About the Levels and Topics
Class Levels
Advanced (Adv) - You've probably been dancing Blues for at least 3 years (Lindy Hop, Swing, Tango or other dance experience doesn't count!). You regularly participate in Blues-only workshop weekends or regularly attend Blues dances available in your local scene. You're good at learning routines and you enjoy tearing apart the fundamentals. Sometimes these classes will move quickly, other times they will get deep into the nitty gritty details. Be prepared to keep up and stretch your brain to its limits!
Please note: Participation in this level is by instructor recommendation only.
Beginning (Beg) - You may have no Blues dance experience, you may have some other style of dance experience, or maybe you just have a basic repertoire of moves and not much else. Zero to one year's worth of Blues dancing experience puts you in this category. Note: Everyone - no matter what level - is welcome to take the Beginner level classes to brush up on your Blues fundamentals.
Everyone/All Levels (Ev) - These classes are designed to have something of value for everyone from the rank beginner to the seasoned expert. The content is layered so that beginners can pick up the most important elements, while advanced dancers can practice the more nuanced elements of the dance.
Recommendations for the advanced level classes: If you feel that you belong in the advanced level classes, please contact any of the instructors at this year’s event and ask them if they can send us an e-mail to us recommending you for the advanced level classes. (It can be as simple as: John Smith has my recommendation to participate in the advanced level classes.) We'll be keeping the list of names and during registration, you’ll be placed in advanced when you check in. If you feel you should be at the advanced level but don’t know any of our instructors this year, we will allow recommendation from other national instructors on a case by case basis. Please contact us to check in about this first.
Topic Descriptions:
Blues Aesthetic & Technique (BAT) - Expect these classes to go into great detail about how to do things correctly. There will be a lot of explaining, but also a lot of time to practice. These classes may move a little slower so that you can be sure to get things right. Questions aren't just encouraged, they are expected!
Musicality (M) - These classes will be diverse, with one thing in common - the focus on musicality. Expect to be pushed to keep up with the median speed of the class so that the instructors can cover all the material and give you plenty of time to practice. If you are a quick learner, expect to have some extra time to explore your own "musical" additions to the class as well.
Social Dancing (S) - These classes are geared to the general social dancer and will cover aspects of styling and improvisation to help you be as creative as possible. We'll get into enough detail that you can do it right, but we want to give you enough time to practice so that when you get out on the dance floor, you feel confident in your skills. For those dancers who learn more quickly, it's a perfect class to explore what it's like to dance your very best with dancers of all levels. It's also a great chance to perfect your fundamentals so that you can free yourself to explore other aspects of your dancing.
Performance & Competition (P) - You can expect the focus to be on how the moves look - and how your dancing looks. In addition, you'll be expected to be at a level of dance where you would be comfortable dancing or performing in front of others, even if it’s just in class.
Specialty Classes: Solo (Solo), DJ classes (DJ), Lectures (L), Clinics (C) - These classes are meant to bring variety to your dancing education. We highly encourage you to branch out from your usual partnered dance class experience and learn something out of the box!
Note: The workshops are not offered a la carte (that is, you can't purchase the classes individually). However, if you do not wish to purchase the Full Pass package, you can purchase Day Passes for "Saturday only," or "Sunday only" at the door.
