If you want to take leveled classes you must come to auditions. This is a tool to help you assess what you should be focusing on in classes. You will dance with two instructors as a third observes and each will propose what level they think would be of most value to you. Level placement is influenced by class content and pre-requisites along with our goal class sizes.

Saturday, 10:30a-11:45a

Level 3, Level 4, Level 5

Learn how to bring the party, that infectious energy that invites someone to get up and join you. Learn how to invite, accept, and decline invitations to solo together or to connect in physical partnership, non-verbally. We'll also introduce how to 'riff' together and use call & response in our dance, to include different musical & collaborative dynamics as we dance together.
/This class will dip into lead-follow/physical partnership, but is largely on non-touching concepts of partnership & interactions/

Saturday, 2:35p-3:35p

Social Floor Fundamentals

How do you connect to your breath? To the floor? To your partner? This class will explore energy conservation and how to use the floor for better movement control and quality. You'll explore how breath affects your grounded-ness and your partner connections regardless of tempo.

Saturday, 3:55p-4:55p

Social Floor Fundamentals

What is a badass anyway? A badass is someone who is tough and uncompromising...In this class we'll level up your Blues Ballroomin with a focus on the cultural ipsative values using 2-Step Ballroom Blues dances questioning our choices in our dancing to Bluesy Jazz music. We expect you to be tough in your self-reflection, uncompromising in your effort to be the best you can be, and your dancing to eventually achieve the point of full embodiment of the music and aesthetic.

Sunday, 11:00a-12:00p

Level 4, Level 5

Let's dive into a guided study in how we can use friction with the floor as an effective tool in developing hard, dynamic footwork.

Sunday, 11:00a-12:00p

Level 4, Level 5

Far too many contemporary Blues dancers default to Ballroom Blues dances and moves when it is musically inappropriate and rely on their own cultural values when dancing the Ballroom Blues styles. Using 1-Step Ballroom Blues dances, we'll center your connection to the music and to Black cultural valued movement principles putting the emphasis back where it belongs, on the Blues part of Ballroom Blues.

Sunday, 12:20p-1:20p

Level 3

In this class we will break down a fundamental Blues Dance idiom - The Step-Touch. We'll focus on developing musical expression and personal styling. Then we will take this knowledge and skill and apply them to a contemporary Black partner dance. Comparing and contrasting these dances we'll look at what is similar and what is different and why, all the while developing a better understanding of our dance as it pertains to Black music and culture.

Sunday, 2:50p-3:50p

All

This discussion based class is about what we, Kelsy & Damon, do and what can be done by you to respect the Blues Dances and Music, and the culture that created them. This is a look at the here and now and hope it will be an empowering class for you to become an even better Blues person.

Sunday, 4:10p-5:10p

All

In this class, we’ll start with the basics of line of dance on the social floor—how it works & how to do it. From that base, we’ll explore different structures and games that can add a sense of play & creativity to line-of-dance dancing, and add more to the feeling of dancing with those around us.

Saturday, 12:05p-1:05p

All

How do we present ourselves as individual dancers? Your ideas, values, strengths, and the things that bring you joy are what makes you unique, fun to dance with, and inspiring to people around you. We’ll be diving into pushing all those things to the forefront, and bringing the most “you” you to your dancing.

Saturday, 2:35p-3:35p

Level 4, Level 5

On the social floor, sometimes we’re on a different page from our partner about where the beat is, how much tone we have in our frame/connection, or other aspects that can make a social dance challenging. In this class, we’ll work on techniques for navigating these types of disagreements on the social floor.

Saturday, 3:55p-4:55p

Level 3

Lag! Lag helps us connect to the music and our partner, create stretch and compression, and dance more comfortably. We’ll listen to lots of music, experiment together, and hopefully come out of class just a little more chill than when we started.

Sunday, 11:00a-12:00p

Digging Into Technique

Learn technique and body mechanics necessary to lead/follow direction, timing, and energy within yourself and your partnership. Not only will you learn the mechanics but be able to communicate/feel what is being communicated through frame, stretch, direction, energy. At the end, we'll show how these skills work with our self-expression when partner dancing in blues.

Sunday, 12:20p-1:20p

Digging Into Technique

Let's work on layering movements! We'll start from the ground up to build up a stack of moves all happening simultaneously. We'll work on movement independence to enhance these skills long term.

Sunday, 12:20p-1:20p

Level 4

Before COVID, we ran a practice group out of our house every other week for 5 years. We continued with virtual practice sessions into the pandemic, and have picked the practice back up in the last year and a half. We'd like to share insights and pitfalls we've run into in running a productive practice group, and we'll share some of our learning games and formats, like Dance Bingo!

Sunday, 2:50p-3:50p

All

Rhythm is the musical foundation that connects us with the music, our partner, and the rest of the room. We'll explore how we can hold space for our partner, fill in space when we sense it, and powerfully unify our ideas.

