Back Porch Blues dance & workshop this weekend!

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We are super excited about Saturday!! We’re starting something new on Back Porch Blues Saturdays. Our typical LIVE MUSIC dance will be from 7:oopm to 1:00am, but starting this month, we will have a 2-hour WORKSHOP for intermediates (and up) in the afternoon! This will happen every month – YAY LEARNIN’ !!

Teaching the workshop this month is Kenneth Shipp, former president of BDN and major dance badass!

Not ready for an intermediate class? Don’t worry! We will have our regular beginner class at 7:00pm at the Global Education Center.

Price:
The workshop and dance together is only $25. Or if you can only make it to one, it is $15 each.
Can’t afford that and want to attend both? Consider volunteering at the dance! If you volunteer at the dance, you get into the dance for free and then the workshop will only be $15. Sign up to volunteer in the Back Porch Blues event on Facebook (see link below).

Place:
Workshop will be at Pro Trac in Donelson (just a hop skip away).
Dance will be at the Global Education Center on Charlotte, in Nashville.

For more info:
Intermediate Worshop with Kenneth Shipp:
https://www.facebook.com/events/593587900975735/
Back Porch Blues dance with live music:
https://www.facebook.com/events/597773553913071/

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Southbound Blues- Registration Opens Today at 7PM CST

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Southbound Blues July 20th-22nd

We want everyone to be able to try their clicking finger at getting a flash sale pass, so we’ve extended registration to open tomorrow night Tuesday, May 1 at 7 p.m. CST!

Pricing is as follows:
$65- Flash Sale (only 30 available)
$85- First Tier (only 100 available)
$100- Second Tier

$75- Nashville Residents (email for code, info@bluesdancenashville.org)
$40- Add-on Southern Cuisine Food Pass (Friday main, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday main dances). Online Only, closes July 1

You don’t want to miss this epic blues party in Nashville! We’ve got the best local and regional bands (Al Holbrook, Charles “Wigg” Walker, Cara Being Blue, Al Hill, and more), a Saturday blues jam, Sunday DJ showcase, and plenty more to get excited for!

Get registered here!!

http://www.southboundblues.org

A Time of Transition

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As many of you know, Kenneth Shipp will soon be moving to St. Louis. He has been president of BDN since 2015, and much of what BDN is today is thanks to him. We wish him the best as his career takes a new direction.

Kenny will be here until mid-May, but has chosen to step down early in order that he may focus on the move and help with the leadership transition. As of April 1, Heather Adkins will be acting president (formerly vice-president, 2015-March 2018) and Myriam Chevalier will be president-elect.

Who is ready for Back Porch Blues?!

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WE ARE! This Saturday, March 3, is our monthly blues dance, featuring some amazing DJs! Hannah Burns will be our guest DJ from Cookeville. She will be joined by our stellar Nashville DJs, Ruthie Bradt and John Brannon. So come join us and dance the night away!

7:00-8:00 Lesson with Sally and Phil
8:00-11:00 Dance with our DJs

$7 general admission, $5 military/student discount

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/242760539599147/

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Let’s Talk About Blues Idioms

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Hey, let’s talk about idioms for a moment…
 
Look, I get it. You may be nervous or worried about what seems like a pretty big wave sweeping over the community right now in competitions, classes, and event focus. That’s totally understandable and I figured why not go over a few of the questions I’ve gotten in emails or other spots to hopefully alleviate any fears…
 
Why are we focusing on idioms?
 
I would argue many in the community have been focused on this for a while and it’s just now caught on. It’s certainly how I was originally taught, but I’ll concede many didn’t know or emphasis it. Nothing to freak out over, but that’s why it’s really cool we get to dive into these now. Here at BluesGeek, we believe focusing back on the blues idioms will help sharpen your toolbox. Knowing which dance fits the right musical style can improve your social dancing and lead to stronger choices when you “freestyle”.
 
Why is that thing I learned a few years ago different now? Do I need throw everything out?
 
