Starlight Strut

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Oakland, CA
Starlight Strut

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Starlight Strut is a queer country-western dance for women, non-binary, and trans people.

Fourth Saturdays at Lake Merritt Dance: 200 Grand Avenue, 1st Floor, Oakland, CA 94610

10/06/2026

Under the dark cover of night, the wind whistles eerily as ghouls and goblins take fright. Lurking deep from the shadows, dark figures approach to gather under the moonlit sky. Is that the fluttering of bats, or the whooshing sounds of a cloak?

Gather! dear creatures of the night for
✨🦇 VAMP 🦇✨
our annual Halloween Dance

Dress up in your best vampire, gothic or classic monster attire 🎃

🩸 6:30 - Doors Open
🧛 6:45 - Line Dance Lessons
🦇 7:15 - Partner Dance Lessons
🪩 8:00 - Dance Party Begins!

Featuring a special performance from the Oakland Q***r Dance Studio!

We will be at 200 Grand Ave in Oakland in the first floor ballroom and lounge.

Tickets are $15 at the door, sliding scale available. No one turned away for lack of funds!

Want to haunt the night with us for free? Go to the link in our description or send us a message to volunteer.

⚰️🌙 We need to be gay. Gay is in. Gay is hot. I want some gay. Gay it’s gonna be… on October 24th. See you there!

09/29/2026

Thank you everyone who came out to our dance!!! We celebrated our wonderful volunteers and had a night full of dancing and community ✨

Volunteers do soo much…

-Set up and break down
-DJ both rooms
-Welcome table, check-in
-Coordination
-Tech
-Support Classes
-Marketing, Programming, Finance, & Admin
-Decorate
-Tidy up hallway snacks
-“Dance with you” dancers
-Board Members & Staff Members
-Announcers & Activity Leaders

We literally can’t do any of this without you. Thank you!

Please check out our website to learn more about getting involved with running future dances ⭐️

Upcoming Events:
We are excited about Fog Town Hoedown. Four days of q***r country-western dancing, workshops, socials, evening dances and performances—in San Francisco!

Check out the schedule! They have five rooms with workshops from beginner to advanced levels in all the dances: two-step, waltz, nightclub two-step, west coast swing, shadow, line dances, a choreo workshop, premium workshops, and even polka!

We can’t wait to see you there!

Learn to dance and join a performance group!
Check out Oakland Q***r Dance Studio at Lake Merritt Dance on Wednesdays for classes in partner dance, ballroom and more! This month, they are putting together a performance group to go to Fog Town Hoedown. Learn more.

Next Starlight Dances! Mark your calendars

October 24, 2026

November 28, 2026

We are taking a break in December for winter holiday.

We return January 23, 2027

See you then! 🍂✨

09/22/2026

Hello my lovely stars!! Happy Volunteer Appreciation Month!!! ⭐️ Truly we have such an incredible group of volunteers that help to put on this event every month. So much goes into the behind the scenes so lets give a huge thanks and round of applause to the folks that show up to get the job done ✨ we literally couldn’t do it without everyone’s help 😮‍💨😤

We will acknowledge volunteers during announcements. If you have volunteered this year, join us for a group photo! Pick up your magnetic badges if you don’t have one yet.

6:30 ⭐️ Doors Open ⭐️

6:45 Line Dance Lessons:
T**h Push (beginner) with Melanie R
6s to 9s (intermediate) with Sheila S

7:15 Partner Dance Lessons:
Country-western Two-Step (absolute beginner) with Erica M
Country-western Two-Step: Exchanges (beginner+) with Citabria P
Country-western Two-Step (intermediate) with Sheila S

8:00 The dance begins! 🪩
Main Room will have a mix of line dance & partner dance all night long.
Lounge will have West Coast Swing + Night-Club Two-Step

8:30 Line Dance Marathon Starts in the Lounge

We usually do the line dances we just learned around 8:15, and the two that we learned last month around 9 PM. There may be a few more Dolly Parton songs this month.

9:15 Recap! Texas Time (beginner+) with Christy M

You’ll find us on the first floor of the
Lake Merritt Dance Center
200 Grand Ave, Oakland

$15 entry with sliding scale available, NOTAFLOF! Let us know if you can volunteer & get in for free.

See you Saturday! ✨🙌

09/14/2026

Happy Volunteer Appreciation Month!!! What an amazing crew we have. Huge shoutout to all of our amazing volunteers that help make Starlight a reality every month ✨ we literally couldn’t do it without everyone’s help.

⭐️ 6:30 - Doors Open
✨ 6:45 - Line Dance Lessons
🌿 7:15 - Partner Dance Lessons
🪩 8:00 - Dance Party Begins!

We will be at 200 Grand Ave in Oakland in the first floor ballroom and lounge.

Tickets are $15 at the door, sliding scale available. No one turned away for lack of funds!

Want to be a volunteer? Go to the link in our description or send us a message. Volunteers get into the dance for free 🌟

See you on the dance floor soon! ⭐️

09/01/2026

Ya’ll Means All!!! And we mean it at Starlight ⭐️✨ the Camp Starlight Country Band knocked this performance out of the park. It was so fun two-stepping along to live music. Huge thank you and appreciation to all of our participants and coordinators! So much went behind the scenes to make this happen and we are so thankful for this magical experience.

