GENERAL INFO/FAQ – SF Carnaval LDG 2026 PLEASE KEEP THIS HANDOUT

Join our Award-Winning Latin Dance Grooves Carnaval SF Parade Contingent for the Carnaval Parade, directed by Elizabeth Soberanes, LDG Artistic Director and Dudley Flores, Rhythm & Motion Program Managing and Artistic Director.

What is the Carnaval Parade? The annual Carnaval SF Parade is a multi-cultural spectacle of dance, music and celebration with hundreds of dancers, musicians and colorful floats gracing the beautiful streets of San Francisco’s Historic Mission District.  The parade takes place every year on Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend and is witnessed by thousands of spectators along the parade route that travels from 24th & Bryant St to Mission St, along Mission St. to 15th and Van Ness; and is televised on Channel 5 KPIX. http://www.carnavalsanfrancisco.org

When is the Parade?  Sunday, May 24, 2026 beginning at 9:30AM in San Francisco’s Mission District at the corner of 24th and Bryant Street.  

What is LDG Contingent’s theme?   

LDG will be interpreting the overall Carnaval SF Theme “La Copa del Pueblo” by performing popular dances from Cuba and Brazil that, like soccer, incorporates fancy footwork, intricate rhythmic timing and interesting formations. 

Our intergenerational community will once again include our Seniors Section in collaboration with OnLok/30th Street Senior Center, to showcase our active older adults, led by Betty Pazmino. Dudley and Elizabeth will continue to mentor our younger generation of leaders and share details about the various production duties so that they can learn to produce their own contingents in the future. 😊

What kind of dances will we be learning? Like our Latin Dance Grooves classes, our dances are inspired by Brazilian, Cuban and Latin contemporary music as it continues to evolve. We will learn 3 choreographies to perform while traveling along the parade route and sharing joy & positive energy with the crowds! We value diversity, so we create choreography that is accessible to all levels. 

HOW DO I JOIN? Come to our lively rehearsals starting on Sunday 3/1 at 1:30pm at the beautiful ABADA SF Studio, 3221 22nd Street, 2nd Floor, SF, CA on the Corner of Mission and 22nd Street.

How much?  

• Workshop Fee: $300. for entire workshop and Parade.

• Drop-in: $30 (only until 3/15/26). 

• Payment Options: Paypal with this Link:  Carnaval Workshop Paypal Link , Venmo Link, cash or check. Paypal QR code will be posted at Sign-In table.

DEADLINE TO REGISTER: Sunday, March 15, 2026.  No more drop-ins after this date. These deadlines are final so that we can coordinate the different sections, start the ordering process for our costumes, purchase materials, and learn all 3 choreographies. We will provide costume ordering instructions by this date.

Can children participate? Unfortunately, we do not have teachers/leaders for a children section, so we are unable to accommodate participants under 13 years old to dance within the contingent. However, we have a section for parents to freestyle with their kids with strollers/wagons and props. If you’d like to do that, please coordinate with the other parents to organize a children’s section together and create fun costumes that match the contingent. Rose Balderian is our Children’s Section Coordinator and she will provide details on how to participate in this festive section.

What can we expect at the rehearsals? Every rehearsal is important, and they are progressive. We teach dance in a cultural context and the information shared is important; so, it is important to be there regularly. If you miss rehearsal, please ask your fellow dancers to review any information you may have missed. There will be designated section leaders that help make this a supportive, collective, and transformational experience – Thank you!

REHEARSAL SCHEDULE: 

• March 1st - Meet & greet, registration, Q&A, kick-off dance class/party!

• March & April - Learn the choreography for 3 different dances, practice basic steps and techniques, practice dancing/traveling in space together, performance skills, and build strength and stamina to prepare us for the 1.5-mile parade route. 

• May – Outdoor Rehearsals - We will practice formations, set placements for choreography and practice parading.  All sections will come together to practice.

Outdoor Rehearsals: Sundays, May 3, 10 & 17 and Saturday, May 23, 2026 from 12-2pm ~ At Visitacion Valley Middle School, 1971 Visitacion Ave., SF, CA 94134.

What if I need more practice? Come to Latin Dance Grooves on Saturdays at 1:30pm or Wednesdays at 6:15pm at ODC Dance Center. We will review movement sequences from our Carnaval Choreography in those classes.

Follow-Along Video and Music Links: We will provide a music playlist and Follow-Along Video links so that you may practice at home or with your friends. We kindly ask that you do not share outside of our contingent. We do not allow videotaping or posting of videos of our rehearsals on social media. In the spirit of Brazilian traditions, we want to keep the element of surprise for Parade Day!

