Blues Workshop: Movement, Expression, & Musicality with Freeman

Event: fb://event/933647679710802 Get ready for The Get Down, our upcoming national event in July! This 3-hour workshop is designed for beginner-to-intermediate partnered blues dancers who want to build a stronger, more musical foundation in their bodies and understand options they have for personal movements. We’ll draw from the Jukin’ styles of the African American vernacular tradition for context. We'll focus on rhythm as the starting point: breaking down core blues rhythms and exploring how to express them. Dancers will develop their own physical relationship with the movement and music before bringing that into partnering contexts. We’ll also draw mechanical parallels with popular vernacular jazz movements for those with swing experience. We’ll use mostly the music of the electrified blues forms of the 40s and on, and work on recognizing the resilience of foundational blues ideas in music. This workshop is less focused on lead-and-follow technique and more on expanding each dancer's movement possibilities and musical awareness. Both roles will work through the same material, and all exercises are accessible regardless of which role you typically dance. Recommended for dancers with some prior partnered dance experience (blues, swing, or similar). No partner required. Parking is available in the lot adjacent to the Dallas Arts Building, and also on the street.