Although born and raised as Hugh Holmes of Boston, Mass., the emanations from his harmonica and vocals make it clear that Professor Harp has the blues of Texas and the whole wide Delta coursing through his veins.
The Professor was a rock ‘n’ roll drummer until ’69, when the Boston blues revival and a sterling performance he caught of blues harmonica great George Allen ‘Harmonica’ Smith, combined to lure him away from drums and into a full court press on the blues harp. “Undaunted!” he brags, by the vicissitudes of his life as blues man, front man, every kind of man, Professor Harp puts forth his commanding presence and exceptional talent, night after night.
9:15pm Magic Rockers
~10pm Choreography Competition Finals
10:30pm Luther “Guitar Jr” Johnson and his Magic Rockers
680 Huron Ave, Cambridge, MA
We have this large, beautiful, and well air conditioned space for every main dance! Bring out your best for our live music in this venue on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible (ramps and elevators)
Parking: Some parking available in the lot across from the venue. Street parking available on Huron Ave.
Transit Advice: Buses available from Harvard Square.
Shortest walk: #72 bus stop (Aberdeen Ave at Huron Ave) is an 8 minute walk from the venue. The last inbound bus each night is: Friday at approximately 11:25pm, Saturday at approximately 1:20am, and Sunday at approximately 10pm.
Most frequent bus: #71 and #73 bus stops (Mt. Auburn St at Aberdeen Ave) are a 13 minute walk from the venue. The last inbound buses each night are at approximately 1am.
Food: Limited retail options nearby and in Harvard Square. Lemonade, iced tea, and water provided at the venue.
Bathrooms: Two bathrooms, one with stalls, the other with stalls and urinals
We welcome Luther on his 80th Birthday Tour!
Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson is a legendary American Chicago blues singer and guitarist! Johnson moved to Chicago with his family in 1955. During the 1960s, he performed with Magic Sam. He performed in Muddy Water's band from 1972 to 1980. In 1980, four of his songs were included in an anthology released by Alligator Records. That same year he appeared as a member of the Legendary Blues Band, backing John Lee Hooker in the movie The Blues Brothers. Johnson moved to the East Coast and began fronting his own band, the Magic Rockers. His "Walkin' the Dog" was recorded live at the Montreux Festival's Blues Night. He won a Grammy Award in 1985 for Best Traditional Blues Album for his part in Blues Explosion. He recorded three albums released by Telarc Records: Slammin' on the West Side (1996), Got to Find a Way (1998), and Talkin' About Soul (2001). He also performed on three albums by the Nighthawks.
Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson on guitar/vocals, Otis Doncaster on harmonica, Paul Nadeau on piano, Kenny B on bass, Ethraim Lowell on drums, Howard Randall on guitar, and Pat Herlehy on saxophone.
Odysseus is excited to be attending his third Sweet Mo event. After keeping the dance floor packed during the late night set last year, we knew we would want work with him in the future. He has been dancing for about 20yrs in swing and blues. He brings a style and awareness that connects back to the historical and social roots of Blues dancing and the music. His DJing style also reflects what he connects to on the dance floor. Connecting to the music and your dance partner to tell a story.
If musicality is how each choice in the moment maps to the music, composition is how those moments come together to form something larger. Just as we can examine composition in music or prose or photography, we can examine composition in our social dancing. And, we think, you *should* examine it, if you want to craft your dances with the same care and intention that any other artist would use.
This limited size class requires pre-registration here
No Class - Social Option at Clover with one of our Sweet Social Coordinators, Danna. Grab some (savory?) breakfast and hang out with your Sweet friends!
11:00am - 12:00pm Studio 5 open practice. Self guided.
Dancing in close embrace can be intimidating, but it can be so very rewarding! We'll help you get past the pitfalls, and having dreamy, fun, dynamic dances in no time! We'll also talk about how you can get into and out of close embrace, and how you and your partner can use non-verbal communication to navigate those transitions.
Have you been dancing close embrace for years and want to diversify the way you connect to unlock more possibilities? This class is for you. Are you looking for ways to make close embrace comfortable for yourself and your partner, both physically and mentally? This is the class for you. Want to connect well with more partners of different heights, shapes, and experience levels? See you in class.
