WORKSHOPS
Blues dancing is an amazing adventure. After a simple instruction you can already dance all night, and for some that is enough. But Blues also offers so many challenges that you can study your whole life and discover new stuff every day. For those who want to learn we offer not less than 6 tracks of classes, partnered, solo beginner to advanced, with various topics. They are scheduled that you can chose between a single or a double track. The schedule is already published so you can match your desired classes with your personal biorhythm. You can combine all combinations of tracks that are not scheduled on the same time (duh).
TRACKS
Tracks all contain 5 hours of class during the weekend, 2.5 hours a day. Join one track for a relaxed schedule, or combine two get most out of your festival and create a full learning experience. You will get a discount on the second track.
RED - Challenge
Our most challenging track requires a lot of experience. If you danced for a couple of years, done many courses and international festivals and never miss a social dance, then let our international professional teachers pull you out of your comfort zone with some high demanding classes. We trust you only chose this track if you are already comfortable in all types of Blues dancing, slow and fast, partnered and solo.
WHITE - Specials
The white track is a special one. It is dedicated to different styles and topics than the other partnered tracks. Therefor, for the double trackers it can be combined with the Red, Blue and Green track. We will publish the topics soon, after we discussed them with the teachers. The level will be intermediate / advanced.
BLUE - Improvers
In the Blue track on intermediate level you'll be working on your fundamental skills, learning new vocabulary. You will become more creative and improve your musicality. You have been dancing for a while and want to take your skills to a higher level. Maybe you want to join competitions of showcases. Or you just want to offer your partner the best experience in dancing with you.
ORANGE - Foundation
Never danced Blues before? Or is has been a while? Or maybe you want to start over in a different role? Many reasons to take our beginner track. It will be a crash course so it would be better if you have some partner dancing experience, even if it is in other dances than Blues. We take you on a journey to the basics of Blues dancing, and we promise, after the first class, you can dance already the night away.
PURPLE - Cabaret
This year we introduce the Cabaret track with a twist: Vaudeville! We will explore the legacy of the great Classic Blues performers who pulled out all the stops to dazzle their audiences.
Get ready to experience the connection between voice and body, sensuality, theatricality and storytelling in movement. And of course we work towards a spectacular performance during the Sunday Night Party! Experience in singing/theater is not required, a willingness to explore is! At least a year experience in solo Blues or Jazz is recommended.
GREEN - Solo
"How dare you to dance with a partner, if you can't dance on your own?"
(Peter Ström, while teaching a Herrang Slow dance track)
Solo dancing is not only a lot of fun to do, very beautiful to watch and a perfect workout. It is also very supporting for your partner dancing. Improving your body control and isolation will make you a better all round dancer.
TEACHERS
We are proud to present the list of our local and international teachers, coming from 3 continents and 5 different countries.
Gas & Jessie
Jessie and Gas met at Hullaballoo 2016 (a dance festival in Perth, Western Australia), in a darkened corner of a late night party, started dancing and haven’t stopped since then, despite living on different continents.
They have a deep love and appreciation for jazz, blues and swing music and the dances that evolved from them, and have taught together in Italy, Korea, Australia, Bulgaria and Spain.
Gas and Jessie are super excited to be teaching together in Amsterdam!
Gas Fernandez (ESP)
Gas Fernández is a professional dancer and dance instructor based in Madrid, Spain. He specialises in vintage dance styles including Lindy Hop, Charleston, authentic jazz, Balboa, Blues and Tango. As a former gymnast he is known in the swing dance community for his powerful acrobatics and aerials, while his background in Tango gives his blues style drama and strength, grounded in a sensitive connection with his partner. Gas’s passion for swing has taken him around the world, he has taught in some of the best swing and blues camps in the world, like Hërrang, Snowball, MSF, Lindy Shock, Smokey feet, Nocturne Blues, and many more.
Jessie Gordon (AUS)
Jessie Gordon is an internationally award winning singer/songwriter, jazz and blues vocalist, and a passionate performer and dancer. She specialises in solo movement, Lindy Hop and Blues. As a musician, she is particularly inspired by the improvisational element of partnered dancing, and her dance style is deeply responsive to the music she is dancing to (watch out if Khe Sanh comes on, no one is safe). Jessie has sung and taught all over the world but her favourite place to sing and dance is Perth.
