Blues Dance Blues dance is a versatile partner dance form quickly gaining popularity across the nation. Free of a basic step, the dance emphasizes individual expression and improvisation. Originating in house parties and smoke-filled bars, the dance is more about musical interpretation and partner interaction than it is about memorizing choreography or showy performance steps. Many beginners choose Blues dance as their first dance to learn because it allows them to start dancing quickly without having to worry about whether they are stepping on the wrong foot. Those with a background in other dance forms enjoy the emphasis that Blues dance places on building partner connection and exploring a dynamic range of movement. To see a video of the instructors demonstrating this dance, click here.

BluesProgressions

Our mission is to take the intricate nature of blues dance and break it down into building blocks that students can grasp easily. Without instruction, many dancers are capable of improvising their own movements, especially those with past dance experience. However, this type of freeform improvisation, while exhilarating, often lacks specificity and grace. We at BluesProgressions believe that improvisation is most free when it is grounded in structure. To that end, we provide our students with specific vocabulary and techniques to give their movement a more concrete shape.

We begin our curriculum with a focus on body-to-body movement that can be done on the crowded social dance floors our students will encounter when they first go out dancing. In our beginning classes our students quickly become comfortable moving about with a partner in their arms. Over time we then teach more complex vocabulary and concepts to further enhance our students' enjoyment of the dance and expand their vision of what is possible.

Our classes are challenging. We want to build our students' confidence by teaching them how to dance superbly from the beginning, avoiding common mistakes they would otherwise make. For example, to prevent students from relying on their arms to muscle their partner about, we teach our students to lead and follow with their bodies instead. Our students so far have all risen to the challenges we have presented to them. Nevertheless, we encourage anyone who feels they need a refresher course to retake our series again at no charge. When our experienced students repeat our classes it provides an added benefit to our beginners, who then learn while practicing with more experienced dancers.