Sunday, 4:10p-5:10p

Level 3, Level 4, Level 5

A closer look at our default starting position that is used throughout partnered Blues dancing - close embrace. In this class we will examine the whys and hows for close embrace and provide exercises, as well as feedback, for improving your close embrace regardless of your level.

Saturday, 12:05p-1:05p

All

Delve into Texas Shuffle with some of our favorite moves and footwork, then use that inspiration to find your own. Continue exploring with how you can take elements of Texas Shuffle into your freestyle Blues.

Saturday, 2:35p-3:35p

Level 4, Level 5

Do you know the extent and boundaries of Blues dance as a genre? Have you ever considered that Blues might include movement that you have never seen, thought about, or tried before? We'll look at some of Mike's favorite Blues dance video clips that show movements we don't tend to use, and we'll try to internalize those movements and qualities. Additionally, we'll find inspiration from subsequent dance styles and explore what makes those movements feel like Blues.

Saturday, 3:55p-4:55p

Level 5

Level up your leading and following skills around weight and axis shifts and footwork. We'll explore a few examples from different blues idiom dances like Struttin' & Texas Shuffle, to understand how to more clearly feel or lead weight and/or axis-shifts and footwork. As a lead, learn how to clearly indicate which elements you're intending to lead, and how that works in a few different blues-idiom dances. As a follow, understand if and how weightshits are being led (or not), what you are being asked to follow, and what your choices are. /Knowledge of specific idioms will be helpful but is not required/

Sunday, 11:00a-12:00p

Level 3

Blues music is so diverse and fun; let’s listen together and look at all the ways that you can turn what you’re hearing into how you’re dancing! You’ll learn a bunch of tips and tricks to help you diversify your own movements, and play around with each new song.

Sunday, 12:20p-1:20p

Social Floor Fundamentals

Do you want more power, ease, grace, and control in your movement and partner connection? If so, this is the class for you. We’ll work on some of the most common areas for improvement that we see in social dancers, including posterior kinetic chain, foot mobility/stability, joint health, and more.

Sunday, 2:50p-3:50p

All

More than just shapes, we can really add a lot of power to the dance from the lead role. Join me in this class where we'll work on tapping into and developing athletic movements in your leading that result in fun momentum sharing and dynamic partnered movements! This class will be Bring Your Own Partner but don't let that deter you, one person can bring more than one partner and participants will work in small groups, so if you want to participate and can't find someone come to the class anyways and you'll get paired up.

Sunday, 4:10p-5:10p

All

You may have heard of the Jazz Dance Continuum (Cohen, 2014), but most scholars and dancers neglect the Blues in this framework. There are a lot of moves throughout the decades that might seem totally removed from the Blues but after this class you will find the roots and inspiration everywhere! You can 'bluesify' anything (but should you? to be discussed!)

Sunday, 4:10p-5:40p

All

We'll work to help you find individuality through choices in movements and looks, while staying firmly rooted in idiomatic movements and the Blues Aesthetic.

Saturday, 2:35p-3:35p

Level 3

In this 2-hour class we will look at the fundamental building block of musicality in Blues, the Pulse. The "When, Where, Why and How" of it will be broken down improving your connection to the music and your partner and we'll cover a wide variety of pulses as used in numerous idiom dances; giving you the tools to build your dance anew each and every song and partner.

Saturday, 2:35p-4:55p

Digging Into Technique

How do you use tone in your partnership? Are you exploring the entire range, from very low muscle tone to higher? Come work with us and let's expand it together!

Saturday, 3:55p-4:55p

Level 4

How can we have fun and inspiring dances with each other across skill levels? For us, it’s about the energy and attitude we bring to each other, as well as removing some social pressure around partnering. Dance Blues like you’re in the club!

Sunday, 11:00a-12:00p

Social Floor Fundamentals

Physically use your partner to create dynamics that you cannot get by yourself. Get both practical and conceptual ways to embody the aesthetic and attitude of funk. Tap into your creativity and find new cool shit to add to your repertoire (with guidance and inspiration from Jamica and Mike).

Sunday, 12:20p-1:20p

Level 5

In this class, we’ll explore the concepts of leading and following in blues, some fun ideas for how to switch roles, and modes where we play with or blur the binary of lead and follow.

Sunday, 2:50p-3:50p

Level 3, Level 4, Level 5

Discussion/Reflection (non-dance) Come find ways to add to your anti-racism practices and how you engage with history & Black culture in blues dance! In this discussion-based class, we'll work together to discuss why we do this, ideas of what we can do better or more, and how to overcome barriers we may have encountered. You'll come away with a personal 'why' statement, a list of ideas, a commitment to at least one specific action, & accountability buddies for your next steps. This class is for blues dance community members, whether you're a teacher/DJ/organizer or not.

Sunday, 4:10p-5:10p

All