Whether you’re experienced with cuttin’ or need an introduction to it, this class will sharpen your skills! This class will work through the overall structures & etiquette of cuttin’, as well as working on your cuttin’ content. You’ll get to choose your own adventure for getting an intro to cuttin’ content, working on cuttin’ composition, or building power moves. Then we’ll bring it all together and get hype in a circle!
Pre-req: Must be comfortable dancing solo blues
In this class, we’ll focus on blues that’s about letting loose and having a good time! Learn some of Julie & Mike's favorite moves to dance to funky party blues. We'll explore a few different options for dancing solo and with a partner. Be proud of your butt and learn to shake that thing!
Pre-reqs: Having a butt (flat butt, round butt, any butt!)
Many of the blues dances make use of momentum. Come take your technique to the next level in this class. We will also explore creativity and developing individual style within momentum.
Only a Blues Sith deals in absolutes - always dancing big or small is the path of the Dark Side. We'll work on crafting moments that slice like light sabers, using minimalism to make memorable social dances.
No Class
Explore how the mood of different jazz-blues songs can influence your movement as a follower or as a leader. The broad range of moods, feelings, shapes, and textures we can dance within the umbrella of Ballroomin’ will enrich and develop your individual style and offer inspiration to your partners. We will also use concrete examples to discuss how freestyle ballroomin’ can evolve into a specific idiom.
Pre-requisites- people should be comfortable walking with a partner in close embrace.
This limited size class requires pre-registration here
No Class - Social Option at Roxy's. Grab some grilled cheese, play some video games in the arcade, and hang out with your Sweet friends!
536 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA
Accessibility: Motorized lift from ground to second floor, handicapped parking in garage 1 block away.
Parking Saturday: Public transit is recommended. Public parking is available at several locations within 1 to 2 blocks of the building including along Mass Ave., Cambridge Municipal Lot #5 at 84 Bishop Allen Drive, Cambridge Municipal Lot #6 at 65 Bishop Allen Drive and the Green Street Garage at 260 Green Street.
Parking Sunday: Parking in these lots and adjacent residential area is free and unrestricted.
Transit Advice: MBTA Red Line to Central Sq. Bus #1, 47, 64, 70, 70A, 83, 91, CT1.
Food: Many retail options. Highlights include Roxy's Grilled Cheese, Flour Bakery, Clover, Chipotle, Life Alive, Veggie Galaxy.
Bathrooms: Men's bathroom upstairs, women's bathroom upstairs, gender neutral bathrooms on ground and 2nd floors
Mike's true loves in life are teaching, dancing, following, and music. There's no order, because for her, these things are intrinsically linked. In addition to national events like Lindy Focus and Enter the Blues, Mike has taught at countless regional events in Lindy, Blues, and Balboa, as well as traveling all over the country to teach and perform. She performed in an all-girls Charleston troupe at Camp Jitterbug's Jump Session Show in 2007, and in the all-girl blues troupe, the Hoodoo Ladies, at events from DC to BluesShout in St. Louis. Additionally, she has taught at events ranging from one-month artists residencies to international training camps.
Mike combines an intuitive understanding of connection with an analytical speaking style to give her students technique, but also strives to challenge and inspire her students to push themselves further into the music. She aims to help leaders create artistic compositions that are clearly led; she wants follows to have the ability to be a completely literal follow, and the inspiration and freedom to be an imaginative and dynamic contributor. In the classroom or on the social floor, she seeks a connection that involves active communication from both partners, to make a dance together.
Dan Legenthal lives in Boston, MA, working on as many vernacular jazz and blues dances as he can. His passion extends to both the social floor and competition. When not competing, he teaches at events like Korea Blues Camp (South Korea), Hot Blues In Toulouse (France), and The Blues Experiment (USA).
Drawing from his degree in Classical Guitar, Dan has unique insight into how to practice and develop one’s skills, and uses that knowledge to create a dynamic and engaging learning environment. Since dance is experiential, Dan likes to prioritize doing, and treats learning like a sequence of experiments where you can learn as much from failures as from success. This philosophy is anchored on clear, precise language, and a belief that every student is capable of developing their own skill by patient, intentional practice.
Ruth skipped into her first dance class more than 25 years ago, and has since been dancing as many styles as she can get her feet on.