What about Older Adults? If you are a resident of SF and an adult over 60; you can register for our OnLok/30th Street Senior Center Section led by Betty Pazmino. Those rehearsals are free and will be held at the 30th Street Senior Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:00AM beginning in March. 17, 2026. Please join that section if you would like to learn our lower impact variation of our choreography.  A Maximum of 20 participants will be allowed in the section, so register soon! We will ALL come together for the outdoor rehearsals.

Who are the Contingent Leaders? 

Elizabeth Soberanes is the creator of Latin Dance Grooves, and a graduate of SFSU with a Degree in Dance Ethnology.  She has participated in the Carnaval Parade since 1989, and is a former Carnaval Queen, Carnaval Parade Artistic Liaison, Production Manager with SF Ethnic Dance Festival & East Bay Center for the Performing Arts. She completed an Artist in Residency program with Performing Arts Workshop, and has been studying dance in cultural context for over 30 years. She brings her experience as a performer, teacher, choreographer, arts educator and performing arts producer to the contingent’s organized reputation. She taught Fusion Rhythms for 10 years and in 2008, created Latin Dance Grooves to share the joy and art of Latin dance in a welcoming environment. Our LDG Carnaval Contingent has an impressive roster of Kings & Queens and has won First Place in the Contemporary Fusion Category for several years. 

Dudley Flores, born and raised in San Francisco, finds joy in connecting people to the Bay Area dance community. He has performed locally and internationally with companies and choreographers such as Garrett+Moulton Productions, Robert Moses’ KIN, ODC/Dance, Printz Dance Project, Paco Gomes & Dancers (Afro Brazilian Contemporary), and Silfredo La O (Afro Cuban Modern). He’s also performed in Carnaval with Latin Dance Grooves, the SF International Hip Hop Dancefest, the SF Ethnic Dance Festival, as well as in the commercial industry (television, film, music, fashion.) Offstage, he has co-produced and choreographed large-scale dance events for SF Pride, Bay Area Dance Week, and SFMOMA. Currently, in addition to being a dance educator, he serves as the Director of the Rhythm & Motion Dance Program and is on the production team for the World Arts West Dance Festival (formerly the SF Ethnic Dance Festival). 

Visuals & Float Design – Due to lack of funding and our desire to focus on the dance movement and mentoring, we will not have a Float this year, but we will have an amazing sound system by JK Sound.  Dudley Flores will coordinate the sound, truck and driver.  He also coordinates our after party so please reach out to him if you’d like to help.

What do the costumes look like? How much do they cost?  Our goal has always been to create costumes that are affordable, comfortable, and beautiful.  We strive to keep the costume cost to an average total of approximately $150. We will unveil our costume designs and ordering instructions on Sunday, March 15, 2026.  We divide the group into sections by costume color; so, if you want to dance with your friends in the same section, please choose the same costume option.

NOTE: A lot of thought, time and resources go into the costume design – they are an important part of the contingent’s artistic presentation and are a big part of the judging criteria. We respectfully request that you do not modify or change our costumes. Thank you.

What shoes do we wear on the day of the parade? What about makeup? 

The parade is on the street, and you will be dancing for about 2.5 hours non-stop so we want to take good care of our feet.  Please wear supportive closed-toe shoes to match the color of your costume. We will also provide make-up concepts and ideas in mid-April.  

What if I want to participate but I can’t make the full commitment to dance?  

We need 6 parade monitors and 6 water monitors to help pace our contingent throughout the parade, and to help hydrate the dancers. This is a great way to be involved if you cannot make all the rehearsals. We will introduce our Parade Monitor Coordinator at our rehearsal.  Monitors MUST attend the Saturday, May 23^rd Mandatory Outdoor Dress Rehearsal in order to participate.  No exceptions. This is where they receive their training and Carnaval T-Shirt.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT:

We understand that participating in Carnaval requires commitment on all of our part and therefore we strive to give you the most value for your money. Workshop fees are used to pay all the Carnaval related production expenses including application fees, liability insurance, studio rental, costume sample design expenses and sample fabrics, printing costs, truck & sound system rental, schoolyard fees, banners, water & snacks for the parade, food and beverages for our post-parade Party, choreographers and artists’ stipends, tutorial videos, photographer, videographer, etc.  Donations and in-kind support are welcome to make this event possible. Like in many countries, Carnaval is truly a labor of LOVE that could not happen without ALL our participants!!! Producing this multidisciplinary artistic presentation is a testament that we can co-create something beautiful when we all work together. Creating art in community is so necessary during challenging times so we hope your experience with us reflects that collaborative spirit.  

With love and gratitude, Elizabeth and Dudley

PLEASE REFER TO THIS HANDOUT THROUGHOUT THE CARNAVAL SEASON