Icebreaker
$1500
One instructor, one room, one hour. Enough time for the group to learn something together and dance it through to music.
Enquire about IcebreakerCorporate & private events
Corporate dance classes in San Francisco
- 25 to 60 people
- 60 min to a full afternoon
- Your venue or ours
- From $1,500
Give us an hour and your whole team will be dancing to the same song. No experience needed — that is rather the point. Everybody starts in the same place, it gets funny almost immediately, and people end up talking to colleagues they would never normally sit next to.
Why this works better than it sounds
Everyone starts equally bad
Seniority stops mattering roughly four minutes in. The person who runs the department and the person who joined last week are both failing at the same basic step, in public, and finding it funny.
Partners rotate constantly
Nobody spends an hour with the person they already sit next to. By the end of the session most of the room has danced with most of the room, which is not true of any dinner you can book.
It has a visible ending
The session builds to something the group can actually do together. Finishing a sequence as a room is a genuinely different feeling from an activity that simply stops when the hour is up.
Packages
All prices include instruction, music and equipment. Travel within San Francisco is included; further afield, ask. Every package can be run as solo work only or with partnerwork as well, at the same price — seethe format note below.
Team session
$2400
Two instructors, so the room splits by pace and nobody is stranded. The extra half hour is where it stops being an exercise and starts being fun.
Enquire about Team sessionFull offsite
$4200
The full session, then we dance for you. Built for offsites and holiday parties that need a centrepiece rather than another round of drinks.
Enquire about Full offsiteHow it runs
What actually happens on the day
- 01
Solo basics, no partners
Ten to fifteen minutes of footwork and timing, everyone facing the same way and working on their own.
- 02
Into pairs, rotating
Partners change every few minutes. The material stays simple on purpose — the difficulty is in doing it with another person, and that is where the session actually happens.
- 03
Put it to music
The steps get strung into something continuous and the room dances it through a full song. For most groups this is the moment it stops being an exercise.
- 04
Performance, on the full offsite
On the two-hour package we finish by dancing for you properly, so the group sees where the thing they just learned actually goes.
Format, deposit and cancellation
- Solo or partnerwork
- Every package runs either way, at the same price. The default includes partnerwork, because rotating partners is what mixes a group up. If contact is a concern — for a mixed group, a policy reason, or simply a preference — we can run the whole session as solo work: footwork, timing and body movement, everyone facing the same way, no touching at any point. Tell us when you book, and it can also be changed on the day.
- Deposit
- 25% on booking, which holds the date. The balance is due on the day of the session. We invoice, and a purchase order is fine.
- Rescheduling
- Free more than 14 days out — the deposit moves to the new date. From 14 to 7 days, the deposit moves once. Inside 7 days it is treated as a cancellation, though we will always try to find a date that works.
- Cancellation
- More than 14 days before the session, the deposit is refunded in full. From 14 to 7 days, the deposit is retained. Inside 7 days, 50% of the total is due, because at that point the instructors are committed and the slot cannot be resold.
- If we cancel
- You get everything you have paid back in full, and we will help you find another provider for the date if the timing is tight.
- Numbers
- Final headcount is due 48 hours before. If the group comes in under the package capacity the price is unchanged; if it is going to run over, tell us and we will either add an instructor or move you up a package.
Frequently asked questions
- Nobody on my team can dance. Is that a problem?
- It is the normal starting point. Every session is built for people who have never danced, and the first twenty minutes are designed so that nobody is exposed. We have never run a session where the room could already dance.
- Do you come to us, or do we come to you?
- Either. We can run the session at your office, at an offsite venue, or at the Smuin Center for Dance at 1830 17th Street. If you are using your own space, we need a clear floor and a power outlet, and that is genuinely all.
- What if some of the team would rather not join in?
- That is expected and it is fine. Partners rotate, group counts absorb odd numbers, and there is no moment where anyone is made to perform alone. In practice most of the people who plan to sit out are dancing by the second song.
- How far ahead do we need to book?
- Two to three weeks is comfortable for most sessions. December books up earliest, so if you are planning a holiday party it is worth asking sooner than feels necessary.
- Can you work around a mixed-mobility group?
- Yes. Tell us in advance and the material is adjusted rather than a separate track being run. Bachata is a close-hold dance with a small footprint, which makes it easier to adapt than most partner styles.
- What does it cost?
- Packages run from $1,500 for a 60-minute icebreaker up to 25 people, to $4,200 for a two-hour session plus a performance for up to 60. Prices are on this page in full, and include instruction and music.
- Does everyone have to dance with a partner?
- No. Every package can be run as solo work only, at the same price — footwork, timing and body movement with everyone facing the same way and no physical contact at any point. The default includes partnerwork because rotating partners is what mixes a group up, but if that is a concern for your group, say so when you book or on the day.
- What are the deposit and cancellation terms?
- A 25% deposit holds the date and the balance is due on the day. Cancel more than 14 days out and the deposit is refunded in full; from 14 to 7 days the deposit is retained; inside 7 days 50% of the total is due. Rescheduling is free more than 14 days out. Full terms are on this page.
Tell us roughly what you need
A rough headcount and a rough date is enough to get a straight answer on price and availability. If you are still deciding between options, say so — we would rather tell you a session is a bad fit for your group than sell you one that is.
Enquire by emailor write to hello@bachatalab.org
Smuin Center for Dance, 1830 17th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103