Ruth’s 15+ years as a dance instructor have taken her on teaching adventures across the US, Canada, Europe and Southeast Asia. She has continually developed both her teaching and her dancing skills. Ruth is known for her ability to craft explanations that fit students’ learning styles. She brings a vibrant mixture of deep technical knowledge, passion for movement, and silly fun that students can’t help but connect with.
In addition to training in blues, lindy, Argentine tango, modern, ballet and many other dance forms, Ruth is certified in Franklin Method, an increasingly popular body somatics method. She has a long-standing love affair with close-embrace connection, has sneakily swung out in the Louvre, and is curating a fine collection of fishtail variations.
Mike Grosser is one of the most recognized names in the Blues dance community. Mike is a top level instructor, dancer, choreographer, performer, and mentor. He has not only won respected blues competitions but also thrown down hard in unofficial late night dance-offs. Mike is a founding member and choreographer of the B Sides, which is the first and currently only ongoing professional blues performance group. Students across continents rave about Mike’s insights, personality, and breadth and depth of knowledge.
As an instructor, Mike strives to put himself in his students’ shoes so that he can relate material as intuitively and thoroughly as possible. He 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 lives and breathes dance. He is constantly honing his skills and developing new ideas. If you run into him at grocery store, on public transit, in a museum, or on a mountain top, you’ll probably catch him dancing.
Julie’s expressive dancing and dynamic connection are known throughout the blues dancing world. With a background in theatre and solo dance, and an undying desire for continued learning, she is best known for her solo movement, choreography, aesthetics, and killer follower expression.
A hard-working competitor, Julie has won many national competitions, including Blues Muse 2017 Follower Invitational, North Star Blues 2017 Invitational Cuttin’, bluesSHOUT! 2017 All Star Jack & Jill, and more.
As a teacher, Julie is clear, thoughtful, and earnest. From advanced Struttin’ variations to beginner-friendly intros to lead-follow dynamics, Julie carefully crafts her classes and tailors her material to fit the crowd at hand. Julie has taught blues dancing in San Francisco, Seoul, Austin, Boston, London, Chicago, Zurich, and many places in between. She also teaches regularly in her home-base of Boston. For dance videos, pictures, and more info, check out https://dancewithjulie.wordpress.com.
Joey Science has been dancing since they were a small child, partner dancing since 2005, and zooming way, way in on Blues dancing since moving to Chicago in 2009. Their formal education in the learning sciences sneaks up in class formats that emphasize personal exploration and incorporation of the material, and a "try first, questions later" approach.
Kenneth Shipp hails from St. Louis, MO as an instructor who grew up dancing hip hop and breakdancing before jumping into blues. He has spent the past few years passionately studying the family of blues idioms, incorporating his nerdy personality along the way. Kenneth’s life experiences inform his dancing and wants his students to walk away with a better historical and contextual understanding to exhibit it in their dances. With every class and practice, he'll encourage you to approach social dancing with coolness, relaxation, or in other words “Chill The F$%& Out.” When he’s not dancing, you can likely find him ranting about the latest blockbuster movie, game, or nerd convention.
Learn more about Kenneth at his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/
Mike Grosser is one of the most recognized names in the Blues dance community. Mike is a top level instructor, dancer, choreographer, performer, and mentor. He has not only won respected blues competitions but also thrown down hard in unofficial late night dance-offs. Mike is a founding member and choreographer of the B Sides, which is the first and currently only ongoing professional blues performance group. Students across continents rave about Mike’s insights, personality, and breadth and depth of knowledge.
As an instructor, Mike strives to put himself in his students’ shoes so that he can relate material as intuitively and thoroughly as possible. He 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 lives and breathes dance. He is constantly honing his skills and developing new ideas. If you run into him at grocery store, on public transit, in a museum, or on a mountain top, you’ll probably catch him dancing.
Julie’s expressive dancing and dynamic connection are known throughout the blues dancing world. With a background in theatre and solo dance, and an undying desire for continued learning, she is best known for her solo movement, choreography, aesthetics, and killer follower expression.
A hard-working competitor, Julie has won many national competitions, including Blues Muse 2017 Follower Invitational, North Star Blues 2017 Invitational Cuttin’, bluesSHOUT! 2017 All Star Jack & Jill, and more.
