Miryam was introduced to blues at an Oberlin College late night dance and fell in love. She started teaching blues in Oberlin, then New York, and now the great city of Philadelphia where she started organizing for Powerhouse Blues. Miryam is excited to share Philly's creative and friendly blues community with the world at Blues Muse! She is so grateful to the Core Committee and the awesome staff who've made this event possible for you! Come find her to dance!

Genevieve stumbled into blues dancing in 2012 at Oberlin College and can't seem to stop. She was invited to start organizing with Yale Swing, Fusion, and Blues in 2015 and has now fully committed to the Organizer Life with Powerhouse Blues in Philly. You can find Genevieve teaching, announcing, dj-ing, promoting, organizing, and dancing with a level of joy she hopes is infectious. Her true loves include re-tellings of fairy tales, macaroni and cheese, and making art.

She is overjoyed to continue her role on the Blues Muse team this year as a core committee member and website builder, and has even taken on PR coordination. She loves her team and can't wait to dance with everyone in October!

Nick started blues dancing in 2015 and has been found smiling uncontrollably on the dance floor since then. He now teaches and organizes in the local Philly dance scene, and strives to make sure every newcomer receives the same warm welcome that he once did. Nick is excited to return for the second year on the organizing team for Blues Muse, bringing his love for tasty spreadsheets to his role as the event treasurer.  

Alexis (T-Lex) is a local Philadelphia DJ and organizer who loves nothing more than to get crowds on their feet. In love with music from a young age, she remembers growing up on everything from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin. Once she started dancing she was hooked and a few years later started DJing fusion and then blues, sharing her dynamic voice with "bold sounds, traditional and historic blues and powerhouse vocalists".

Expressed through her music and collaboration with others in the scene, she believes that it is her DJ and organizer responsibility to be educated on the social history of blues music and dance to bring it the respect that it deserves. 

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Alexis has been the DJ Coordinator for Powerhouse Blues for several years and has coordinated for both Express Track Blues and Blues Muse.  She has also DJ'd for Dirt Cheap Blues and regional events such as Julie Brown's Philly Workshop Weekend, This Jawn is My Jam, and others. 

Amara (Uh-MAIR-rah) wants to live in a world filled with music and dancing! Music has been a part of her life since she was little. Her dad, who was a wedding DJ, got her into music and singing. She discovered Blues Dancing in the summer of 2015, from a high school friend and it changed her life! 

As a Martial Artist and Criminal Justice Major, she aspires to protect and help people when they don't know where else to go and is one of Philadelphia's Powerhouse Blues Safer Spaces Coordinators. Having a safe environment where everyone can dance and enjoy themselves is her ultimate goal!

When she’s not dancing in Philly, you can find her hanging out with her family, playing Table Top Games or Recording her Podcasts. ASK HER TO DANCE! She tries to dance with everyone, but there isn't enough time in the day!

As an emcee, Aries has hosted and instigated countless celebrations. They’re often found on top of a chair: telling stories, toasting births and successes, and serenading adored humans. They are very proud of their Caesar Flickerman, Lumpy Space Princess, and Nigel Thornberry impressions, as well as their extensive knowledge of Steven Universe songs. 

A medical writer by day, Caroline (she/her pronouns) spends her nights and weekends working as the Organizer Liaison for the Ujima Blues Foundation. She got the taste for organizing in college, and started organizing for the Blues Dance community in 2012 with RDU Blues. Her 14 years of dance organizing experience include forming, maintaining, and managing dance organizing bodies; scheduling and running events of all sizes from local weekly dances to yearly events; and mentoring and training other organizers. She is known for her thoughtful approach to community building and her ability to set and achieve goals. As a part of the Ujima Blues Foundation, she hopes to help organizers define their roles and become more confident in their skills so that they can better strengthen their communities.  She is currently based in Philadelphia, and when she isn’t organizing or dancing likes to read, drink tea, bake, and cuddle with her partner, dog, and cat.

When not saving lives at her day job Kara enjoys dancing, friends and unicorns. She has been dancing, organizing, and competing since 2011 in various dance styles prioritizing dancing with musicality and connection. She is super stoked to be on staff this year and is looking forward to dancing with all of you during the weekend! Kara uses she/her pronouns and also enjoys iced coffee and cupcakes. 

Kate has been partner dancing since 2009, starting with the Argentine tango (which she has performed for Pope Francis!).  She is passionate about dance as an art form and social dance, with its creativity, connection, musicality and community.  Kate was led into blues dance 2+ years ago by one of her daughters and is now solidly grounded in the Philadelphia blues dance community as a Safer Spaces Coordinator for Powerhouse Blues and for Blues Muse.  She’s committed to maintaining safe and welcoming dance space at Blues Muse and asks everyone to: become familiar with the Blues Muse Safe Space Policy, to have a blast at Blues Muse and to save her dance!

After dabbling in the swing scene in college, Kat began blues dancing when she stumbled upon Backwater Blues in 2016. She fell in love with the music, the aesthetic, and the sense of community. She loves volunteering and traveling to events with her faithful ESA Niki. She’s dipped her toe into organizing and DJing locally and is thrilled to be a part of the Blues Muse team!

Kat in 10 seconds:

Yogi

Animal Lover

Blues Dancer

Nurturing 

Empathetic 

Intuitive 

Geek

Honest 

Caring

Marc Longhenry is a long time dancer, organizer, and driver!  This year he'll be the Transportation Coordinator for Blues Muse, ensuring our VIPs have the transportation they need to craft yet another amazing weekend of blues dancing in Philadelphia.  Get ready to have at least a little bit of fun getting to the party!

In November 2013, Marie stumbled upon a group of dancers in Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square, and spent the next several years finding her place in the dance community. After floating from lindy hop to blues, fusion, tango and salsa, she settled on blues as her one true dance love.

As an architect (and Blues Muse venue coordinator for the fourth year running) Marie delights in organizing beautiful spaces for lessons and dancing, and geeking out about sprung wood floors and classical ornamentation. Ask her about Philadelphia architectural history!

Marjorie Bartell (she/her) has been social dancing Blues, Lindy Hop, and Balboa for 2 1/2 years, and started DJing in the last year and a half.  She is passionate about dance and music history, and super into finding you a place to stay while you enjoy our city.  You’ll often find her arguing with people on the internet, or nerding out about music or dance.

Morgan fell in love with blues dancing back in college when she walked into the Blues room at DCLX 2011. A native to the Philly area, she officially moved into the city in February 2018 and dove right in to the local blues scene. Off the dance floor, Morgan has spent the past two years getting to know the nooks, crannies, bars and restaurants of Philadelphia's many neighborhoods. She’s thrilled to be joining the Blues Muse team for the first time and can’t wait to put her hard-earned knowledge to use making sure the VIPs who make this weekend possible have the time of their lives even when they’re not being a-mused by all of you.