We've invited four of the top blues instructors in the world to help you explore blues movement, partner connection, the roots of blues dancing, and what blues dancing is really about.
Damon Stone (San Francisco, CA) — Damon has been dancing his entire life, starting with vernacular Jazz/Blues first taught to him at the tender age of six by his grandmother, a Chicago native born and raised. After nearly a decade of learning at the heels of his elders, he eventually studied a score of different dance forms until coming full circle in 1995 to focus primarily on the history and styles of Swing and Blues as his family danced them with a special focus on the Southern styles from the Mississppi Delta region. He has studied the development of vernacular Jazz/Blues dance across the United States learning from a number of the original dancers. He is largely regarded as one of the foremost authorities on Blues dance has been interviewed as a dance historian in documentary and for radio. Damon has been a featured instructor at camps, festivals, and workshops across four continents.
Heidi Fite (San Francisco, CA) — Heidi began dancing and teaching the Blues in St. Louis in 1999 and has been dancing, teaching and performing ever since. An early promoter of Blues dancing, she began the first national Blues dance workshop (Cheap Thrills), which has since transformed into the nation’s largest Blues dance workshop and competition weekend (bluesSHOUT!). She now lives in San Francisco and travels the world teaching Blues dancing as a living tradition, with a rich history and an exciting future. From private lessons and local classes to international workshops and historical research and documentation of the dance, she is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Blues dancing. Her classes are inspiring and challenging, but her focus on the underlying principles and fundamentals allows her to break down the most difficult concepts and moves so they are easy to understand and incorporate. Heidi is able to communicate and instill in her students a love of dance and a dedication to the learning process. More important, her classes will put some serious "boom boom boom" and "aw haw haw haw" in your dancing.
Byron Alley — One of Canada's best-known blues and swing dancers, Byron's been dancing to blues music since he was a toddler. He grew up in a family where the sounds of Robert Johnson, Taj Mahal and his dad's own blues guitar playing were a big part of his childhood soundtrack. Byron's collection of competition-related shiny stuff also includes a bunch of podium placements in blues at the national level starting in 2004, including winning 2010's blues division at the Canadian Swing Championships. He's also collected awards for Lindy Hop, WCS and Balboa at CSC, ULHS, BTP, and many other acronyms. He's taught across Canada and in a number of cities in the US, coaching many dancers to their first national titles, and for the last few years has focused a lot on training teachers. Read more.
Natalia Rueda (Ottawa, ON) — A full-time dance teacher, Natalia's many competition awards include winning first place at the Canadian Swing Championships two years in a row. She's won Lindy Hop, blues and WCS awards at events such as CSC and Swing Niagara, Swingin' New England and the TOSDC in Toronto. Natalia coaches Swing Dynamite's award-winning all-girl team, the Dynamite Girls, famous for their blues dancing and Charleston, and she coaches two Lindy Hop teams! A native of Colombia, Natalia grew up dancing Salsa and Merengue. As she puts it, "I never went to a party where people didn't know how to partner dance until I came to Canada!" Her energy and creativity make her an exciting dancer to watch, and an equally fun teacher to learn from! Natalia's teaching has been featured at events such as the Quebec Swing Rendez-Vous and Montreal's Bagel and Blues weekend. Read more.