety of dance forms, including Jazz Funk, Hip Hop, and K-pop, integrating these with her roots in Bollywood, Bhangra, and Classical dance. Her Bollywood Fusion classes aim to make South Asian dance accessible and enjoyable for all, blending traditional and modern moves to create a space where everyone can discover the joy and expressiveness of dance.
Socials:
Instagram: @malvika718 ; https://www.instagram.com/malvika718/
BollyX (All Levels):
A Bollywood cardio dance fitness class inspired and driven by the heart-pumping, energetic rhythms of Bollywood. The class embodies dynamic choreography and easy-to-follow dance aerobics. Learn the origins and vocabulary of traditional Bollywood dance steps in this all-level class
Ticket Reservations: Register via Eventbrite or the MindBody app.
Tashi Cowan
Hip Hop: Grooves (Beginner)
Every 3rd Wednesday of the Month
Tashi Cowan (she/her) is a dancer and choreographer who has diverse experience in multiple forms of performance arts.
A Marin County native, freestyling to Janet Jackson at 4 years old, she received her first formal lesson in hip-hop at 10 years old and has been hooked on dance ever since. She continued her dance education while studying for an Associate Degree in Dance Performance at College of Marin and performed in dance productions such as ‘Signatures of Motion’ and ‘Dance Upon a Song’ as well as local theatre productions and town parades.
Tashi was recognized by the College of Marin Foundation with the Saragay Stetson Dance Scholarship, a competitive award recognizing outstanding talent within the department. She also has had musical theatre training performing with the Stapleton Theatre Company’s Rendition of “Fame” where she received the Rookie Award.
She has trained at Playground LA and CityDance SF and had workshop intensive training with industry professionals such Brandi Chun (Winner Dance100 Netflix, House of Ninja), Amanda LaCount (Rihanna, Katy Perry) and Aliya Jannel (Beyonce, QueensNLettos). Recently she was a featured choreographer in Rae Studios annual Spring Showcase 2024 teaching Beg./Int. Hip Hop.
A graduate of San Francisco State University, she studied abroad in London, England and was a member of the Kingston Cougars Latin Dance Team which ranked 2nd and 3rd place for Best Latin Style Dance. She’s a certified Zumba instructor and has taught classes at numerous locations in the Bay Area including Bay Club (SF and Marin).
She continues to train at Rae Studios, and CityDance and Mission Theatre in Heels Technique, Hip Hop and Jazz Funk. She is constantly learning and growing as a dancer and believes that to dance and being able bodied is a blessing and joy!
Hip Hop: Grooves (Beginner):
Hip-Hop is an artistic and cultural movement that started in the 1970s in The Bronx of New York City by Black and Latiné youth who expressed joy through Hip-Hop during a time of oppression. Hip-Hop dance consists of Breaking (commercially known as Breakdancing) and Hip-Hop Party Moves (e.g., Bart Simpson, Biz Markie, Roger Rabbit, Running Man). In this class students will learn fundamental hip hop and urban dance movement and integrate this movement into a small combo. This class breaks down old school and new school dance moves that you will find in any hip hop choreographers classes.
Ticket Reservations: Register via Eventbrite or the MindBody app.
Kylie Ireland
Shuffle (Beginner)
Every 4th Wednesday of the Month
Kylie (she/her) is a performing artist from southern California now living in San Francisco. Main disciplines including aerial, flow arts, acrobatics, contortion, and shuffle dance! Her 12+ year background is in circus arts which originated in a youth program she was a part of. In high school she started teaching and performing professionally, after graduating studied kinesiology for 2 years, and then moved to Santa Cruz,CA in 2020 to pursue the performing arts. In Santa Cruz is where Kylie discovered shuffling and committed to learning the dance style. Kylie found shuffle dance through videos online, and although she didn’t yet consider herself a dancer, was mesmerized. She loved how people would mix multiple dance styles into shuffling and thought she could do the same with her background. As it slowly began to take a big place in her life it surprised her how much passion she had for this dance. She hopes to show others how much of a positive influence shuffling can have on their mental and physical health. Kylie has performed at birthday parties, festivals, clubs, weddings, community, and corporate events! She feels grateful to be a part of RAE and her goal is to get shuffling into studios as a recognized dance style, give beginners an accessible place to learn, and create more professional opportunities for shuffle dancers. Learning to shuffle has a huge positive impact on her life and she hopes she can share that impact with others. Along with RAE Kylie also teaches at the Hive SF, Acrosports, and SF pole & dance.
Shuffle (Beginner):
Shuffle originated in Melbourne, Australia in the late 1980’s and was danced in the club scene to Electronic Dance music. Over the years shuffling has taken the world by storm from clubs to festivals. Shuffling is known to be inclusive, liberating, spiritual, free of judgment, and true expression. Shuffle Dance connects you with the music you love in a special way. In this class students will learn basic shuffle skills like the running man, and the T-step, while also learning to incorporate their own stylistic movements.
Ticket Reservations: Register via Eventbrite or the MindBody app.Highlights from our first season!
DRENCHED! with Diamond. Check out full recap HERE.
BollyX with Malvika. Check out full recap HERE.
Shuffle with Kylie & Christian. Check out full recap HERE.
Salsa Styling with Ava. Check out full recap HERE.
Looking for more accessible class options? Check out
Featured Instructors:
OCHE VALLEJOS | @_oche13
KYLIE IRELAND | @kyliecircus
MALVIKA RAJ | @malvika718
TASHI COWAN | @tashitheeterminator_
Union Square Class Program (May-July):
Every Wednesday 5:30pm - 6:30pm on the Union Square Plaza
Every 1st Wed: K-Pop (All Levels)
Every 2nd Wed: BollyX (All Levels)
Every 3rd Wed: Hip Hop: Grooves (Beginner)
Every 4th Wed: Shuffle (Beginner)
Ticket Options:
All classes FREE. Spots limited. RSVP in advance
Registration is required for this event.
Ticket Reservations: Register via Eventbrite or the MindBody app.Our mission is to merge the ideologies of popular dance culture by bridging fitness gym and traditional dance studio mentality into a place that welcome all levels of dance & fitness in a healthy progressive environment. Our goal is to provide San Francisco dance seekers with community, growth and participation through artistic outlets of music + movement. Our culture is simple; create a space for dance and community to thrive, water the roots of our passion, fuel our dreams by action, and inspire others to do the same.
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Love seeing organizations making dance and wellness accessible to everyone. I'm now experiencing the mesmerizing world of Tunnel Rush, a 3D arcade game with stunning, color-shifting tunnels that create a dazzling, immersive journey through a futuristic maze. I’ll definitely be spreading the word and encouraging friends to sign up in advance. Thank you.