It’s time again for our Community Jazz Jam! There will be swingin’ music, and great classes for beginners! Stay late for our post dance blues hour! Plus the venue is not only gorgeous, but they have a fabulous bar!
~~~Schedule (short version- see below for details)~~~
7 pm: Blues w/ Charlie
8 pm: Beginner Partner Charleston & Jitterbug w/ Sparrow & Jean
9-11pm: Swing AVL Dance w/ Community Jazz Jam
11-12pm: Vintage Blues Hour w/ DJ
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PRICING: Dance/Band is $5 (includes blues hour) and classes are $10/$8 for Swing Asheville members. Vintage Blues Hour is $2 suggested donation for those who didn’t pay for Dance/Band admission.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Interested in free dances or half priced lessons? Want to help promote the swing scene? Consider volunteering for Swing Asheville! To see what sort of opportunities are available and to sign up, please head over to http://signup.com/go/qiyRjLG
MUSIC
It’s our favorite night of the month: the community swing jam led by Sparrow! If you are a musician (everyone welcome, from beginners to professionals), join the house band on stage to play some of the most swingin’ dance tunes from history. Charts & more details are posted on the Asheville Swing Jam facebook group wall. Note that this is an acoustic jam, but we do have mics available for vocalists and quiet instruments.
BLUES
Band finished and you’re not done dancing? You’re in luck… stick around for our vintage blues hour! Continue dancing to DJ’d music until the bar kicks us out. $2 suggested donation for those coming just for the blues hour.
FOOD: Feeling peckish? The bar has a small selection of vegan goodies to help keep your stamina up! Ask a bartender for more details.
CLASSES
7pm: Continuing Class: Blues w/ Charlie
The music and dance aesthetics of Blues and Lindy share a common heritage as African American artforms which developed from late 1800’s, through the turn of the century, to today. We will be looking at blues in terms of four core concepts: Grounding, Pulse, Polyrhythms, and Lag. We will also talk about the concept of ‘dance idioms,’ specifically the blues idioms of Drag, Struttin, and the Texas Shuffle. Nov 6 — Basics of blues and added vocabulary to build you blues sentences. Nov 13 — Modulation and isolations in blues and an intro to Drag. Nov 20 — Dance control, speeding up, and Struttin’. Nov 27 — The Texas Shuffle and breaking down. This series of lessons will be focused on progressive concepts which will build on one another from week to week. This would be very useful for beginners looking to move up to intermediate or for intermediate dancers to hone their core skills.
“Continuing” classes are for those dancers who have cemented the basics of the dance being featured that specific month. This includes knowing (and being able to execute cleanly and consistently) basic footwork and lead/follow skills for that dance. Some continuing classes may require no advance knowledge of a dance. This will be noted in the the class description.
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8 pm: Core Class: Beginner Partner Charleston & Jitterbug w/ Sparrow & Jean
This month we will be doing beginner partnered Charleston. Focusing mostly on side-by-side 30s style, we will also add in some jitterbug steps to give your dancing a little more variety and swing. No partner necessary! You’ll get to switch roles and dance with everyone.
“Core” lessons stress the fundamentals of swing dancing for beginning dancers. Lessons rotate monthly to focus on a different kind of swing dance (6 Count Lindy, 8 Count Lindy, Charleston, Balboa, etc.). Because good fundamentals are hard to develop in one month, we recommend repeating Core lessons (on the same topic) to help develop the solid foundation you’ll need in continuing classes. Core lessons are also great for intermediate and advanced dancers who want to “get back to basics” or learn a different dancing role (lead vs. follow).
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GIFT CERTIFICATES
Do you want to buy a gift certificate for our classes as a gift, or to pre-pay for a block of classes for yourself? You can purchase gift certificates at the door at our weekly dance! They are $40 for a block of 4, and a great way to dive into the fun world of dance.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Nov 13: Useless Cans (from out of town!)
Nov 20: Jason DeCristofaro Quartet
Nov 27: Posey Quartet
Dec 4: Community Jazz Jam
Dec 11: Queen Bee & the Honeylovers
Dec 18: TBA
Dec 25: NO DANCE
Jan 1: Russ Wilson’s Hangover Party
https://www.facebook.com/events/271045443535476/