Mike Sonder (USA)
Mike strives to create a learning environment that is fun, challenging, and inclusive. The goal is for each individual student to find their next step forward and enjoy that process of growth. Mike loves seeing students’ eyes light up when they understand a concept or feel a movement work naturally in their body for the first time. Mike has taught dance in 21 countries and counting. He currently teaches Lindy Hop, Air Steps, Solo Jazz, and many different Blues styles. Mike loves teaching private lessons and wants to teach YOU. Private lessons are great for individually tailored learning and physically feeling movements. If you don’t know what to work on, no problem. Mike enjoys figuring out the best way to help you get to your next level of dancing.
Genia Tsvietkova (UKR)
Genia’s dancing story began when she was six years old. She is a Lindy Hop and Blues dancer from Kyiv, Ukraine. She likes to learn, teach and explore. Really appreciate the process of teaching, working with people, sharing energy and ideas. The classes mostly work on discovering body motion, body control, joy of listening to music and being moved by music.
Lotte Dijkstra (NLD)
Lotte has been diving deep in Blues music and dance since 2015. She realized quickly that this exploration would go beyond a free-time flirt. In her classes, Lotte likes to help you find your own style and voice in dancing. She loves to challenge you to find the best ways to connect to yourself ánd the music. As a starting musician she is obsessed with rhythm and musicality and invites you to find your musical voice in movement. She often gets carried away in the history of Blues & Swing music and dance. And loves song lyrics that make you giggle.
Renske Bongers (NLD)
Renske's love for dancing started when she was 3 years old. She might have tried almost everything there is, but her love for dancing stuck with Blues. She is a Blues dancer from the Netherlands (and no, not from Amsterdam ;) )
Having danced solo styles for most of her life, she is a firm believer of discovering who you are as a dancer. In her classes she loves to explore different topics together with you. Diving into body awareness, playing around and improvising in both roles or how to become comfortable with expressing yourself. Her classes will be full of energy, but always with an eye for individual needs and personal development.
Elise Reilingh (NLD)
Elise Reilingh is a versatile and enthusiastic theatre-maker and writer who loves to create performances that incorporate physical theatre, text, music and dance. She started performing at a young age and already discovered her love for writing and directing during her time in secondary school. Currently she is studying at the Paul van Vliet Academie, specializing in the Dutch artform ‘Kleinkunst’. Furthermore, Elise has a lot of experience teaching. Besides working as a music teacher she also teaches classes and organises workshops in multiple styles of swingdancing.
In Trippin' Blues Elise will be responsible for the complete cabaret track.
Chris Koren (NLD)
"She just wants to dance" has become an anthem for Chris ever since she started dancing in 2019. After taking her first swing dance steps at Leiden socials, she hasn't looked back. She has indulged herself with all kinds of swing dances, including Lindy Hop, Collegiate Shag, Boogie Woogie but her love for Blues exceeds all! She has been taking part in many dance festivals and competitions. Inviting other people to dance and share her passion is one of her main goals on and off the dance floor. This is also apparent in classes, where Chris makes sure everyone finds this same kind of passion for the dance and the music.
Giovanni Cina (ITA)
Italian based in The Netherlands Giovanni visited a few countries and dance styles before discovering Amsterdam and the Blues. What began as a fun dance in the after-hours of a Lindy Hop festival became a strong passion and a never ending source of curiosity. He enjoys especially the social aspect of the dance, the community-building, and discussing the political themes that intersect with the practice of Blues dancing. He is invested in supporting a dance culture that fosters inclusion, empowerment and creativity.
| SATURDAY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Kluver Up | Kluver Down | KHL |
| 12:00 | 13:15 | |||
| 13:30 | 14:45 | |||
| Lunch time | ||||
| 15:45 | 17:00 | |||
| 17:45 | 18:30 |
| SUNDAY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Kluver Up | Kluver Down | KHL |
| 12:00 | 13:15 | |||
| 13:30 | 14:45 | |||
| Lunch time | ||||
| 15:45 | 17:00 | |||
| 17:45 | 18:30 |