The West County Museum delves into the history of where folks took dance lessons in Sebastopol.  The idea for this exhibit came from a recent donation of the Sebastopol Saucy Squares ephemera and photograph albums received from the Redwood Rainbows dance club. 

We chose to feature dance troupes because they have the longest history of teaching dance in the Sebastopol area, averaging 20-30+ years each.

The Saucy Squares began in 1964, when Joe and Viola Paul began the club. Joe was the caller and Viola was his assistant on the floor.  The group was successful with membership and their numerous dance party themes. Every holiday deserved a reason to celebrate and dance. 

This section of the exhibit is filled with photographs, club ephemera, square dance clothing, and videos from 1964 to 2013.

Keeping the topic of dance lessons, we are highlighting three other dance troupes who taught ballet, jazz, tap, and acrobatics.

Beginning in 1953 at the age of 13, Robin Garloff taught in Sebastopol at a studio in her parents’ home.  Today Robin is 85 years young and has plans to start a new class using dance as exercise.  Robin has donated her large, very colorful, collection of costumes used in performances from 1953 to 1973.  She will be our special quest on March 22nd recounting many details of her years of teaching dance in Sebastopol.

We also tell the story of Karen Campbell’s Ballet School.  Karen began by teaching her daughter ballet and grew into her own dance school.  She choreographed recitals for a yearly spring performance from 1974 to 1993 sponsored by the Analy Nursery School. All proceeds went to the nursery school. She started teaching classes in a room at the LDS Church and later her husband built a studio onto their home on Pleasant Hill Road.  When she moved to Utah in 1993, she turned the classes over to Susan Borgeson.  Sue was a well known dancer, choreographer, and teacher at the Santa Rosa Ballet.  When Karen left, the opportunity to open a studio in Sebastopol sounded like the perfect thing to do.

Susan partnered with fellow teachers, Paula Martens and Lois Hartman and the three began the Sebastopol Ballet School. They started classes at the Sebastopol Community Center and for the next 19 years taught boys and girls from the county.  Then they moved to its current location at 964 Gravenstein Hwy. So.  Last December the Sebastopol Ballet School presented their 32nd performance of the Nutcracker at the Analy High School.  Hannah Paddock, a student of Borgeson, is now the owner of SBS and provides all the same quality and performances.  Besides the annual Nutcracker, they do a Spring Recital as well.

Also included in the exhibit are video presentations of Square Dancing and the Sebastopol Ballet.