Class Schedule & Info

Class Venue

Classes will be held at Empire Dance Studio NYC - Manhattan, 224 W 35th St Floor 15, New York, NY.

Choose your own adventure - take any class for $20 - pay at the door

Lunchtime lectures are free to anyone. There is a suggested donation of $10 - $20.

Tracks

Saturday

Sunday

Class Descriptions

Are You Listening? No... really.

Zach Brass & Gwen Bone - Saturday

Musicality for Multi-layered songs. Training your ear to hear multi-layered songs, and training your musicality to stick with/ an idea, an instrument, a riff in a complex song.

Bold New Directions for Blues Dancing Communities: Moving from Theory to Practice

Renee Kanda - Sunday Lunch Lecture

In this lecture, Renee will present a new approach to gathering and sharing blues knowledge in our dance community. She will share information from instructors and organizers with us - information about what works and what doesn’t. Then she’ll walk us through the strategies that she has developed to strengthen our community knowledge through collective learning and sharing. This is the first time she will be presenting this information outside of her home scene (GET IT BOSTON!), so we highly recommend that you participate!

Can Do? Can Teach?: A teacher training for everyone. Yes, everyone.

Renee Kanda & Julie Brown - Saturday

This workshop is teacher training! If you're a little bit curious or interested in teaching in the next two years, or about what your teachers are up to, this class is for you! In this session, Renee and Julie will introduce the framework for the teacher training program they've developed in Boston - which has three prongs of specific core competencies: Dance, Teaching, and Community Skills. You should walk away with a clear idea of where you're are at OR a clear idea of HOW TO DETERMINE where you're are at. You'll also walk away with a model list of core competencies, a model questionnaire to help self assess your performance, and a model feedback processing tool, ideally to use with a mentor.

Communications…da da ta da

Odysseus Bailer & BIBI - Saturday

What makes a dance good, fun and unforgettable in every way? It comes down to Communication! Come join us and learn how to read and riff off of each other in a partnership.

Community Jammin’

Bibi, Gwen Bone & Zach Brass - Saturday

After this class, you’ll NEVER utter the phrase ‘dance like nobody’s watching. Dive into the heart of live music where you'll explore the joy of dancing in the vibrant energy of a shared space. We'll guide you through enhancing your musicality, celebrating your individuality, and fostering a sense of connection with fellow dancers and non-dancers alike. Whether you're a solo dancer or prefer to groove with a partner, you'll gain confidence in participating in jam circles and fully immersing yourself in the communal dance experience

Footwork Hour

Zach Brass & Gwen Bone - Sunday

Body, music, and balance awareness for the intermediate+ dancer. Ever hear a cool texture in the music and think, “wow how could I reflect that in my body?” Come to this class to build your relationship with the music, the floor, and your own feet to express and address those magic moments.

I Spine for Something More

Zach Brass & Gwen Bone - Sunday

Expression and Shaping in Close Embrace. In our spinal mobility partner dancer class, we emphasize the significance of the close embrace, a foundational position in blues dance, where connection with your partner is paramount. Despite the intimacy of the embrace, maintaining a full range of motion in your spine is essential for expressive movement. Through mastering solid close embrace mechanics, dancers unlock the potential for nuanced expression, as spinal mobility serves as the cornerstone of blues dancing artistry and communication.

Layering Complexity in your Individual Movement

Julie Brown & Bibi - Saturday

One of the most difficult (and exciting!) aspects of blues dance is movement layered in different parts of the body separately but simultaneously, possibly in different rhythms! In this class, we will play with making our dancing more complex by adding layers to it, providing different drills and methods for practicing these movements & techniques, so you can achieve mastery.

Moving to Clear Strategies, Tactics, and Executables (STEs) - Community Book Report Edition

Renee Kanda - Sunday

Jumping off of her Sunday Lunch Lecture, Renee Kanda will guide participants through a community book report. This workshop will function as proof of concept for the STE framework that is introduced in the lunch lecture. The goal of the Strategies, Tactics and Executables framework is to move our blues dance communities from individual, passive knowledge gathering to active group learning and sharing. The STE framework will allow the people in our community to share the load of learning about blues culture and blues dance; it also allows our communities the opportunity to hold each other accountable for their knowledge.

