Boston Blues News: April
Julie Brown
Hey Boston blues dancers!
Here's what's going down in the Boston Blues scene and beyond, in the month of April!
- Connection & Comfort at Bluesy Tuesy with Julie Brown!
- Movement and Matching at Blues Union Int+ with Jenn Martinez and Forrest Rogers-Marcovitz/Julie Brown!
- Sweet Molasses Blues registration opens this Thurs, Apr 7!
- Boston Blend, a soul event for blues, steppin', and swing dancers this Sat, April 9th!
- Monthly Second Sun fusion dance this Sun, April 10th!
- Ruth & Mike workshops (formerly April 10th) canceled.
- Toni Morrison lecture series at Harvard continues this month!
- Jan Marie & the Mean Reds at BSC Fri, Apr 29th!
- On Fri, May 13th, live music fusion dance with Amy Kucharik at MIT AND Jan Marie & the Mean Reds live at Ryles! (venues are relatively close to one another)
- Travel to dance in Chicago, Montreal, Asheville, DC, Durham, and more!
Stuff around town
April at Bluesy Tuesy - Connection & Comfort
with Julie Brown
All month, the Tuesy classes will focus on making your dances super comfortable for yourself and your dance partners. Whether it’s turns, hip movement, close embrace, or just groovin’, you’ll be more relaxed and following & leading with more ease and clarity.
April at Blues Union - Movement and Matching
with Jenn Martinez, Forrest Rogers-Marcovitz, & Julie Brown
Awareness of your own body mechanics and how you're connecting to your partner makes the freedom in blues dance even more awesome. Each week we'll look at a different aspect of precision:
4/7: Momentum with Jenn and Forrest
4/14: Solo with Jenn
4/21: Matching movement in a partnered connection with Jenn and Julie
Sweet Molasses Registration opens Thursday, April 7 at 4PM!
Boston’s Own Blues Dance Weekend, Sweet Molasses, is an event not to be missed. All the killer instruction you’re used to, plus visitors from near and far. We’ve got 3 nights of dancing, two full days on instruction, performances, choreography, BBQ, and donuts!
What are you waiting for? Register Here!
Boston Blend - a Blues, Steppin’, and Swing event
Saturday, April 9th - Boston, MA
This month we’ve announced a new day-long dance gala with classes by an out-of-town instructor, performances, dinner, and a dance to a live Soul band. Blend’s goal is to get dancers from various communities around town to get to know each other - including Swing, Chicago Steppin’, and Blues!
https://www.facebook.com/events/195479740787422/
Second Sun - Boston’s fusion monthly!
Sunday, 4/10, Extreme Dancesport, Cambridge, MA
From 7 to 8 p.m., Ruth Evelyn and Mike Grosser will be teaching an all-levels lesson on combining isolations. Next, Evan and Danner will DJ, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Evan made his chops in the two-fusion-dances-per-week Sacramento scene, and Danner is a perennial local favorite well known for his ability to combine exploration of musical boundaries with a use of subtle themes and exuberant enthusiasm. https://www.facebook.com/events/209921586045531/
Ruth and Mike Dance Workshop -- CANCELED
The Ruth & Mike dance workshop previously scheduled for Sunday 4/10 is canceled. See you another time!
Lecture series: Toni Morrison "The Origin of Others: The Literature of Belonging"
4 p.m. on the dates below -- Sanders Theatre at 45 Quincy Street (Harvard Sq), Cambridge, MA
Highly-acclaimed African-American author, Toni Morrison, will be delivering a lecture series in March & April, right in Harvard Square! Events are free, but tickets are required. Tickets will be available starting at noon on the day of each lecture. Tickets will be available in person at Sanders Theatre or online(handling fees apply).
As blues dancers, we participate in an African American tradition, and learning more about the people and culture that created this dance gives respect to those roots and the people who originated the art form that we love so much.
http://mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu/content/norton-lectures
Lecture Five: Narrating the Other - Monday, April 11, 2016
Lecture Six: The Foreigner's Home - Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Earn free dances while spreading the love of blues!
When you dance at a blues bar, music event, or other blues bomb (or if you teach at a local college), bring some blues ambassador business cards to hand out! If people come to dances for their first time with your card, you get in that night for free! Talk to Andrew at Bluesy Tuesy or Julie Brown or Jenn Martinez at Blues Union to get yourself some cards.
