WHAT THE BLUES
Blues dancing lessons in the heart of Seattle
SERIES, WORKSHOPS & LESSONS
Pay-What-You-Want Private Lessons
Message us to book a solo/group private lesson! For these 6 weeks, we are offering them on a pay-what-you-want model 💙
Lead instructor: Robin
3/3, 3/17
Tuesdays
6:30-8:30pm
Lowdown Ballroom
3/4 - 3/25
Wednesdays
7-8pm
Reverie Ballroom
Blues 1: Jukin’ Sampler
Blues dances incorporate many regional and historical styles - beyond what we often have space to teach. This sampler introduces two new Jukin' Blues dances that we do not typically cover in our rotating series. We’ll explore essential fundamentals for Blues dance beginners and learn distinct styles you can bring straight to the social floor - Piedmont and Struttin'. The series ends with a 2-hour-long workshop on Chicago Triple taught by a guest instructor - offering Blues dancers a chance to experience a related Black American partnered dance.
**The final class on March 25 will be a 2-hour workshop from 7pm-9pm, please mark your calendar accordingly!**
Instructors: Lisa & Robin
Staying Close While Going Far
Close embrace is an essential part of Blues dancing – especially Ballroomin’ Blues – but traveling together while staying comfortable takes practice and care. In this workshop, Robin and Lila will explore various approaches you can take to improve your close embrace. Together, you will work with connection, tone, and floorcraft to support clear, relaxed traveling, giving you practical tools for dancing Blues in close embrace that feels connected, mobile, and easy.
Lead instructor: Robin & Lila
3/8
Sunday
3-4:30pm
Sunset Hill Community Hall
Ballroomin’ Blues: The Savoy Walk
The Savoy Walk is a classic Blues idiomatic dance style that emerged at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem in the 1920s and 30s, where dancers moved “in the round” along a shared line of dance. In this workshop, we’ll explore the Savoy Walk as both a historical form and a living social dance, focusing on its pulse, common connection points, and how dancers negotiate space, speed, and floorcraft together. You’ll learn how to adapt the Savoy Walk to different tempos and partners while traveling the floor with clarity, groove, and respect for the history of the dance.
Lead instructor: Lila & Robin
3/8
Sunday
4:30-6pm
Sunset Hill Community Hall
What is Blues dancing?
Blues dancing is a family of living dances that is intricately linked to Blues music, and is rooted in Black American culture & history. Its aesthetics comes from Africanist movement & values, and influenced and shaped by the Black experience, just as Blues music is. Blues dancing is solo, partnered, and in community, where the core values are connection with and embodiment of the music as ourselves. Dancing with others are acts of self-expression and conversational exchanges, where we show off our musicality while embracing and inspiring each other.
Wanna learn blues?
Lesson Series & Drop-Ins
Our core weekly lessons timeslot is Tuesdays 6:30-8:30pm, at the Lowdown Ballroom. We will either have drop-in lessons, or 4- or 5-weeks series, depending on the month.
Workshops
Occasionally, we will teach workshops on more specific topics or styles. We also bring in out-of-town and national/international instructors to share their knowledge and experience with Blues.
Private Lessons
If you’re after a more tailored learning experience, we also offer private lessons. Our current rates are $90 - $125 / hr, sliding scale.
Please contact us to set up a time!
Wanna keep up with blues outings?
Visit Seattle Blues Dance Collective’s website at https://seattlebluesdance.com, sign up to their mailing list, and follow them on instagram @seattle.blues.dance.collective
Blues Resources & FAQs
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SBDC is a volunteer-run online resource providing a well-updated list of Blues-dance related happenings in Seattle!
Website: https://seattlebluesdance.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seattle.blues.dance.collective/Mission
The Seattle Blues Dance Collective cultivates a vibrant, inclusive, and collaborative community rooted in the rich traditions of Black American Blues Dance. We create and promote spaces where people can connect, learn, and express themselves through social Blues dancing in Seattle — with a commitment to equity, care, and cultural respect. Through local classes, practice spaces, live music and community events, we honor the past, explore the present, and move together into the future of Blues Dance. -
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Important Note - Blues dancing is not just about the aesthetics. It is important to acknowledge this, because one may be tempted to “learn” blues by imitating the movement, and miss the entire point by a country mile and then some.
For now, here is a very small sampler of blues dancing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwdF82eehSo&list=PLDUS7SX8CheUXxLMFSpMyYbIzrVXWHQiZ&pp=gAQB