Personality and Authenticity

Bibi - Sunday

What does it mean to bring authenticity to your dance? How do you connect the music with your unique personality? Let's dance together and find out!

Pulses

Julie Brown - Saturday

Pulse is a fundamental element of blues dancing and many other Black & African diaspora dances, functioning as the rhythmic heartbeat of our dancing. In this class, we'll start with an introduction to pulse, then expand into different pulses in blues dancing. We'll also explore a framework for how to find or create different pulses, connected to different things we feel from the music.

Solo Blues Moves

Julie Brown- Saturday

Come learn some blues moves! In this class, we'll work on a mix of fundamental blues moves/steps (like fishtail & grinds) and some more challenging or less common (in our scene) moves/steps.

Sometimes It’s Good to Be Late

Odysseus Bailer & Erin Boeke Burke- sunday

In this class, we will talk about the importance of lag as a fundamental concept in blues music and dancing. We'll practice trying out increasing levels of lag to various styles of blues music, turning it up to 11 and beyond. Finally, we'll talk about lag within the partnership connection, and how different levels of follow-lag affect the connection from both leader and follower perspectives.

Stretch & Compression Basics

Julie Brown & Erin Boeke Burke - sunday

In this class, we’ll workshop how leaders & followers can create a stretchy feeling in our connection. We’ll break down how adjustments to frame and posture can help keep it dynamic, and use that stretch to create energy to move ourselves or our partner in ways that are comfortable, expressive, and clear.

Strutting with Style: Advanced Footwork and Partnership Play
(Advanced Track - Audition Info)

Flouer Evelyn & Shawn Hershey - Sunday

Elevate your strutting game with advanced footwork and movement choices that bring power and playfulness to the dance floor. In this class, both leaders and followers will learn intricate steps that not only stand out on their own but also enhance the connection and interaction between partners. We’ll delve into the balance of individual expression and the art of leading and following.

Sweet Home, Chicago

Odysseus Bailer & Erin Boeke Burke - Saturday

We love dancing Chicago triple and you will too. In this class, we'll discuss what makes music feel right for Chicago triple, the basics of the footwork, and unique nuances of the partnership connection. Finally, we'll explore ways to express yourself within the idiom, particularly with fun footwork variations.

Teacher Training Part II: Level Up, Get On the Floor

Renee Kanda & Erin Boeke Burke - Sunday

During this session, you will practice teaching particular skills in short bursts. While you do this, we will be watching you and you'll get some live coaching from Erin and Renee. We ask you to keep an open mind because you are doing something out of context in order for you to get as many reps in as possible. A live coaching instruction does not mean that what happened previously was incorrect. For example, in some cases how you set up the class before your turn will make foot position obvious, but sometimes it wont. That instruction is not always necessary. It is your job as an instructor to be able to recognize when you need to give those instructions, and we don't want the first time you have to execute it (literally, having to find those words) to be when you are on the spot. We'd like you to practice execution.

Tricks!!! (Advanced Track - Audition Info)

Flouer Evelyn & Shawn Hershey - sunday

Come explore some fun flashy moves that can be useful for creating dynamic and powerful moments in blues competitions and performances. We will include some combination of dips, lifts, and/or slides.  You can either come with a partner you want to work with, or be paired up in class.

Why is Lindy Hop and Blues a Black American Cultural Music and Dance Form?

Odysseus BaileR - Saturday lunch Lecture

This talk is to help you understand and appreciate that Black American Culture is more than just the music and dance that has continued to come out of Black American Communities. We are going to explore how the music and dance helps tell the story of us as a people due to societal conditions.

Flouer Evelyn & Shawn Hershey - Saturday night dance

Auditions for the advanced track will take place at the Saturday Night dance. Don't worry! It's super low-key so don't stress! During the DJ'd time slots, Flouer and Shawn will be available to dance with you. All you have to do is go dance with them for a little bit and they'll let you know in person (and privately) if you can take their advanced classes. If you'd like a little bit of feedback about your dancing, they can provide that as well!