February: Boston Blues News
Julie Brown
- Feb at Bluesy Tuesy: Rocking out (solo moves in partnered blues) with Julie Brown & a different partner each week!
- Feb at Blues Union: Blues Training with Mike Legenthal!
- Blues workshops in Boston with Ruth & Mike Feb 14 & 15!
- Fun events in Seattle, Pittsburgh, Austin, Chicago, & a blues cruise!
Stuff around town
February at Bluesy Tuesy - Rocking out! (Solo in partnered)
with Julie Brown & Stephen York, Forrest Rogers-Marcovitz, Naomi Choodnofskyi, & Zach Brass)
Throughout the month, we’ll be learning lots of fun movements and different ways to use them in partnered & solo dancing! Learn moves like the funky butt & booty green, different ways to use solo moves in partnered dancing, & some fun ways to make up moves, dance to the music, & have a blast dancing.
Check the Tuesy Facebook page each week for that week's topic: https://www.facebook.com/groups/102014349907754/
February at Blues Union - Blues Training!
with Mike Legenthal
When learning to dance, we need to acquire knowledge and artistic ideas, and we need to acquire the physical skills to put these ideas into practice. Classically trained dancers spend hours upon hours practicing these physical skills as a group, until they have excellent muscle memory and control, but often we forget the value of focused practice as social dancers. In this series, we will practice the movements and physical skills of blues in a precise, controlled ways with a lot of repetition and feedback. Most work will be solo, with some connection drills as well.
*If you’ve taken 6 months or more of blues classes at Blues Union or Bluesy Tuesy, you can take the intermediate classes at Blues Union. Alternately, you can do a blues interview with Jenn or Julie at the Blues Clinic.
Register now & get the month’s Blues Clinic for free! http://bluesunionboston.com/classes/register-for-classes/
Help spread the love of blues, while earning free dances!
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 Julie Brown or Jenn Martinez at Blues Union to get yourself some cards.
Longer beginner classes at Blues Union!
To give you more material each class, we’ve extended the class time for beginners at Blues Union!
Classes will now be 8:30-9:15(45min), with the beginner clinic 9:15-9:30(15min).
Weekend Workshop: Fall in Love With the Blues
Ruth and Mike, here in Boston!
https://www.facebook.com/events/541109365992803/
Live music where you can go 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
-Americana Mondays at PA's Lounge
-Friday at Atwood's to Tim Gearan
-Sundays late afternoons at Johnny D's blues jam
-Sunday evenings after 9, there’s a jam at the Cantab Lounge in Central Square.
-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 one or more competitions or performances.
Rain City Blues
Seattle, WA - Feb 20-22
Ruth & Mike, Julie & Tim, Jenny & Dan, Dexter. Seattle is cool!
https://www.facebook.com/events/821748124507909/
Steel City Blues
Pittsburgh, PA - March 6-8
Boston always sends a large group to this great workshop and party weekend. Plus, cheap flights.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1483471395197702/
Austin Blues Party
It's a big, damn party! Great live music, inspiring classes, & a fun social dance competition!
https://www.facebook.com/events/648876051857023/
Blues SHOUT!
Chicago, IL - April 17-19
This is the largest and most established blues dance weekend going. If you want to see instructors putting out their new ideas, competitors at the top of their form, and dance with people from all over the country, this is the place to go.
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.
Cruisin for a Bluesin'
Long Beach, CA to Ensenada, Mexico - Mar 20-23
Take a cruise while dancing with your dancing buddies, cruisin down to Mexico. This is as fun as it sounds.
https://www.facebook.com/events/843927955635650/
Check back here for when we find out about more - or pay attention to announcements at Union and Tuesy!
Other events to travel to:
-Check out http://bluescal.com/
Have ideas for us? Let us know how we’re doing!
Blues Union feedback link (you can also leave general blues ideas there too): http://bluesunionboston.com/home/feedback/