BluesProgressions series start Thursday, September 16th! Early bird price ends tonight
Miles Cohen
Hello everyone!
The next 5 week session of BluesProgressions is coming right up! These series start Thursday, September 16th. If you or a friend are interested in taking these classes, tell them to sign up quick. Those who sign up by tonight at midnight will obtain the early bird price- $5 off.
Thursday 9/16 - 10/14 at U-Studios
BluesProgressions Level 1 (8:45 - 9:45)
http://bluesprogressions2.eventbrite.com
BluesProgressions Level 2 (7:45 - 8:45)
http://bluesprogressions1.eventbrite.com
Anyone currently enrolled in a BluesProgressions series class will obtain free entrance to Back Alley Blues for the duration of the series. This is a
$25 value! We offer this perk to help students get out and practice the material they just learned as quickly as possible. Back Alley Blues is located in the same venue as the BluesProgressions classes.
Miles Cohen
http://www.bluesprogressions.com
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Level 1: Close Embrace Blues
Miles Cohen and Karissa Lightsmith
In this class we will focus on partnered movement with an emphasis on body to body connection. Prepare to get close to one another! On a crowded dance floor such as we find at Waid’s, if you want to move around, you’ve got to find a way to do so without running into people. The first trick is eliminating the space between you and your partner. Dancing body to body can be tricky. You have very little room for error as your feet are within inches of your partner’s. Fortunately this small margin of error creates a great feedback mechanism, causing learning to happen very quickly.
Students who take this class can expect to learn to move in the four basic
directions- forwards, backwards, right, left. They’ll learn how to use their hips to distinguish themselves as a blues dancers, how shared weight can be used to create nice effects, and how to perform a few simple tricks to spice up their vocabulary.
[All levels are welcome to register for this class. This class assumes no previous dance experience and no partner is required in order to join. ]
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Level 2: Variation and Partner Dynamics
Miles Cohen and Karissa Lightsmith
One thing that makes blues dance so much fun is the room for exploration that the dance allows. Leaders are given license to create variation in their steps, and follows are given permission to take initiative as well as simply follow. When we start out dancing it’s easy to miss these creative opportunities. Beginning leads focus on learning a range of simple movements and beginning follows focus on responding accurately to the directions of the lead. To reach the next level, both leaders and followers must go beyond thinking of just their own role. The new element for both to consider is the partner dynamic.
Because the role of the follower is more reactive than that of the lead, we sometimes make the mistake of thinking the follower is 100% reactive- that the follower is a machine moving around the floor and that the leader is a set of levers controlling this machine. Dancing can be so much more fun than that! When we look into the partner dynamic further, we can discover how to communicate more than physics to our partners. There’s a whole world of expression, attitude, and musical interpretation unfolding within the partner dynamic if we can only find it. Both leaders and followers can contribute to this world and enjoy the effect it has on the dance.
An awareness of the partner dynamic helps build physical connection as well.
In order for leaders to create more complex variation in their steps, they must be able to react to the follower’s specific way of moving. Producing a clearer lead is not the result of adding more muscle.
Rather, a clear lead comes from watching the follower to see what she is inclined to do and then finding the right moment to influence her movement.
[This class is meant for students who have taken both level 1 series- “Close Embrace Blues” and “Open Blues Movement” or have a similar background. For those of you who wish to enter this class without these prerequisites, contact one of our instructors for permission.]