Embrace the excitement of starting a new dance style from scratch! Learn during the day, party at night. Together, we dive right into blues music, dance and culture. We have collected all information for new blues dancers on this page. If you have other questions, get in touch.
Omdat de workshops tijdens het festival in het Engels aangeboden worden, is deze pagina in dezelfde taal. Heb je vragen, aarzel dan niet om ons te contacteren in het Nederlands.
Introducing the Total Beginners Track
Big City Blues is a festival organized by Upside Down. We celebrates blues music and dance by paying tribute to the African American origins of the art form.
Its 8th edition takes place in the weekend of 14, 15 & 16 February 2025 in Ghent, Belgium.
A festival combines 3 nights of parties with 2 days of learning content. All parties feature live music, DJs, performances, concerts, tasters, competitions and more. During the day, you participate in workshops in your level, guided by (inter)national artists. During lunchtime, you are very much welcome to join the talks. We also provide pre and after festival activities.
New this year is a Total Beginners track with workshops specifically meant for people who have never danced to blues before! You will take your first step in partnered blues dancing, also called Couple Blues Dance.
What does it mean to Blues Dance with a partner?
Partnered blues dance means dancing as a couple on blues music, connecting and grooving together while expressing yourself in a personal way. Blues dance is characterized by emotion, improvisation, rhythm, community feeling and creativity.
Visually, you can expect fluent but grounded movements, with plenty of freedom for feet, hips, upper body and arms. Dancers switch between open and closed positions. Similar to the music, blues dance varies from slow, quiet movements to energetic expressions.
Have a look at Ursula Hicks’ and Felipe Braga’s performance last year. This performance was a social dance, which means it was improvised on the amazing music played by Steven Troch, Lon Eldridge, Filip Vandebril and Dennis Van Gier.
How does the festival look like for Total Beginners?
Your program will start on Friday night February 14th with a party. Get inspired by the music and the vibe, meet new friends and try out the dancefloor! We believe everyone can enjoy the party, whether you have any dance experience or not (yet). We have more parties on Saturday and Sunday night. Discover the pogram here.
Your workshops will start on Saturday morning, February 15th. You will have 2 times 1,5 hours of learning time on Saturday, and another block on Sunday morning. You can find the schedule here. On Sunday afternoon, you choose a last workshop from 7 different open level pick ‘n’ mix options.
Your inspirers (that’s how we call the artists guiding you in the workshops) will be Jamica Zion & Charlley Ward, 2 wonderful Americans with loads of experience in Blues dance and music, and Valérie Villers & Sep Vermeersch, our amazing local blues teachers.
For the pick ‘n’ mix, you will be able to take a workshop with another inspirer. And if you want more content, you can always add an optional workshop to your program. Get to know the inspirers here.
During or after the lunch break, we invite you to the talks about Blues culture and storytelling. Big City Blues pays hommage to the Black American roots of Blues. In order to grow as dancers and community members, we need to deepen our understanding of the context, culture and black African American roots of blues music and dance. That is why we provide a platform for people from the Culture. More info will be shared on the website and on social media (Facebook event, Instagram).
If you sign up for a festival, please be aware that your weekend will be packed. Your body and mind will need some time to rest in between the workshops and parties as well, so there is little time to combine a festival with work or social activities. And… you might want to cancel those plans on Monday morning. Our parties on Sunday are famous for lasting till breakfast time…
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know Blues is something for me?
Not sure if Blues is a match? We organize free taster classes in January. Stay tuned for more info.
Where is the festival taking place?
Welcome to the magical city of Ghent, in Belgium! The festival with all workshops and parties is conveniently located in the same area of Dok Noord, in the northern part of Ghent. It is close to the station Gent-Dampoort and on cycling distance from the station Gent-Sint-Pieters. On Sunday night, we party in the Centre of Ghent, around Korenmarkt. More information about the venues here.
In which dance role should I register?
The workshops are designed according to ELEF: Everybody Leads, Everybody Follows, which means that you will learn both dance roles as a “switch dancer”. ELEF doubles the fun, because you can dance with everyone and explore both roles from the start!
If, however, you prefer to stick to one role, you can also sign up as a lead or follow. In that case, we recommend you to register with someone else in the other role to balance out participants in the workshops. It doesn’t mean you will only dance with that person, because we will rotate in the workshops.
When registering, select “switch”, “lead” or “follow” in your profile.
Who will I dance with?
There is no need to bring a fixed partner. As Blues dance is a social dance, you are likely to dance with many people. During the workshops, we will rotate and change partner regularly.
If you want to stay in the same role, we recommend that you register with someone else in the other role to balance out the overall number of participants. In this case, select “register with a partner” and follow the steps in the form when registering. If you select “switch”, you do not add a partner.
On the dancefloor, you can ask or get asked to dance, either with people you know or people you have not met before. You are always entitled to say no to a dance, no explanation asked. We expect all participants to help and ensure a safe environment. Please read the code of conduct before signing up.
What to wear?
First of all: something you feel comfortable in.
During workshops and parties, you will move and sweat a lot. It is recommended to bring at least extra set of clothes and take care of your personal hygiene (e.g. bring a towel or neutral deodorant, shower beforehand, brush your teeth…). Because you dance closely together, you are also responsible for the comfort of your dance partners.
At night, we like to dress up. Don’t worry if you don’t have fancy or vintage looking clothes, any outfit will do as long as you can dance in it and you feel like yourself.
Shoes are important, though. To avoid injuries, pain and discomfort, we recommend flat shoes with a smooth sole such as leather: there is a lot of sliding and spinning going on. Rubber soles can force your knees and ankles. Avoid heels or sport shoes with black soles, they damage or leave traces on the floor. If you are wearing inappropriate shoes, the organizers could ask you to switch shoes. During workshops, it is also an option to dance on your socks. Most likely, you do not own dance shoes yet, so better be safe than sorry and bring an extra pair to the festival.
How much does it cost?
A full pass includes the Total Beginners Track with 6 hours of workshops, 2 talks, 3 nights of parties and a contribution to the social & sustainability fund. We adopt a pay-what-you-can principle by using a sliding scale system:
- The standard price is €230.
- You can pay 25% less or 50% less. Simply select this option in the registration form.
- If you can afford to pay more, we invite you to top your fee with €10, €25, €45 or €90. All proceeds go into the fund to cover the discounts as well as donate to NGOs who share the same values.
- If you are unable to make the payment in one go, contact us. We can arrange for you to pay in terms.
- Upside Down werkt samen met UiTPAS. UiTPAS-kansentariefhouders in de region Gent hebben recht op 80% korting. Mail ons je uitpasnummer door om hiervan gebruik te maken.
You can find out more about the sliding scale and our Terms & Conditions on the registration page.
How to register?
Registrations open on Friday October 18th at 7pm CET (19:00 Belgian time).
There will be a link on the registration page. You create your profile and select the Total Beginners Track.
It can take some days to process your registration. Wait until you get confirmation before booking your travel and accommodation.
Any questions, reach out!