Spilling the Beans on a Super Secret Dance Studio

There is no stumbling across Rebekah Waterbury’s super secret dance studio.

In fact, you really have to seek it out to find it. But once you walk in through the brightly painted yellow doors of Dance Underground, you find yourself in a sort of counter culture oasis.

There is a tikki bar themed kitchen (left over from when the space housed Jungle Vibes toy store), a reading nook stocked with books on politics and non violence and a 500 square foot dance floor with a wall of mirrors and a sound system.

Waterbury, who is tall and thin and holds her lean frame impeccably straight as she moves around, has been a dancer for years. She grew up in Eugene, Ore. and studied dance at the University of Oregon. But after moving to Petaluma in 2008, the 33-year-old had a hard time finding classes that fit her budget and were located downtown.

So she and her husband, Day, rented a warehouse on Water Street studio and began inviting dance teachers, yoga instructors and other “movement” practioners to use the space. Today, aikido and (Brazilian martial art) capoeira classes use the studio as well as the Metta Center, a nonviolence group.

Now, Waterbury is inviting other dance and yoga instructors to her underground dance studio, which she’s offering at just $20 per hour. Individual dancers who want to use the space for practice are asked to pay just $5 an hour.

“It’s my way of giving back to the community,” says Waterbury, adding that she wants to expand the offerings to include African dance and tango classes as well as break dancing and modern dance for children.

Add that to a community dance jam and an adult hula hooping class Waterbury is working on organizing, and Dance Underground could be on its way to becoming the new "it" space in downtown Petaluma.

“I grew up with a lot of opportunities to be body aware, do dance and movement and I want to share that with others,” Waterbury says.

Dance Underground is located at 215 Water St. behind Thai Issan. For more information on Dance Underground, check out their Facebook page or contact Waterbury at 707-242-7011.

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