As a teacher, Julie is clear, thoughtful, and earnest. From advanced Struttin’ variations to beginner-friendly intros to lead-follow dynamics, Julie carefully crafts her classes and tailors her material to fit the crowd at hand. Julie has taught blues dancing in San Francisco, Seoul, Austin, Boston, London, Chicago, Zurich, and many places in between. She also teaches regularly in her home-base of Boston. For dance videos, pictures, and more info, check out https://dancewithjulie.wordpress.com.
Ruth skipped into her first dance class more than 25 years ago, and has since been dancing as many styles as she can get her feet on.
Ruth’s 15+ years as a dance instructor have taken her on teaching adventures across the US, Canada, Europe and Southeast Asia. She has continually developed both her teaching and her dancing skills. Ruth is known for her ability to craft explanations that fit students’ learning styles. She brings a vibrant mixture of deep technical knowledge, passion for movement, and silly fun that students can’t help but connect with.
In addition to training in blues, lindy, Argentine tango, modern, ballet and many other dance forms, Ruth is certified in Franklin Method, an increasingly popular body somatics method. She has a long-standing love affair with close-embrace connection, has sneakily swung out in the Louvre, and is curating a fine collection of fishtail variations.
Kenneth Shipp hails from St. Louis, MO as an instructor who grew up dancing hip hop and breakdancing before jumping into blues. He has spent the past few years passionately studying the family of blues idioms, incorporating his nerdy personality along the way. Kenneth’s life experiences inform his dancing and wants his students to walk away with a better historical and contextual understanding to exhibit it in their dances. With every class and practice, he'll encourage you to approach social dancing with coolness, relaxation, or in other words “Chill The F$%& Out.” When he’s not dancing, you can likely find him ranting about the latest blockbuster movie, game, or nerd convention.
Learn more about Kenneth at his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/
Mike's true loves in life are teaching, dancing, following, and music. There's no order, because for her, these things are intrinsically linked. In addition to national events like Lindy Focus and Enter the Blues, Mike has taught at countless regional events in Lindy, Blues, and Balboa, as well as traveling all over the country to teach and perform. She performed in an all-girls Charleston troupe at Camp Jitterbug's Jump Session Show in 2007, and in the all-girl blues troupe, the Hoodoo Ladies, at events from DC to BluesShout in St. Louis. Additionally, she has taught at events ranging from one-month artists residencies to international training camps.
Mike combines an intuitive understanding of connection with an analytical speaking style to give her students technique, but also strives to challenge and inspire her students to push themselves further into the music. She aims to help leaders create artistic compositions that are clearly led; she wants follows to have the ability to be a completely literal follow, and the inspiration and freedom to be an imaginative and dynamic contributor. In the classroom or on the social floor, she seeks a connection that involves active communication from both partners, to make a dance together.
Joey Science has been dancing since they were a small child, partner dancing since 2005, and zooming way, way in on Blues dancing since moving to Chicago in 2009. Their formal education in the learning sciences sneaks up in class formats that emphasize personal exploration and incorporation of the material, and a "try first, questions later" approach.
Live music begins at 9pm!
Live Music Ballroomin Blues night co-sponsored with Swing City
Comprised of some of the most sought after musicians in the world, Taryn Newborne and the Real Deal strive to keep bodies on the dance floor!
Gabrielle loves playing music that gets dancers out on the floor and keeps them there! Her passion is music that moves you, be it blues, classic swing, vintage-style jazz, or more soulful funky tunes. Be careful, her music will often inspire you to dance long after your feet would have called it a night.
23 Bay State Rd, Cambridge, MA
Parking: Some parking available in the lots on Bay State Road, New Street (next to Q Ballroom/Extreme Dancesport). Street parking available on Bay State Road and New Street. PARKING MAP
Transit Advice: Best to carpool between the main dance and the late night. Bus #74 is available but runs infrequently. Early morning bus service starts between 5-6am on the weekends. Best to carpool or use a ride share app to get home from the late night.
Please keep quiet outside and respect the neighborhood.
