Boston Blues News - July

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Julie Brown

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Jul 4, 2016, 7:42:04 AM7/4/16
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Hi Boston Blues Dancers,

Here's what's happening in the Boston blues scene and beyond in July!

-Musicality, improvisation, and partnership with Jenn & Joey at Bluesy Tuesy!
-Rhythms with Mike Legenthal at Blues Union!
-Free blues class with Steve & Claire at MIT!
-Second Sun Rising fusion on July 11!
-Living Room Workshop with Mike Grosser on July 16!
-Sweet Molasses Blues July 29-31! Sign up to host people!
-Live music you can go dance to: Luther "Guitar" Johnson on July 9th! Jan Marie and the Mean Reds July 15th and Aug 7th!
-Travel to dance in New York, Austin, Philly, Durham, Toronto, Albany, Minneapolis, Dallas, and more!



Stuff around town

July at Bluesy Tuesy - Musicality, Improvisation, & Partner Communication
with Joey Shelley and Jenn Martinez
Check the Tuesy Facebook page for more details on the topic!


July at Blues Union - Rhythms!
with Mike Legenthal
Expanding on some themes from last month, this month we'll look at how to break down beats, we'll drill some interesting rhythmic patterns, and we'll incorporate it into partnered improvised social dancing.
*Want to take the intermediate-plus classes at Blues Union? 6 months or more of blues dance classes are recommended, to make sure you've got the required basics down.


July at MIT
Wednesdays 7:30-9:00
Check http://web.mit.edu/swing/ for location
with teachers Stephen York and Claire Davis
Leading up to Sweet Molasses, we’ll be teaching a beginner Blues series at the weekly free Swing dance at MIT!  There’s always a big crowd with lots of new people to meet!
 

Second Sun Rising - Boston’s fusion monthly
Sunday, July 10, Extreme Dancesport, Cambridge, MA
From 7 to 8 p.m., Ruth and Mike will be teaching an all-levels lesson on stealing elegant walks and rotations (and possibly fancy legwork) from tango. Social dancing will be from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. DJed by Ruth and Mike with a 30-min sample set from Ms. Kelly Epstein. https://www.facebook.com/events/1774311149481704/ 

Living Room Blues Workshop
Boston, MA - July 16
Mike Grosser is teaching a small-group blues workshop in his house. It is limited to eight participants. The price is pay what you can $40-$80. Register by emailing Mike at mgros...@gmail.com.

Sweet Molasses Blues - So soon!
Boston, MA - July 29-31
Boston’s own choreography-focused blues weekend returns for another year! With a choreography track, new intensive classes, and of course plenty of dancing to awesome bands and DJs, this weekend is a party not to be missed!
When you register, sign up to house out-of-town dancers! Make new friends, meet new people, and meet people you might be able to stay with when you visit their cities :)


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.

Live music where you can go dance!

Saturday, July 9: Luther “Guitar Jr.” Johnson
Thunder Road, 379 Somerville Ave, Somerville MA
Doors open at 6PM, Tickets $15
Come out and enjoy a few drinks and some excellent Chicago blues! Thunder Road has wood floors suitable for dancing, so let’s take over our own little corner of it for some old school, gritty Jukin’! 
Watch the Boston Blues Bombers group for info on where/when the dancers will be meeting, or talk to Amy Blank.

Friday, July 15: Jan Marie & the Mean Reds at Ryles
Ryles Jazz Club - 8/8:30 lesson, 9pm dancing
Live music and a good-sized dance floor, plus a crash-course lesson for your friends who want to learn to dance!

Sunday, August 7: Jan Marie & the Mean Reds at Sally O’Brien’s
Sally O’Brien’s - 4:30/5pm lesson, 5pm dancing
Family-friendly show, with a small-but-existing dance floor, plus a crash-course lesson for your friends who want to learn to dance!

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
-Friday at Atwood's to Tim Gearan
-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

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. 

*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.

Nocturne Blues
New York, NY - July 22-25
Nocturne Blues--Sweet Mo’s sister event in New York City--is a celebration of blues dance history and culture. Featuring cool classes for a variety of topics and levels, as well as a Switch competition and “Challenge Strictly” of Slow Drag, Struttin’, and Latin Rhythms.

Lonestar Strut - Struttin’-focused weekend
Austin, TX - Sept 30-Oct 2
This is a weekend focused on struttin’!!! Two tracks of classes on struttin’ each day, including audition-only classes for more experienced strutters. Live music from local Texas bands. Registration for classes is limited to 100 people, so register soooon!

Blues Muse
Philadelphia, PA - Oct 21-23
What makes a blues dance magical? A great song, an inspiring follow, and a receptive lead. Blues Muse is a workshop weekend dedicated to bringing out the muse in every follow, and teaching leads to appreciate and collaborate with their partner. This weekend includes two full days of instruction, a blues Jack & Jill competition, a Jill competition, special performances, and three nights of social dancing to nationally hailed blues DJs, complete with late-night dances.



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.

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.

DJX + Dance Alchemy Fusion Weekend
Toronto, August 5-7
Imagine all the awesomeness and fineness of a DJX event plus the kickass flavour of Toronto’s fusion dance scene. For those of us that have fallen in love with more than one style of dance (and music), this is our event!

Albany Lindy & Blues & Swimming
Albany, NY, August 19-21
Come to Albany, NY for a weekend of lindy, blues, and swimming!

North Star Blues
Minneapolis, MN, Sept 16-18
Come hang out in Minneapolis, enjoy sweet bands and dancing at night, and chill dancing and hanging out during the day. Also featuring an awesome Saturday night house party!

The DJ House Party
Dallas, TX - Oct 14-16
Want a party feel with an exchange-sized crowd? The DJ House Party is your event! Get your party on while dancing to blues, R&B, hip-hip, soul, pop, and more from DJs like Stephen Watkins, Dan Repsch, Julie Brown, Corey Wright, and Jerry Warwick. Brewery tour and King Spa trips during the day; board games, movies, and karaoke in the early evening; and plenty of dancing all night long.

Other events to travel to:


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




--
Thanks,
-Julie

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