The dance workshop portion of the festival is divided into three groups, beginner, intermediate and advanced.

• Beginner (B) - Little to no blues dance instruction at all.  You might have some other partner dance experience (highly recommended), but the blues is an exciting new world for you.  Zero to about a year's worth to blues dance experience puts you into this category.
• Intermediate (I) - You've got the basics of blues dance down.  You've gone to some blues events or have been out blues dancing regularly.  At this point, you've had at least a year of blues dance experience.
• Advanced (A) - The crème de la crème.  Just being a good social dancer doesn't put you into this category.  You're also good at workshops and classes and you can pick up new patterns and moves with the best of them.  You should also be experienced with the fundamentals of lindy hop.  Only about 20% of dancers should fall into this category.

Please don't be tempted to "level up."  If you're in a class above your experience level, not only will most of the material fly by you, but you will also slow down the instruction for the rest of the dancers in the class, so please be considerate.  If you have any questions about your level, feel free to ask an instructor (note that if an instructor feels you are in a level inappropriate for your experience level, up or down, they will advise you on switching levels).

Note: If you weren't able to register for the ECBF, you can still come and take the classes.  If you come in time for the first class, you pay $50 at the door and can take the rest of the classes of the day.  If you come in time for the second class, you pay $40 and can take the rest of the classes for the day, etc.  At $10 per class, this is a great deal.

Saturday Schedule

Saturday classes are located at the Washington Dance Center (MapQuest) at 1017 Stewart St in downtown Seattle.

Sunday Schedule

Sunday classes are located at the Mountaineers Building (MapQuest) at 300 3rd Ave West in Seattle.

Class Descriptions - Bill and Laurie

Blues: The Art of the Slow Groove (B) - This class will offer Bill and Laurie's perspective on basic partnering skills, balance, connection, and rhythms in closed position blues dancing.

Blues Outside the Box (B & I) - How to flow the dance and do more than just closed blues. Blues can travel, and can be connected in a variety of positions.

Connection for Blues Dancers (I & A) - Bill is known for his clear and detailed explanations of partner connection. He and Laurie will show you how the techniques apply to blues dancing. This will help you in your Lindy dancing as well.

Hittin' The Blues Breaks (I & A) - This class will help you listen for the breaks, offer new ideas and vocabulary, and help segue in and out of the breaks.

Class Descriptions - Charlie and Heidi

Blues Musicality (All Levels) - The capstone class for the weekend, this class will teach you some basic fundamentals of connecting to blues music and understanding different musical structures (12 bar vs. 16 bar, different blues rhythms such as the shuffle or 12/8 meter, etc).  Live music will be provided by, of course, Solomon and a small combo.

Blues Rhythms (B & I) - Learn to feel the rhythm or “pulse” inherent in Blues music and to use your body to emphasize this rhythm and the call & response in the music.

Blues Tension (B & I) - Stretch out your Blues (and learn to use the Blues to stretch out your Lindy)! We'll explore ways to use tension and communication with your partner to stretch out your Blues in both closed and various extended and open positions.

Chi of Blues (A) - An experienced level class that teaches communication at the most subtle levels, as well as leading, following, and just plain losing yourself in the music.

Class Descriptions - Damon and Ria

Blues 101: Basic Vocabulary & Partnering (B) - This class will teach the basic blues dances that will let you dance to a wide variety of blues music. It will cover basic steps, lead follow skills, and some basic syncopations, turns, and dips.

Get Down: Adv. Solo Blues Movement (I & A) - Whether you wish to be able to shake it by yourself or are looking for new ideas about moving your body while dancing with a partner, this class will have you doing things you've never thought of. It will be fast paced and not for those with injuries. If you got 'em you might want to bring slick shoes, knee pads and funk.

Jookin' I: Close Blues for Beginner Dancers (B & I) - Learn the intimate closed position dances done in jook joints and rent parties. We'll cover all the fundamental skills and rhythms needed to dance with skill, but more importantly you'll learn how to feel the music and express it through these dances. It's all about the attitude.

Jookin' II: Improvisation and Isolation for Advanced Dancers (I & A) - This will be an in depth look at the subtleties of improvisation and isolation in closed position. These are hard concepts and advanced techniques. You've been warned!

Class Descriptions - Mike

Ballroomin' (B & I) - At the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, a very unique type of dancing to blues music developed characterized by large relaxed and flashy movements, in typical Savoy fashion. It wasn't the type of blues dancing that you would find in Juke Joints, rather the type you would expect to see in a ballroom as classy as the Savoy, in suits and dresses. It was called Ballroomin' simply because it was the Savoy dancer's impression of ballroom dancing. Mike has learned from both Sugar & George Sullivan (Harvest Moon Ball Champions 1955) who danced this style at the Savoy.

Chicago Style Steppin' (A) - A Chicago born dance style that is becoming popular throughout the country. Evolving from the jitterbug into what is now known as Steppin, the dance thrives off of classic R&B and Soul. The most recent surge of interest in Steppin comes from R.Kelly's music video "Step in the Name of Love". Steppin like lindy hop, is full of 6 and 8 beat patterns and has a strong emphasis on individuality. Mike learned this dance on the socials floors of the Southside of Chicago from 1999-2002.

Shake Blues (I & A) - As long as there has been blues music, there have been people dancing to it even when they didn't have a partner. Shake Blues, incorporates smooth movements and gyrations of the whole body, as well as shaking (hence the name). Mike will also incorporate elements of Snakehips, Fishtail, Shimmy, and other solo blues dances. This class will help you learn to move your own body to blues, rather than just moving (or being moved by) someone else's.

Solo Black Bottom (B & I) - The Black Bottom was both a solo and partnered dance that has its roots in New Orleans and the south throughout the teens, but easily made its way to New York and onto the shows on and off Broadway. The Black Bottom became a craze, second only to Charleston when it was introduced to a widespread audience by Ann Pennington in George White's Scandals of 1926.

Class Descriptions - Noni and Solomon

Blues Musicality (All Levels) - The capstone class for the weekend, this class will teach you some basic fundamentals of connecting to blues music and understanding different musical structures (12 bar vs. 16 bar, different blues rhythms such as the shuffle or 12/8 meter, etc).  Live music will be provided by, of course, Solomon and a small combo.

Using Your Hips (I & A) - This class will be about the connection between your frame and your hips, and the connection (through your frame) between your hips and your partner's hips. We'll work intensely on the fish-tail, an old-school jazz step, and use it as a basis for lead-follow and movement in partnered Blues dancing.

Moving Together With Your Partner (B) - Blues is a very dynamic and improvisatory style of dancing, and this freedom stems from the unlimited possibilities for partnered movement that are available. In this class on connection and Blues movement, you'll learn more about changing weight, traveling and turning with your partner.

Syncopated Movement (A) - All too often, Blues dance classes, while they focus on lots of great topics, never get past teaching movements that are squarely on the beat. In this class, we'll break through into some more improvisatory rhythms and we'll get your Blues to syncopate!

Brought to you by the Washington Blues Society
and some of your favorite blues dancers.