Food: Free late night snacks during the dance (fruits, vegetables, bagels, cookies, crackers, cheese, etc.). Gluten free options available. No nuts served (and no peanuts allowed on the premises). Lemonade and Iced tea.
Accessibility: This venue is not wheelchair accessible.
Bathrooms: Three bathrooms with multiple stalls
Andi Hansen lives and dances in Grand Rapids, Michigan, DJing there and anywhere else she can get her hands on an aux cord. Her musical comfort foods are Chicago and Delta blues, and she loves sharing those and other styles with the dance floor. Whether she’s starting the party or playing some nice chill music, her mission is to help you enjoy yourself, and maybe even find some new favorite songs.
Photo credit: Ben Hejkal
Born the daughter of radio DJ, Emily has been an avid fan of all things music her entire life. As a dancer first, she brings her love for jazz and blues to the dance floor. A frequent DJ at Atlanta’s local blues and lindy dances, she has also DJ'd at events all over the US. A few events she's DJ'd include: Southbound Blues Exchange, Backwater Blues, Mo' Better Blues, Blues Geek, Mile High Blues & Brickyard Blues.
Sometimes worrying about getting things right can get in the way of dancing. Come find out what Ruth & Julie care about in a partner dance and what they think you should toss right out of the garden.
Pre-reqs: Comfort dancing lead and/or follow in blues in multiple contexts and connections. Students will have put some thought into following or leading technique, musicality, & partnership already, and are prepared to challenge their expectations and think more deeply about their dance. Intermediate- to masters-level students will find this class comfortable and challenging.
Connect with your partner and feel the music together. This class will give you the skills you need to have good dances to some essential styles of blues music.
The choices we make as dancers about moves, aesthetic, rhythm, etc. are, unsurprisingly, really important to making good art. As such, it's easy to focus on the 'what' and 'how' of dancing, and forget to put as much time into the 'why'. This class will focus on exploring the impact of different choices one can make as a leader as well as what inspires you to make different choices.
Dancing satisfying rhythms by one-self feels good. When you add rhythmic interplay with partner and music, you have a recipe for next-level dancing. Explore this with Dan and Mike G, both of whom are musicians as well as dancers.
Play with your partnered patterns for jazz, expanding your vocabulary and finding building blocks for creativity.
Soul train lines are a great way to feel group togetherness and also have your moment in the spotlight. Get ready to have fun and bring the party!
Curious how to make your dancing a reflection of who you are inside? We will contemplate what movements we each enjoy, and go on a journey to discover how to make other movements feel like they belong in your body. We will also examine how each of us leads and follows. How do you lead in ways that create a dance that is uniquely you? How does the way you follow influence the choices your partner makes while leading you?
This class is going to be challenging. We're going being "when" and "where", and playing with acceleration and deceleration, with balance, with precision. This class will help you find your flow-related weaknesses, and find ways to improve them. Come prepared to work hard, and to fail... and then to practice, and then to get better.
Pre-reqs: Students in this class should already be very familiar with stretch and momentum, able to comfortably lead and follow complex passes and turns, and to have a strong sense of their own balance. If you're on the border for these pre-reqs but don't quite meet them, please bring a partner (or partners) rather than joining in rotation.
Ruth skipped into her first dance class more than 25 years ago, and has since been dancing as many styles as she can get her feet on.
Ruth’s 15+ years as a dance instructor have taken her on teaching adventures across the US, Canada, Europe and Southeast Asia. She has continually developed both her teaching and her dancing skills. Ruth is known for her ability to craft explanations that fit students’ learning styles. She brings a vibrant mixture of deep technical knowledge, passion for movement, and silly fun that students can’t help but connect with.
In addition to training in blues, lindy, Argentine tango, modern, ballet and many other dance forms, Ruth is certified in Franklin Method, an increasingly popular body somatics method. She has a long-standing love affair with close-embrace connection, has sneakily swung out in the Louvre, and is curating a fine collection of fishtail variations.
Julie’s expressive dancing and dynamic connection are known throughout the blues dancing world. With a background in theatre and solo dance, and an undying desire for continued learning, she is best known for her solo movement, choreography, aesthetics, and killer follower expression.
A hard-working competitor, Julie has won many national competitions, including Blues Muse 2017 Follower Invitational, North Star Blues 2017 Invitational Cuttin’, bluesSHOUT! 2017 All Star Jack & Jill, and more.
