Venues
Town Hall
(Friday Welcome Dance, open event)
Dating back to the late 1800s, by which time San Sebastián had become a popular summer destination for the rich and famous, this building originally housed the city's "Gran Casino". The architecture (by Luis Aladren y Morales de los Ríos) was inspired by Montecarlo's famous casino, and the venue was inaugurated by the Queen Regent herself in 1887.
The roulettes and elegant ballroom were not to last, however, and the Casino closed its doors in 1924 when gambling was prohibited.
In the 20s the building briefly served as a Red Cross Hospital for those wounded in the Rif War, and in 1947 the city's administration was moved from Plaza Constitución (in the Old Town) to the former casino.
On Friday we will travel back in time and turn the Town Hall into a ballroom again!
Kursaal
(Parties and Classes, Vermut and swing)
The Kursaal Congress Centre and Auditorium is located right by the mouth of the Urumea river and facing Zurriola, one of Donostia’s three beaches, and a favorite among surfers. This emblematic building was designed by the prestigious Spanish architect Rafael Moneo and, among many other events, hosts the biggest film festival in Spain, the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Parties will take place in the Kursaal: over 500m2 of wooden floor where we’ll dance the night away!
The Boulevard
(Outdoor dance on Sunday, open event)
The Boulevard is the name of the wide avenue separating the Old and New parts of Donostia, and the former site of the stone walls that fortified the city.
After 700 years as a military town and having survived numerous battles, devastating fires and more, in 1863 Donostia was finally granted permission to demolish its walls and expand beyond them. The original urban expansion project (by Antonio de Cortázar) envisioned expanding directly onto the Old Town, while another (Martín de Saracibar) intended to leave a wide avenue between the old and the new. The issue became quite controversial and even gave rise to factions of "alamedistas" (pro-avenuers) and "antialamedistas" (anti-avenuers). Fortunately for us, the mayor cast the deciding vote and the former prevailed. [1, 2]
The Boulevard's bandstand was built on the base of an older wooden one dating back to 1895. It was innaugurated in 1907 and used to be reserved for use by the city's band.
At DBS, we will fill it with live music again and dance the evening away on the Boulevard.