Workshop: A Celebration of African American Social Dances

Wednesday, 8/19/2026
5:30 - 7:00
Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room A
Main Library

100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States

415-557-4400
Register

Bring your dancing shoes for a fun, high‑energy workshop exploring the social dances that flourished during the Harlem Renaissance, accompanied by the vibrant music of this rich era of Black innovation. Led by renowned choreographer and music instructor Traci Bartlow, this part‑lecture, part‑dance‑party experience highlights the African American social dances that emerged in the early 1900s and blossomed during the Jazz Age. Guiding us through a lively time capsule, Bartlow celebrates the resilience and creative brilliance of the Black American experience through rhythm, movement, and history.

Traci Bartlow, an Oakland native, has built a long distinguished career as a performer, director, and choreographer. She has worked with luminaries like Debbie Allen and Michael Peters and danced as a principal performer with Nanette Bearden Contemporary Dance Theater, Forces of Nature Dance Company, and Robert Henry Johnson Dance Theater. Bartlow developed and directed the Hip Hop stage at Oakland’s Malcolm X Jazz Arts Festival and curated its Katherine Dunham dance stage.

In 2022 she contributed as a writer and story consultant to the Emmy-winning KQED film If Cities Could Dance – Oakland Boogaloo segment. That same year, the San Francisco International Hip Hop Dance Fest honored her with the Bay Area Legend Award. 

She is currently on tour for her work as the co‑choreographer for Minty Fresh Circus, a contemporary Black circus now on a three-year international tour.

Connect: Traci Bartlow - Website | Traci Bartlow - Instagram

 

 

 


 

More Than a Month: Black Interest

Connect to engaging discussions and performances related to the Black community.

More Than a Month recognizes important events in Black history, honors community and national leaders and fosters steps towards collective change. Programming features authors, poets and craft classes. 

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.