As a teacher, Julie is clear, thoughtful, and earnest. From advanced Struttin’ variations to beginner-friendly intros to lead-follow dynamics, Julie carefully crafts her classes and tailors her material to fit the crowd at hand. Julie has taught blues dancing in San Francisco, Seoul, Austin, Boston, London, Chicago, Zurich, and many places in between. She also teaches regularly in her home-base of Boston. For dance videos, pictures, and more info, check out https://dancewithjulie.wordpress.com.
Mike Grosser is one of the most recognized names in the Blues dance community. Mike is a top level instructor, dancer, choreographer, performer, and mentor. He has not only won respected blues competitions but also thrown down hard in unofficial late night dance-offs. Mike is a founding member and choreographer of the B Sides, which is the first and currently only ongoing professional blues performance group. Students across continents rave about Mike’s insights, personality, and breadth and depth of knowledge.
As an instructor, Mike strives to put himself in his students’ shoes so that he can relate material as intuitively and thoroughly as possible. He 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 lives and breathes dance. He is constantly honing his skills and developing new ideas. If you run into him at grocery store, on public transit, in a museum, or on a mountain top, you’ll probably catch him dancing.
Mike's true loves in life are teaching, dancing, following, and music. There's no order, because for her, these things are intrinsically linked. In addition to national events like Lindy Focus and Enter the Blues, Mike has taught at countless regional events in Lindy, Blues, and Balboa, as well as traveling all over the country to teach and perform. She performed in an all-girls Charleston troupe at Camp Jitterbug's Jump Session Show in 2007, and in the all-girl blues troupe, the Hoodoo Ladies, at events from DC to BluesShout in St. Louis. Additionally, she has taught at events ranging from one-month artists residencies to international training camps.
Mike combines an intuitive understanding of connection with an analytical speaking style to give her students technique, but also strives to challenge and inspire her students to push themselves further into the music. She aims to help leaders create artistic compositions that are clearly led; she wants follows to have the ability to be a completely literal follow, and the inspiration and freedom to be an imaginative and dynamic contributor. In the classroom or on the social floor, she seeks a connection that involves active communication from both partners, to make a dance together.
Dan Legenthal lives in Boston, MA, working on as many vernacular jazz and blues dances as he can. His passion extends to both the social floor and competition. When not competing, he teaches at events like Korea Blues Camp (South Korea), Hot Blues In Toulouse (France), and The Blues Experiment (USA).
Drawing from his degree in Classical Guitar, Dan has unique insight into how to practice and develop one’s skills, and uses that knowledge to create a dynamic and engaging learning environment. Since dance is experiential, Dan likes to prioritize doing, and treats learning like a sequence of experiments where you can learn as much from failures as from success. This philosophy is anchored on clear, precise language, and a belief that every student is capable of developing their own skill by patient, intentional practice.
Kenneth Shipp hails from St. Louis, MO as an instructor who grew up dancing hip hop and breakdancing before jumping into blues. He has spent the past few years passionately studying the family of blues idioms, incorporating his nerdy personality along the way. Kenneth’s life experiences inform his dancing and wants his students to walk away with a better historical and contextual understanding to exhibit it in their dances. With every class and practice, he'll encourage you to approach social dancing with coolness, relaxation, or in other words “Chill The F$%& Out.” When he’s not dancing, you can likely find him ranting about the latest blockbuster movie, game, or nerd convention.
Learn more about Kenneth at his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/
Mike Grosser is one of the most recognized names in the Blues dance community. Mike is a top level instructor, dancer, choreographer, performer, and mentor. He has not only won respected blues competitions but also thrown down hard in unofficial late night dance-offs. Mike is a founding member and choreographer of the B Sides, which is the first and currently only ongoing professional blues performance group. Students across continents rave about Mike’s insights, personality, and breadth and depth of knowledge.
As an instructor, Mike strives to put himself in his students’ shoes so that he can relate material as intuitively and thoroughly as possible. He 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 lives and breathes dance. He is constantly honing his skills and developing new ideas. If you run into him at grocery store, on public transit, in a museum, or on a mountain top, you’ll probably catch him dancing.
