Blues Dance
“‘Blues dance’ is a new name encompassing a family of social and popular dance practices of everyday people within African American communities in the US. It was and is done to blues music from gospel, to jazz, acoustic Delta blues, electric Chicago Blues and more. Like other branches of African American vernacular dance such as Chicago Steppin’, Hip Hop, and Lindy Hop, the roots of Blues dance evolved out of African and African American dance traditions.”
Values
Creativity, play, and improvisation.
Individuality and self-expression.
Connection with the music.
Aesthetic
An athletic and grounded posture.
An asymmetrical look and feel, characterised by the equality of movement throughout the body.
A drawing out of each beat to create tension, even when appearing relaxed.
Articulated movement throughout the body to emphasise different rhythms and polyrhythms.
Call and response, with other dancers or the music.
Effortless movement and coolness, even when executing difficult movements.
History
“Music and movement for African Americans during enslavement was often limited to activities such as Christian prayer meetings, work chants, and entertainment for plantation owners. After emancipation, African Americans gradually had more freedom to gather, play music, and dance on their own. Field hands in the South socialized in juke joints, small shacks where beer and liquor were sold, one or two local musicians played, and people danced. In Northern cities during the Great Migration of the 1920s, middle-class blues and jazz musicians and dancers gathered in small apartments for occasions like rent parties. African Americans danced—and continue to dance—on front porches and street corners, and in homes, back rooms of restaurants, community centers, and ballrooms.”