Blues+Swing Dancing in Western MA!
Hogan Student Center, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA
Practice every Sunday - regular meetings of the blues & swing dancing group that meets every Sunday at 8pm. There will be a sign pointing out the exact room.
Live music where you can go dance!
Jan Marie & The Mean Reds, Live at Boston Swing Central!
Friday, April 29, Boston Swing Central, 26 New St. Cambridge
Come hear local dancer-songstress Jan Marie and her 5-piece blues-inspired swing band!
Bread and Bones, a fusion dance hosted by the MIT Lindy Hop Society
Friday, May 13, MIT Student Center 2nd floor
We'll have Amy Kucharik playing swing, blues, and more, and a DJ rockin' fusion tunes between the sets.
AND...Jan Marie & The Mean Reds, Live at Ryles!
Friday, May 13, Ryles Jazz Club, 212 Hampshire St. Cambridge
The sultry singer and her five-piece band play a soulful and swinging mixture of jazz, blues, and R&B that satisfies both listeners and dancers.
Stay up-to-date on where people are blues dancing to live music:
Join the Boston Blues Bombers group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/28357446101/
Weekly/ongoing:
-Mondays at Toad to the White Owls
-Americana Mondays at PA's Lounge
-Friday at Atwood's to Tim Gearan
-(Starting Mar 20th) Sunday blues jam at Johnny D’s has moved to: upstairs at the Causeway Restaurant & Bar at 65 Causeway St., Boston 6-9pm
-Sunday blues jam at Players sports bar in Rockland MA, 4- 8pm
-Sunday blues jam at Pete’s Grill in Quincy 9-12 on Sunday
*Dancers don’t always go to all of these every week; check Facebook (Boston Blues Bombers group) and ask around to see where folks will be.
Traveling for Dance
Want a learning- and/or competition-focused event?
These events usually have multiple tracks or levels of classes during the day. At night, there’ll be tons of dancing and maybe one or more competitions or performances.
BluesSHOUT!
Chicago, IL - April 14-18
Check out the biggest Blues exchange going! People come from around the world, there are tons of great classes, bands, performances, and competitions!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1504266406539470/
Montreal Bagel and Blues
Montreal, QC - April 21-24
Come to Montreal for the bagels, the blues dancing, and more! 5 tracks of workshops (including a teacher track), 4 social dance nights, and all the bagels you can handle.
https://montrealbagelandblues.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/events/381546925365364/
Looking for more chill, hangin’ out exchanges?
These events don’t have classes during the day; instead they have either dances or non-dancing events around the city that they’re hosted in. The evenings have tons of dancing again, and may or may not include competitions.
Appalachia Recess
just outside Asheville, NC - Apr 8-11
Blues Recess’ only East Coast event during 2016, set in fifty acres of woods, with dance and skill-share workshops during the day, local organic food, and dancing to blues, alt-blues, and fusion late into the night. Recess events are pay-what-you-can, and while usually camping events, this venue has plenty of bed capacity if people feel like sleeping indoors.
http://www.bluesrecess.com/appalachia-recess-april-8th---11th-asheville-nc.html
Red Hot Blues ‘n BBQ
Washington, DC - May 27-30
Every Memorial Day weekend in DC, folks get together to enjoy blues music, dancing, BBQ and friends at this wonderfully relaxing, feel-good event. This year, they are upping the ante with not only a return of the BBQ competition (veggie category included) and the whiskey cocktail competition (bourbon or rye? Yes, please!), but the first ever dessert competition. You will not want to miss this!
https://www.facebook.com/events/564692690349295/
Chicago Underground Blues Experience (CUBE)
Chicago, IL - June 10-13
Chicago is the home of the Blues, and fittingly has the largest city-wide Blues festival in the country! This is a really fun weekend of hanging out in the park with other dancers, and going to late night parties!
https://www.facebook.com/events/173983916280645/
Tobacco Road Blues Exchange
Durham, NC - Aug 5-7
Durham has got a friendly and growing Blues & Fusion scene; this is another great exchange for hanging out in a park and dancing.
https://www.facebook.com/events/108459109556612/
Other events to travel to:
-Check out http://bluescal.com/
The Boston Blues Scene is dedicated to creating a fun, welcoming, & safe environment for everyone:
If you have concerns or want to tell us something, our anonymous feedback form is here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6JBRRK6