Udy Gold facilitates/participates/helps to lead  three dance events in the San Francisco Bay Area: he teaches Tuesday evening weekly classes, hosts a monthly Saturday Cafe Shalom dance party, and helps DJ at Memorial & Labor Day Land Dancers Folk Dance weekends in the La Honda area. Each event has its own unique style which caters to its individual participants. Tuesdays session are for people who would like to learn how to dance, learn each step of specific dances, and practice their dancing to the point of muscle memory – you can teach your feet to dance! Saturday sessions are much larger and are mainly for dancers who already know a few dances.
Saturday sessions include circle/line dances, couple dances, and from time to time – children’s dances. The folk dance weekend events are multi-day events, where one can come for an hour, a day, or the entire weekend. The weekends are like a family gathering, and are suitable for the entire family – including non-dancing family members. For the non-dancers there is live music, hiking trails, creek walking, or simply the wonderful opportunity to relax in nature.
Dancing is for everyone. If you tap your fingers while listening to music, you are a dancer. If you whistle music, you are a dancer. Dancing is liberating, allowing us to express the joy in our hearts through movement.
A wise person once said, “We do not stop dancing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop dancing.” Dancing is great exercise – it increases heart rate, and serves as a good cardiovascular activity. It also can become a social gathering for people to come and build community, a place to find friends and for some – the love of their lives. More than anything, dancing brings joy, and fulfillment to all who participate.