Dan Legenthal lives in Boston, MA, working on as many vernacular jazz and blues dances as he can. His passion extends to both the social floor and competition. When not competing, he teaches at events like Korea Blues Camp (South Korea), Hot Blues In Toulouse (France), and The Blues Experiment (USA).
Drawing from his degree in Classical Guitar, Dan has unique insight into how to practice and develop one’s skills, and uses that knowledge to create a dynamic and engaging learning environment. Since dance is experiential, Dan likes to prioritize doing, and treats learning like a sequence of experiments where you can learn as much from failures as from success. This philosophy is anchored on clear, precise language, and a belief that every student is capable of developing their own skill by patient, intentional practice.
Mike's true loves in life are teaching, dancing, following, and music. There's no order, because for her, these things are intrinsically linked. In addition to national events like Lindy Focus and Enter the Blues, Mike has taught at countless regional events in Lindy, Blues, and Balboa, as well as traveling all over the country to teach and perform. She performed in an all-girls Charleston troupe at Camp Jitterbug's Jump Session Show in 2007, and in the all-girl blues troupe, the Hoodoo Ladies, at events from DC to BluesShout in St. Louis. Additionally, she has taught at events ranging from one-month artists residencies to international training camps.
Mike combines an intuitive understanding of connection with an analytical speaking style to give her students technique, but also strives to challenge and inspire her students to push themselves further into the music. She aims to help leaders create artistic compositions that are clearly led; she wants follows to have the ability to be a completely literal follow, and the inspiration and freedom to be an imaginative and dynamic contributor. In the classroom or on the social floor, she seeks a connection that involves active communication from both partners, to make a dance together.
Julie’s expressive dancing and dynamic connection are known throughout the blues dancing world. With a background in theatre and solo dance, and an undying desire for continued learning, she is best known for her solo movement, choreography, aesthetics, and killer follower expression.
A hard-working competitor, Julie has won many national competitions, including Blues Muse 2017 Follower Invitational, North Star Blues 2017 Invitational Cuttin’, bluesSHOUT! 2017 All Star Jack & Jill, and more.
As a teacher, Julie is clear, thoughtful, and earnest. From advanced Struttin’ variations to beginner-friendly intros to lead-follow dynamics, Julie carefully crafts her classes and tailors her material to fit the crowd at hand. Julie has taught blues dancing in San Francisco, Seoul, Austin, Boston, London, Chicago, Zurich, and many places in between. She also teaches regularly in her home-base of Boston. For dance videos, pictures, and more info, check out https://dancewithjulie.wordpress.com.
Kenneth Shipp hails from St. Louis, MO as an instructor who grew up dancing hip hop and breakdancing before jumping into blues. He has spent the past few years passionately studying the family of blues idioms, incorporating his nerdy personality along the way. Kenneth’s life experiences inform his dancing and wants his students to walk away with a better historical and contextual understanding to exhibit it in their dances. With every class and practice, he'll encourage you to approach social dancing with coolness, relaxation, or in other words “Chill The F$%& Out.” When he’s not dancing, you can likely find him ranting about the latest blockbuster movie, game, or nerd convention.
Learn more about Kenneth at his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/
Mike Grosser is one of the most recognized names in the Blues dance community. Mike is a top level instructor, dancer, choreographer, performer, and mentor. He has not only won respected blues competitions but also thrown down hard in unofficial late night dance-offs. Mike is a founding member and choreographer of the B Sides, which is the first and currently only ongoing professional blues performance group. Students across continents rave about Mike’s insights, personality, and breadth and depth of knowledge.
As an instructor, Mike strives to put himself in his students’ shoes so that he can relate material as intuitively and thoroughly as possible. He 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 lives and breathes dance. He is constantly honing his skills and developing new ideas. If you run into him at grocery store, on public transit, in a museum, or on a mountain top, you’ll probably catch him dancing.
Ruth skipped into her first dance class more than 25 years ago, and has since been dancing as many styles as she can get her feet on.
Ruth’s 15+ years as a dance instructor have taken her on teaching adventures across the US, Canada, Europe and Southeast Asia. She has continually developed both her teaching and her dancing skills. Ruth is known for her ability to craft explanations that fit students’ learning styles. She brings a vibrant mixture of deep technical knowledge, passion for movement, and silly fun that students can’t help but connect with.
