Blues Foundations: Every Thursday
New to blues dance? Experienced dancer trying to level up your dancing? We host a beginner-friendly foundations lesson every week before the dance. Come try it out or refresh your skills! No partner or prior experience required! See more info below.
Special Event Thursday, July 30:
Visiting Instructor Julie Brown joins us to teach intermediate and beginner-friendly blues dance classes and DJ the dance!
Intermediate lesson 7–8pm ($25 at the door, no pre-registration)
Beginner-friendly lesson 8:15–9pm ($10 at the door, no pre-registration)
Paying for either class gets you into the dance for free!
9pm–11:30pm Blues Dance DJ’d by Julie
Julie Brown (any/all pronouns) is a Boston-based blues dance teacher, DJ, choreographer, competitor, organizer, and enthusiastic student. She has been participating in blues dance since 2004 and has since gone on to teach blues dancing around the globe and won many national competitions.
As a teacher, Julie aims to help students connect with and understand blues dance’s deep roots, find their own voice, and connect to themselves & others authentically, joyfully, and respectfully. Julie has taught blues dancing in Austin, Boston, San Francisco, Seoul, London, Chicago, Zurich, and many places in between. They are grateful to have won or placed in many solo & partnered blues competitions, including at bluesSHOUT!, Blues Muse, Mile High Blues, Steel City Blues, Northstar Blues, and more.
Julie is continually reconnecting to their love of solo blues dancing, working on Chicago-style Stepping, headstands, & leading blues, as well as continuing to learn about blues history and its connections to later and present-day Black social dances & music.
For dance videos, pictures, and more info, check out https://www.julie-brown-blues-dance.com/
Special Event Thursday, August 6:
Visiting Instructor Kenneth Shipp joins us to teach intermediate and beginner-friendly blues dance classes!
Intermediate lesson 7–8pm ($25 at the door, no pre-registration)
Beginner-friendly lesson 8:15–9pm ($10 at the door, no pre-registration)
Paying for either class gets you into the dance for free!
9pm–11:30pm Blues Dance DJ’d by Kenneth
Kenneth Shipp hails from St. Louis, MO. He grew up dancing hip-hop and DJing breaking comps before jumping into blues. He has spent the past few years passionately studying the family of blues idioms, incorporating his nerdy personality along the way. Kenneth’s life experiences inform his dancing and teaching style so that students walk away with a better historical and contextual understanding. With every class and practice, he’ll encourage you to approach social dancing with coolness, relaxation, or in other words “Chill The F$%& Out.” When he’s not dancing, you can likely find him ranting about the latest blockbuster movie, game, or nerd convention, or desperately trying to dismantle toxic institutions.
Weekly Drop-In Foundations Classes
Time: 8:15pm–9pm
Location: Back Room, Glen Echo Park
Cost: $10 covers admission to the class at 8:15pm and the DJ’d dance from 9pm to 11:30pm. No reservation required!
Wearing smooth-soled shoes that slide easily will help you dance comfortably and protect our wooden floors.
Instructors and topics rotate, so each class teaches something a little different. Several instructors also offer private lessons.
Occasionally we offer class series or one-off lessons with resident and traveling instructors that dive deeper into specific blues dance styles and topics. Some of these classes require previous experience.