“Jazz on the Halfshell” was our annual all-day jazz-and-oysters fest and fundraiser at the Dance Palace. In 1991, this was my very first concert appearance in West Marin – with Bay Area All Stars – Ron Stallings on tenor sax, Mary Watkins on piano, and Karen Horner on Bass. Please enjoy this edited three minute video clip. Can you spot any friends? – Joyce Kouffman

This was our Spring 1993 Student Program from the Dance Palace Drum Class, an extension from my teaching studio that ran from 1991 to 1995 with this core group of players. Several of those members still take my drum classes some 30 years later! In those days, the Church had an upright piano, so the Wolthausen brothers, Robin and Erin, performed as youngsters on drums and piano, respectively. Myrna Sandbrand wrote and performed an original, too. Other participants came from over the hill to the beautiful Dance Palace Church space – ideal for a music studio gathering! — Joyce Kouffman

After forming a jazz quartet to perform at the Dance Palace’s “Jazz on the Halfshell” in 1991, with pianist Mary Watkins, I continued looking for ways to offer a concert at the Dance Palace. Our community appeared to love jazz! By 1998, I had written a number of originals, so my composing teacher and mentor, Mary Watkins, and excellent bassist Cindy Browne joined me to perform at the Dance Palace in March 1998. I invited a great jazz radio programmer, Melanie Berzon from KCSM-FM, to emcee. (In my 20s I had listened to Melanie in Boston, where she played a song of Mary’s to open her radio show.) At one point during our concert Melanie asked the audience, “Wouldn’t you love to have a recording of these musicians?!” *(Cheer!)* Many people there signed up as sponsors, which led to our trio recording an album in 1999 and also launched my series of independently produced recordings. My gratitude for this, to the Dance Palace and our community of music lovers, is forever in my heart. – Joyce Kouffman

In June 2001, a close friend was diagnosed with cancer. As the treatments for this took place, I wrote songs to reflect the feelings one experiences during both the challenges and the lighter times. Again, music enthusiasts in West Marin and supporters of the Dance Palace came together to support a recording project! (Such community-supported projects took place long before the emergence of online funding platforms.) We played the music in a concert that included readings of reflections by cancer survivors, including Melanie Berzon, herself a survivor. Renowned saxophonist Don Braden flew in from New York to perform, and we videotaped the show. I’ll always remember what happened in the main space after the concert. People came up to me in tears and told me their own survival stories. At that moment I learned that musicians carry responsibilities far beyond the music they play: they have a great deal to offer the world, on deep levels. That experience led me to treat my vocation as a performer, composer, and music educator as a great honor (as well as a boundless source of joy!). – Joyce Kouffman

*1981*
Michael and Connie Mery are a couple who met at the Dance Palace. We were married for 37 years. (old timers Bruce Mitchell and Nancy Hemmingway also met at the DP) – Connie Mery

*2019*
Michael and Connie Mery are a couple who met at the Dance Palace. We were married for 37 years. (old timers Bruce Mitchell and Nancy Hemmingway also met at the DP) – Connie Mery

Ode to the Dance Palace/Community
by Richard aka Dick Bredsteen, Inverness/Pt Reyes, 1968-78

To dance is to live,
To live is to be,
And work is to play
As long as we know
Ancestors speak
their drums beat
The rhythm we keep,
Your efforts to realize
A dream we share
The Dance Palace shines
In our hearts everywhere…
You continue to build and celebrate
The arts
and community in place,
A village of humans and critters
Who ground themselves in nature,
we reach for the stars
Take care of one another
As the planet spins around the sun,
The island in time
Listens to your call
And the ravens respond,
The sea breathes,
The sand warms our feet,
She swims across the Tomales Bay
And Dance Palace Friends
Continue to rock
And dance the night away…