In addition to training in blues, lindy, Argentine tango, modern, ballet and many other dance forms, Ruth is certified in Franklin Method, an increasingly popular body somatics method. She has a long-standing love affair with close-embrace connection, has sneakily swung out in the Louvre, and is curating a fine collection of fishtail variations.
Joey Science has been dancing since they were a small child, partner dancing since 2005, and zooming way, way in on Blues dancing since moving to Chicago in 2009. Their formal education in the learning sciences sneaks up in class formats that emphasize personal exploration and incorporation of the material, and a "try first, questions later" approach.
Kenneth has been spinning tunes for well over a decade, creating breakdance mixes from his dad's vinyl collection to DJing hip hop / break competitions in college. After falling in love with blues in 2014, he’s spent the past few years learning and diving into the wide variety of blues styles and history. Kenneth aims to get you grooving and moving every time you step out onto the dance floor. He loves playing with your faves while also showcasing the soul/blues legends from his hometown of Nashville and his new home of St. Louis.
Amy Kucharik [/kuh-CHAR-ick/] is an award-winning songwriter who has been singing and playing for dancers since 2009. Drawing from blues, folk and Vaudeville traditions and with a street-smart stagecraft honed in the subways of Boston, Amy tours and performs as a one-woman band with ukulele, foot percussion, mouth trumpet and harmonica, or with her Boston-based bands. Her Friends With Benefits played at Sweet Molasses Blues 2013 and Montreal Bagel & Blues in 2015. Amy’s songs “Dance Crush Blues” and “Like a Boss” have since been DJed at dance events from coast to coast and internationally. She released her debut full-length CD in 2014 and has just finished making her follow-up, "Until the Words Are Gone." Tiger Moan was formed in 2015 as a dance-specific band and inspired by the great blues women of the 20th century such as Victoria Spivey, Sippie Wallace, and Bonnie Raitt. With their diverse repertoire and versatile instrumentation, Amy and Tiger Moan tap into a broad variety of styles and influences to keep your dance floor extra hot and extra sweet.
Amy Kucharik on vocals/ukulele/guitar/harmonica, Michael Valdez on keys, Ariel Bernstein on percussion, Greg Toro on upright bass, Tim Lewandowski on trombone, Jeremy Valadez (of the Chicken Slacks) on sax and clarinet.
626 Somerville Ave, Somerville, MA
Accessibility: Wheelchair available (ramp), handicapped parking, venue on 1st floor.
Parking: Venue has a parking lot. Street parking on Somerville Ave. Metered parking off at night. Note signage.
Transit Advice: Best to carpool between the main dance and the late night. Best to carpool or use a ride share app to get home at the end of the late night. Bus #83 and subway begin Monday morning service between 5-6am. Note that Somerville is experiencing heavy construction during 2019 for the green line extension. Check detour routes ahead of time.
Please keep quiet outside and respect the neighborhood.
Food: Free late night snacks during the dance (fruits, vegetables, bagels, cookies, crackers, cheese, etc.). Gluten free options available. No nuts served. Lemonade and Iced tea.
Bathrooms: Two bathrooms, one with 2 stalls, the other with one stall and a urinal
Many years ago Flouer fell in love with blues dancing, and ever since she has been fascinated with blues movement, history, and music. DJing has turned into a passion for her, the meditative process of discovering and organizing music & the thrill of watching a room of dancers thrum are some of her favorite things to do. She has created musical experiences for dancers all over Australia, Europe, Canada, and the US, as well as DJing regularly at events in her home town of New York City. Thanks for listening- now get up and dance! http://FlouerDances.com
Sarah Elise started dancing more than 6 years ago now (eep!), and shortly thereafter was roped into doing housing for some random Boston event. She’s been involved with the running of Sweet Molasses Blues since 2013, and it hasn’t blown up yet. She absolutely could not make Sweet Mo happen without her amazing team, because she is as flighty and excited as Heart from the Awkward Yeti comics.
When she’s not planning Sweet Molasses, Sarah Elise organizes Shades San Francisco, takes all the dance classes she possibly can, hangs from metal hoops, and picks out the most extra outfits and costumes for her friends.