Want to see a higher quality of this and the other performance from this night? Check out the link in the description to our YouTube channel! ✨ a lot of fun content there to check out.

Can’t wait for the next dance 💫

08/25/2026

Starlight campers were on Texas Time last Saturday!! Huge thank you to the Camp Starlight Country Band!! ⭐️✨ such rockstars!!! We loved dancing to your music! Thank you to everyone who contributed to making that happen.

If you haven’t had a chance, go to the link in our description and you’ll find our YouTube channel. We have this performance and the Ya’ll Means All in higher quality along with our instructional video series 💙💜 go check it out!

We loved dancing with y’all this month! Our next dance is September 26th and we will be celebrating Volunteer Appreciation Month! Mark your calendars 😉

Keep an eye on our page for more videos and photos from this dance and more! 💫

08/19/2026

This Saturday! Join us for our special themed dance “Camp Starlight” 💫✨
Enjoy a summer night of dancing at our usual spot by beautiful Lake Merritt 🐟🌲🌳 your camp counselors have a spectacular night filled with fun and of course, dance!

6:30 ⭐️ Doors Open ⭐️

6:45 Line Dance Lessons:
Texas Time (beginner plus) with Naomi S
Heel Toe Rodeo (improver) with Christy M

7:15 Partner Dance Lessons:
Country-western Two-Step (beginner) with Rachel H
Country-western Two-Step (intermediate) with Christa Y

8:00 The dance begins! 🪩
Main Room will have a mix of line dance & partner dance all night long.
Lounge will have West Coast Swing + Night-Club Two-Step

8:15 Dance with us to live music! Performed by the Camp Starlight Country Band ✨

8:30 Line Dance Marathon Starts in the Lounge

9:15 Bonus! The Tease (beginner) with Toran A

We are hosting a raffle! Enter for a chance to win a free weekend ticket to Fog Town ☁️ Winners will be announced at about 8:15!

We are selling T-shirts at our campFIRE sale! $10, get em before we sell out 🔥

You’ll find us on the first floor of the
Lake Merritt Dance Center
200 Grand Ave, Oakland

$15 entry with sliding scale available, NOTAFLOF! Let us know if you can volunteer & get in for free.

See you Saturday! 🏕️🌙🌟

08/11/2026

Your counselors are excitedly preparing for our summer camp themed dance on August 22nd! 🌙✨

T-Shirts will be on sale at the dance!! Only $10 (was $20) for our big campFIRE sale! Grab yours before we sell out 🔥 already have a shirt, wear it to the dance alongside other summer camp themed accessories- scout badges, shorts, face paint, bucket hats, etc!

We will have live performances at the next dance! People will two-step and line dance alongside live instruments and vocals! Can you sing or play an instrument? Go to our linktree in the description and find our sign up sheet! Rehearsals are this Friday, August 14th from 4-6pm. Anyone can join! More info on the sign up sheet.

Rest up in the meantime! We will be dancing the night away! ✌️💫

08/06/2026

Howdy Campers!!! Join us for a summer night at ‘Camp Starlight” ✨ your camp counselors have many exciting activities planned and lots of dancing for you to enjoy at our usual location by beautiful Lake Merritt ☀️ wear your Starlight Strut t-shirt, bandanas and bucket hats and head to the rec hall!

🏕️ 6:30 - Doors Open
🌙 6:45 - Line Dance Lessons
🌲 7:15 - Partner Dance Lessons
🪩 8:00 - Dance Party Begins!

Don’t already own a Starlight Strut shirt? We are having a campFIRE sale! Grab yours at the dance for $10!

We will be at 200 Grand Ave in Oakland in the first floor ballroom and lounge.

Tickets are $15 at the door, sliding scale available. No one turned away for lack of funds!
If you wanna come for free, message us to sign up for a volunteer shift 🌟

HAGS ✨

05/21/2026

🌟✨Dance with us this Saturday at Starlight Strut ✨🌟
We are heading into summer, so let’s celebrate the warm weather on the dance floor! Enjoy a night filled with line dancing, two-stepping, waltz and west coast swing:

6:30 ⭐️ Doors Open ⭐️

6:45 Line Dance Lessons:
Waltz Across Texas (beginner) with Bonnie M
Love Dive (intermediate) with Melanie R

7:15 Partner Dance Lessons:
Country-western Two-Step (beginner) with Marianne B
Country-western Two-Step (intermediate) with Citabria P

8:00 The dance begins! 🪩
Main Room will have a mix of line dance & partner dance all night long.
Lounge will have West Coast Swing + Night-Club Two-Step

8:20 Special guest performance by Rebel Motion!! Let’s wish them luck as they head to the Gay Games in Spain this summer!!

8:30 Line Dance Marathon in the Lounge

You’ll find us on the first floor of the
Lake Merritt Dance Center
200 Grand Ave, Oakland

$15 entry with sliding scale available, NOTAFLOF! Let us know if you can volunteer & get in for free.

See you Saturday! 🌚💫

Address

200 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA

Website

http://www.starlightstrut.org/

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