Darn writer’s block. I’ve been trying to craft an opening paragraph about Sweet Georgia Blues, but it’s proving difficult. 8 opening sentences later, I’m still running dry.
How do I describe a weekend that was both torturous and invigorating? My laptop completely died Friday morning and I spent the whole morning and part of the afternoon in a state of panic. I needed my notes, all my music with my DJ software, my Fast Blues playlist, my Spirit Moves videos. Best Buy fixed it and then my computer wouldn’t start Saturday morning. It was dead. Dead, dead, dead. I dealt with partially transcribed notes on my cell phone, recreating material in my notebook (who uses pens anymore?), and playing music off my limited iPod collection. Evin and Noah Galang helped me greatly with this unfortunate situation.
Anyway, I discovered I have people at Sweet Georgia Blues. From Virginie Jensen, Andrew Twiss, Evin Galang, and Heather Ballew, I saw great blues dancing, quality that hasn’t been matched in years. I saw great body movement, spatial awareness, individual style, momentum, and musicality demonstrated. Their blues dancing is touched by other influences and it looks great. I was home (for a weekend).
My blues dancing is influenced by my lindy hop, ballroom, west coast swing, and jazz dancing background. It’s so great to create a wide variety of movement because your partner is also widely versed and connection skilled. I say embrace your influences, keep learning, and dance to the music. Dancing to blues music will lead you to the blues.
For example, this couple was jamming out at The Speakeasy in Longmont, CO. They were shaking it, working the fishtails, leading and following a few simple patterns. They were in the moment and rocking it. I get caught up in our tiny “dancer” community subculture and forget about this entire group of people jamming at blues bars and festivals. We could all learn something from them.
Dance. Have fun. Don’t forget to breathe. Let loose.
You can find me teaching the blues I enjoy at these upcoming events:
September 21 – Teaching a Bluesli Workshop in Zurich
October 5-6 – Teaching lindy hop, blues, solo charleston and aerials in Luxembourg with Jesse Hanus
October 19-21 – Teaching blues at Drag the Blues in Barcelona