Dance in Palo Alto

Palo Alto has no resident professional dance company, but you can see a lot of dance here if you know where to look. Stanford Live books internationally known companies into Memorial Auditorium. Stanford's theater department stages student choreography in a renovated gym. One of San Francisco's best-loved ballet companies brings its holiday show to Mountain View every December. And if you would rather dance than watch, a downtown church hall fills with contra dancers twice a month.

This page covers performance and social dancing. For studios and weekly classes, see our guide to dance classes in Palo Alto. Dates below come from each company's published calendar as of November 1, 2026.

Touring companies at Stanford Live

Stanford Live is the university's performing arts presenter and the main source of professional dance in Palo Alto. Large productions go into Memorial Auditorium, a hall of about 1,700 seats on Jane Stanford Way, across from Hoover Tower. The 2026 to 2027 season has three big movement-based nights there:

• Kodo: LUMINANCE, January 20, 2027. The Japanese taiko ensemble from Sado Island is a drumming group, but its performances are intensely physical. The program includes the O-daiko solo and the Yatai-bayashi finale and marks the 50th anniversary of Maki Ishii's Monochrome.
• The Surge: An Ode to Sinéad O'Connor, January 30, 2027. Choreographer Sonya Tayeh, who came up through Detroit's underground dance scene, sets an evening-length piece for ten women to O'Connor's music.
• I AM by Camille A. Brown and Dancers, March 17, 2027. Brown's new work draws on several dance styles of the African diaspora. Stanford Live says it was inspired by the "I Am" episode of the HBO series Lovecraft Country.

At Bing Concert Hall, the Australian circus company Gravity and Other Myths brings Ten Thousand Hours on April 22, 2027, with eight acrobats and one musician exploring how physical skill is built. Our Stanford Live guide explains the ticket office and member presales.

Student dance at Stanford

Dance at Stanford sits inside the Department of Theater and Performance Studies, known as TAPS. Its main dance event this season is Spring Rise Up 2027, from May 20 to 22, 2027, in the Elam Theater at Roble Gym. Choreographers Aleta Hayes, Raissa Simpson and amara tabor-smith create work on student dancers. Main stage tickets run $5 to $21.90 and sell online only, with no late seating.

Roble Gym began life in 1931 as a women's gymnasium and now serves TAPS as an arts building, with the Elam Theater as its main stage. Student dance groups also perform during the year, from ballet and contemporary troupes to cultural dance teams. Our page on theater and dance at Stanford has the full TAPS season and house rules.

Smuin's Christmas Ballet in Mountain View

Smuin Contemporary Ballet is a San Francisco company founded by the choreographer Michael Smuin. Its 2026 to 2027 season is titled Smuin in Frame. The company's holiday show, The Christmas Ballet, is a revue of short dances set to holiday music that Smuin brings back every season.

The Mountain View run is the one for Palo Alto. The theater sits at 500 Castro Street, at the top of the restaurant row described in our Castro Street guide, so dinner and a show is easy. Smuin's San Francisco run includes an LGBTQ+ night on December 22.

Later in the season Smuin presents a Choreography Showcase from February 19 to 28, 2027 and a program called What's Going On from May 7 to 30, 2027. The season adds a fourth ballet by Val Caniparoli, a first work by Nicolo Fonte and a world premiere by Amy Seiwert. Smuin had not listed Mountain View dates for those programs on November 1, 2026.

Nutcracker season

Every December brings Nutcrackers staged by local schools. Western Ballet, a school at 914 North Rengstorff Avenue in Mountain View, performed its Nutcracker at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts from December 5 to 7, 2025, with adult tickets at $55 and student, senior and child tickets at $45. It invites the audience to a Sweet Tea with the dancers afterward. The 2026 dates had not been posted on November 1, 2026. Other Bay Area companies stage larger productions in San Jose and San Francisco. Our guide to the holiday season in Palo Alto rounds up the rest of December.

Social dancing: contra and English country

The easiest way to dance in Palo Alto without a class is a community dance. The Bay Area Country Dance Society runs several series here, with live bands and callers who teach each dance before it starts.

Contra dances

Contra is an American folk dance done in long lines, with partners moving up and down the set. In Palo Alto, BACDS holds contras at First United Methodist Church, 625 Hamilton Avenue at Byron Street, on second, fourth and fifth Saturdays, with occasional Mondays when touring callers or bands are in town. The November 2026 calendar lists Saturday dances on November 14 and 28 from 7 to 10 p.m., plus a special Monday dance on November 9. A 30-minute newcomer welcome and intro class comes before each contra dance. It can be skipped if no newcomers turn up on time, so arrive at the start.

English country dance

English country dance is the style seen in Jane Austen adaptations, ranging from stately to lively. The Peninsula series meets on the first, third and fifth Tuesday evenings from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., with a summer break from late June to Labor Day. The November 2026 dates are at All Saints Episcopal Church, 555 Waverley Street. A second Palo Alto series runs on the first Friday of each month from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, with advanced dances on fifth Fridays. A long-running Palo Alto English Regency series ended in May 2026.

Wear soft-soled shoes, bring water and expect to dance with many partners. Our world music and folk guide covers the bands and jams behind this music.

Cultural dance through the year

• Stanford Powwow: the student-run powwow fills the Eucalyptus Grove with dancers and drum groups each spring. The 56th is May 7 to 9, 2027. See our Stanford Powwow guide.
• Obon: the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple at 2751 Louis Road holds bon odori dancing at its summer Obon festival, traditionally the first weekend of August. Visitors can join the circle. Our Obon page has details.
• The Viennese Ball: Stanford's black-tie waltz night, founded in 1978, moves to the San Francisco Marriott Marquis on Friday, February 19, 2027. See our Viennese Ball guide.

Planning a dance night

For a December treat, pair Smuin in Mountain View with dinner on Castro Street. For something more adventurous, catch a winter night at Memorial Auditorium and eat downtown first. If you are visiting for a weekend and want to try a contra dance on Saturday, book a hotel near downtown and walk to the Hamilton Avenue church hall.

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