Dance Wednesdays at Union Square | Fall Schedule

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, J-Pop, 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. Q3 begins August 6th. See you on the square!

Ticket Reservations: Register via Eventbrite or the Momence App.

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Cardio Wednesdays Details:

Hosted By:

• Rae Studios | @raestudiossf

• San Francisco Recreation & Parks | @sfrecpark

• Office of Economic & Workforce Development | @sfoewd

• Beiderman Development Ventures

Featured Instructors:

OCHE VALLEJOS | @_oche13

KYLIE IRELAND | @kyliecircus

RISA ONO | @sonrisa_ddd

TASHI COWAN | @tashitheeterminator_

Union Square Class Program (August-October):

Every Wednesday 5:30pm - 6:30pm on the Union Square Plaza

Every 1st Wed: K-Pop (All Levels)

Every 2nd Wed: J-Pop (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 Momence App.

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Meet the Team of Amazing Instructors:

Ticket Reservations: Register via Eventbrite or the Momence App.

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Oche Vallejos

@_oche13

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 Momence App.

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Risa Ono

@sonrisa_ddd

J-Pop (All Levels)

Every second Wednesday of the month

Risa (she/her) from Tokyo is proudly represented by Rae Dance Agency. She began her dance journey at the age of 16, diving into various styles including Hip Hop, Locking, and Street Jazz. Since then, she has graced numerous events with her performances and crafted captivating choreographies for showcases and her hip hop team, both in Japan and New York. 

While in New York, Risa expanded her repertoire by training in Heels with Army of Sass and joined a fabulous bachata team led by the renowned dance duo, Daniel y Desirée, who are celebrated as the world's top Bachata dance couple. 

One of her recent dream projects was directing and choreographing a musical promotion PV for Dokkyo University in Japan – a truly exciting endeavor! Risa’s unique dance style and choreography emphasize musicality, inviting all dancers to express themselves and fully enjoy the music.  

Currently, Risa shares her passion by teaching Street Jazz and J-Pop at Rae Studio, inspiring the next generation of dancers. Join her on this exhilarating journey of dance and self-expression!

J-Pop (All Levels):

Japanese dance pop, also known as J-pop, is a popular music genre that originated in Japan in the 1990s. It is characterized by its upbeat and catchy melodies, electronic instrumentation, and heavily produced sound. J-pop is known for its use of vocal harmonies and high-pitched vocals, and is often associated with anime and video game soundtracks. J-Pop will include a mix of original and cover choreography to different J-Pop songs. Students should expect to learn fun combos and increase their performance quality. 

Ticket Reservations: Register via Eventbrite or the Momence App.

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Tashi Cowan

@tashitheeterminator_

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! 

Ig: https://www.instagram.com/tashitheeterminator_/

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 Momence App.

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Kylie Ireland

@kyliecircus

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 Momence App.

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Looking for more accessible class options? Check out

Weekly Classes at UN Plaza, Mission Rock & Fisherman's Wharf

Summer Schedule at UN Plaza is on! See full class schedule HERE.

Summer Schedule at Mission Rock is on! See full class schedule HERE.

Check out our Summer Dance Series at Fisherman's Wharf. See full class schedule HERE.

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Cardio Wednesdays Details:

Featured Instructors:

OCHE VALLEJOS | @_oche13

KYLIE IRELAND | @kyliecircus

RISA ONO | @sonrisa_ddd

TASHI COWAN | @tashitheeterminator_

Union Square Class Program (August-October):

Every Wednesday 5:30pm - 6:30pm on the Union Square Plaza

Every 1st Wed: K-Pop (All Levels)

Every 2nd Wed: J-Pop (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 Momence 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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