This year, 2026, is the 250th anniversary of the Anza Expedition which brought multiple families from Sonora and Sinaloa states in Old Mexico to Spanish California. They brought their dance and music with them and developed their own California dance styles on their ranchos. Many of their surnames — such as Moraga, Bernal, Noe, Arguello and Berryessa — are familiar to Bay Area folks.
This Spanish California Dance workshop will include dances from 1776 to 1850. The workshop is open to all ages from first grade up. The tecolero (dancemaster) will find you a partner if you do not have your own.
Live music will be provided by Los Arribeños de San Francisco and friends.
As a dancer, dance caller, actor, director and musician, Jim Letchworth’s personal philosophy for dancing is simple: get out on the floor and have fun!
In the 1980s, Jim and his wife Marilyn directed the Fezziwig’s dance area of the Dickens Christmas Fair. This is when Jim refined his style of ensuring the dancers have fun. The hallmarks include simple steps, enjoy the music, and the tecolero takes responsibility for any errors (so the dancers are off the hook).
Jim was the dancemaster for the annual San Juan Bautista Fandango for close to 25 years. Other venues have included The Presidio of San Francisco, the cities of San Jose and Monterey, the National Civil War Assn, Colombia State Park and other groups at various locations in California. Jim notes that they have a repertoire of Old California dances, many from the Spanish and Mexican periods and some with American and Western European influences. These simple, fun dances are not danced enough!