It’s entirely possible you learned the right thing with the wrong name or used the umbrella terms (Jookin’ or Ballroomin’) instead. Or maybe you actually learned something else that’s not blues. Don’t take it as an offense and no one is telling you to throw out everything you’ve learned. Just use this opportunity to challenge your dancing, see where you can grow, and take this step forward with us together.
What’s the purpose of having idiom specific comps? What were the comp we did before?
Idiom specific comps are aimed to reinforce the idea that these individual dances and not simply movements by themselves. The comps preceding this would be what we call “freestyle” or dancing in the aesthetic. We are not making a value judgment on either style. With Idiom specific, we can demonstrate a basic as historically accurate as possible while freestyle lets us add onto that framework. When we say your toolbox will be sharpened, it’s because we believe focusing on idioms will help you make better aesthetic choices when you do freestyle comps again.
Do you think the scene is ready for idiom comps this soon?
Ehh…there’s never going to be a perfect time. However, with that said, we have balanced what idioms you are expected to know. Right now, competitors are only throwing down on ones that have been danced in the scene at large, dependent on level (Novice, Open, Advanced).

Discount Announcement

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discount

ANNOUNCEMENT: We are proud to now offer a military and student discount! We want to thank all members of the military for their service by giving them a $5 discount to this weekend’s Back Porch Blues. All those hardworking students will also receive a $5 discount. After discount, that is a whole night of music for $10!

BluesGeek 2018

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bluesgeek

 

Have you heard about BluesGeek? We’ve revamped something old, added something new, and sprinkled on a lot of fun. Join us Presidents Day weekend (February 16-18) for a weekend of blues idiom classes, panels on blues history and modern trends, competitions, and a host of female blues artists and djs.

Registration is now open: https://www.bluesgeek.com/

Summer With Blues Dance Nashville!!

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What’s happening this summer with BDN?

You may have noticed we’ve added a bunch of events to the BDN calendar. It’s all part of our commitment to get better connected with our Nashville community and spread our love of dancing. Can’t make every single thing? Don’t worry about it, there will be plenty of events for you get your blues on this summer!!

What Is Blues Dancing? Every Thursday this summer, join our instructors as we discuss “blues-idiom dance”, the movements and styles that make up the core of our dance. From June to July, we’ll cover a new style and technique in the beginner class and more concepts in the Intermediate class.

Summer Donation Drive– Starting in June, we’ll be pushing for our new donation forms and info. Look for the release of our fundraiser goals so you can see what we’ve done in the community so far and what we still want to accomplish.

Back Porch Blues– Our monthly dance keeps going with a great slate of artists throughout the summer!!

May 13th- Al Hill Band

June 3rd- Harlequin Jazz Band

July 8th- Devan Jones and the Uptown Stomp

August 12th- Devon Gilfillan

Southbound Blues Exchange 2017– At the end of August, join Blues Dance Nashville for our enormous blues party with all your favorite blues artists from St. Louis, Portland, Philadelphia, and our local Nashville favorites!!

Musician’s Corner– Nashville’s historic Centennial Park is your summer home for free music and we’ll be joining them for a few shows when some of your favorite blues and soul artists take the stage. Here are the acts we’re supporting so far (though everyone is awesome, so you should totally go to the other dates as well!!

Nights Out to Bourbon St.– Join us every first and third Tuesday in the month as we jam to the tunes of Whitey Johnson at BSB.

Secret Shows- We have some errr…really cool things we can’t talk about yet, but when they are ready to announce, you had best be ready to dance!! More details on these events as they get confirmed.

Join The Story Of The Blues!!

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Join us every week for the story of the blues!!

At Thursday Night Blues, we now teach two lessons: Intermediate at 7PM and Beginner at 8PM. For only $10, you can get a class that dives into a new blues-idiom style or concept. $10 also gets you into our social dance for free.

Check us out every week at the GEC (Global Education Center)

Global Education Center: 4822 Charlotte Pike Nashville, TN 37209