Not many people have heard of blues dancing. Nevertheless blues dancing is hardly a new form of dance. It has been around as long as blues music, and its movements originate even farther back. The dance was developed by African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when they combined elements of West African movement with Western Eurpopean structure and partner dancing.

 

Blues dancing is related to other African American partner dances, such as the Cake walk, the Charleston, and the Lindy hop (a form of swing dancing). One difference between blues dancing and these other dances is that (like Argentine Tango) there is no one basic step. In fact, what we call blues dancing today is really a synthesis of a number of types of blues dances each of which has its own simple basic step. In addition to this, there is a large emphasis in blues dancing on interpreting the music, and building one's own style of dancing. The simplicity and versatility of the dance allows us to blues dance to a wide variety of music styles and have fun with every one. Blues dancing has the potential to be very sexy. It also has the potential to express other feelings, such as excitment, sadness, and humor.

 

Today, now that swing dancing is regaining in popularity, many of these swing dancers have taken an interest in related forms of dancing. Blues dancing is gaining in popularity quickly, and we are seeing national blues dance festivals appearing around the nation. Seattle is also now home to two regular public blues dances.

 

We feel that blues dancing may be of interest for those that love blues music, or for those that just want to express themselves and have fun while doing a simple partner dance. If you learn to dance to the blues, the dance can be easily modified to dance to modern day (non-blues) dance music. Your options would be wide open for what you want to do with it.

 

 

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