We offer 5 optional workshops, of which you will be able 1, 2 or 3, depending on your track schedule and your energy level.
For whom? Participants to the festival with a full pass (track). Everybody who wants more input, or for solo dancers who want to take a partnered workshop and vice versa.
Why add an optional workshop? This way you can have input from some of the inspirers who are maybe not in your track ‘package’, you can grow within a specific topic, or you can have an additional opportunity to learn from a specific inspirer.
What is different about an optional workshop? The optional workshops are open level and more out of the box. They are also slightly shorter, with 1 hour and 15 minutes.
How to sign up? Register separately for 1 or more optional workshops when registering for Big City Blues. You can also add an optional workshop later onwards, as long as there are still spots. Optional workshops come at €20/each. Optional workshops will only take place if sufficient people registered.
SATURDAY 15 FEBRUARY
Awakening Session with Els
10:45 – 12:00 @ Doxtudio studio 1
SOLO Let’s roll into our blues weekend with a gentle wake-up flow. We will bring awareness to our breath, explore some soothing stretches, and kindly activate our bodies, so you are ready for the classes (and parties) to come. Take this time for you to recenter and reboot.
Body Isolation with Genia
12:15 – 13:30 @ Doxtudio studio 1
SOLO Genia lets you explore your body in all its possibilities. By isolating body parts, we become more aware of what we have and can work with as dancers. In this workshop, you discover how to synchronize and a-synchronize movements.
From Blues to Funk and Back with Nawelle & Bruno
15:15 – 16:30 @ Danspunt studio 2
PARTNERED & SOLO At the origin of Funk you will find New Orleans, the Brass Band. At the crossroads between Rhythm And Blues, Soul and Jazz you will find the Funk. What does Funk provoke on our Blues Dance? Get into the Groove With us. You can join as a solo dancer as well as with a partner.
SUNDAY 16 FEBRUARY
Partnered Blues with Jamica & Charlley
11:15 – 12:30 @ Danspunt studio 1
PARTNERED What happens when you put an experienced dancer, scholar, and facilitator who learned to dance as a teenager, with an elder who has played the Blues for over 35 years, and who later joined the dance scene after some dancers attended one of his shows? Magic of course! Jamica & Charlley are back in Belgium to bring you deeper insights of blues music and its dances. If you feel there is so much more to discover from the Black American perspective, take a chance with this workshop!
Latin Blues with Alba & Gas
13:00 – 14:15 @ Danspunt studio 1
PARTNERED The Afro-American and Latino communities in the U.S. have long shared a deep cultural connection, fostering significant cross-cultural exchange. Latin rhythms have left a lasting imprint on blues music, just as blues and soul have influenced Latin music within the U.S. In this exploration, we will dive into the fusion of Latin sounds with blues, examining different styles of Latin blues and discovering unique ways to express this vibrant musical blend.