August 4–5, 2018: Please welcome Damon and Kelsy Stone to San Diego for a blues cultural immersion workshop! This workshop teaches the dances, the music, the culture, and the history as inseparable parts of the whole. The mission is to take folks who dabble in the blues or do blues dances and turn them into folks who understand and embody the values of the blues.
There are workshops that teach you about blues dances through topical classes broken down into discrete techniques, concepts, and movement qualities. This is not that workshop.
If you dance or are interested in dancing the blues, you WILL grow in this workshop through gaining a better understanding of the music and a deeper understanding of the blues in the context of Black American culture and history. Every concept, movement, and exercise will be framed with cultural context and history.
Always 100% FREE for blues musicians, in order to promote a better understanding of the history and culture of the blues amongst dancers. All ages welcome.
Registration
- Opens Monday, 6/18, at 9am Pacific
- San Diego Locals: $10 off current registration price / $5 off single day (email info@bluenotesd.com for code – be sure to whitelist our email so it doesn’t go to spam!)
- Early Bird (until July 2nd): $90
- Regular (until July 23rd): $100
- Last-Minute: $110
Can’t attend but would like to help someone else get to the workshop? You can buy a gift pass below too! Need a gift pass? Email us at info@bluenotesd.com.
Workshop Overview
- Because this is for cultural immersion, there will be single-day or full weekend passes only, no a la carte classes.
- Local musicians (TBA) will be involved in this workshop to give both historical and musical perspective to the dances
- No evening dances will be hosted. Instead, we will go out and dance to some excellent local LIVE MUSIC.
Daily Themes
- Saturday: “Jukin’ the Blues” – understanding the values, music, and movement from the context of juke joints, live music, and the conditions from which blues developed. Will include local musician history and rhythm classes.
- Sunday: “Living Blues” – interacting with the blues as a living entity. Creativity in your movement, taking inspiration from one another and the music, Blackness and the blues in today’s world. Closes with an office hour.
Details
- Please arrive at noon each day for check-in.
- We will give you a grace period, then run for roughly 4 hours of learning each day with breaks for stretching, refreshments, etc.
- To encourage local participation, San Diego County locals will receive a discount, please email info@bluenotesd.com for a discount code.
- Location: Party Fitness Studio • 4659 Mission Gorge Pl, San Diego, CA 92120
- Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/247077432514991/
Evening Schedule
- Thursday: Bill Magee at Patrick’s Gaslamp Pub, 9pm–1:30am. $5. 428 F St, San Diego, CA 92101
- Friday: Black Xpression! open mic, 8pm–11pm. $5. 2184 Logan Ave, San Diego, CA 92113
- Saturday: Lenny “Fuzzy” Rankins at Patricks Gaslamp Pub, 9pm–1:30am. $5 cover after 9pm. 428 F St, San Diego, CA 92101. This place gets PACKED. Get there earlier if you want seating. Carpooling/rideshares highly recommended.
- Sunday: Soul Sunday at Public Square Coffee House, 7:30pm–10pm. $10-12 (buy your tickets early!). 8278 La Mesa Boulevard, La Mesa, CA 91942
Damon Stone
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. After nearly a decade of learning at the heels of his elders, he went on and eventually studied a numerous 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 Mississippi 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 idiom dance and has been interviewed as a dance historian in documentary and for radio. Damon has been a featured instructor at camps, festivals, and workshops across five continents.
Kelsy Stone
Kelsy brings her lifetime of dance training, a passion for vernacular dance, and a sharp eye for technique to the Blues dance world. She has brought her joy and knowledge of blues idiom dances to some of the most high-profile events in the US, including but not limited to: bluesSHOUT!, The Experiment, and Nocturne Blues–serving as faculty, mentor, competition coordinator, and judge.
Kelsy’s critical eye and love of deep technique are tempered by her love of “dad jokes,” getting lost in the music, and embracing of the ridiculous. She shows her appreciation of African American culture by speaking of the history of Blues idiom dance and taking her craft seriously, but never herself. She believes every mistake is an opportunity to learn, every class an opportunity to challenge, and every dance an opportunity to pay respect to those who came before.
Tomcat Courtney
Tomcat Courtney. (Youtube)
Born in 1929, bluesman Tomcat Courtney shows no signs of slowing down. While growing up in Texas, his pianist father owned a nightclub frequented by blues legends like Sonny Boy Williamson. Courtney pursued tap dancing and began to perform in places like the Barnum And Bailey Circus and other type traveling shows and he also began to sing as well, After learning guitar, he fell easily into the rhythm of the traditional Delta blues groove of his most admired musicians, like BB King and Lightnin’ Hopkins.
In the early 1960’s Tomcat Courtney moved to Los Angeles where in began to do shows in night clubs like the 54 night club,the Eightball ,Polka Dot,Psychedelic Shack and other numerous clubs.
Moving to San Diego in 1971, Courtney formed the Bluesdusters, who became house regulars at O.B.’s Texas Teahouse, where Courtney played every week from 1972 to 1992. Nowadays, he turns up frequently at P.B.’s Chateau Orleans and La Jolla’s Turquoise Café .His album Downsville Blues was released in May 2008. It includes many of his own compositions, as well as classic covers like Mance Lipscomb’s “Meet Me in the Bottom”, Buddy Moss first song it 1935 and Tampa Red’s “Cryin’ Won’t Help You , Tomcat Courtney writes and performs all of his songs.
Tomcat Courtney did a tour at the Lucerne Blues Festival, Marco Fiume Blues Passions Festival in Italy, the Bay-Car Blues Festival in France, the Lionel Hampton Jazz Club at Hotel Le Meridien in Paris, Tomcat Courtney also did the Hayward-Russell City Blues Festival Blues Festival in 2010 and captured the audience at the Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club.Downsville Blues was number one on several of the European Blues charts in 2009 and his European charting and record sales earned him an invitation to the prestigious 2010 Montreux Blues Festival. After playing Montreux and touring Europe, Courtney was inducted into the California Blues Hall of Fame. The Bay Area Blues Society and the City of Oakland have been recognizing worthy local and international blues artists since 1985 with their annual West Coast Blues Hall of Fame and Awards show. This year the event was held in the Grand Ballroom at the Hilton Oakland Airport Hotel on March 28th, 2010, Tomcat Courtney was awarded the musical accomplishments of having contributed greatly to the music.
Kevin Cooper
Kevin Cooper is a Grammy Award winning Bass Player from San Diego. His career includes recording with Major Record Labels, National television appearances, and a Broadway Show performance where he also received 4 Tony Award nominations. In recent years Kevin had the honor of studying with Ravi Shankar in New Delhi India. He performed on Anoushka Shankar’s Grammy nominated CD “Rise” in 2006 and on a Grammy Winning CD with Ike Turner in 2007. Kevin served as Ike’s musical director for over five years. He’s performed at legendary festivals including the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
Location
Party Fitness Studio (4659 Mission Gorge Pl, San Diego, CA 92120) is located just minutes from the I-8 freeway and San Diego State University.
As usual, we ask that you respect the space. Please make sure your shoes are non-marking and CLEAN so that you do not bring in debris from outside and mark the lovely floors! No spiked/narrow heels, please.
Etiquette / Code of Conduct
Code of Conduct / Grievance Policy
In order to ensure that this event is safe, comfortable, and fun for everybody, please take a moment to read our etiquette page. By attending any Blue Note event, you acknowledge that you have read, understand, and agree to abide by our Code of Conduct / Grievance Policy.
Terms & Conditions
Full Terms & Conditions.
Because of the size and nature of the event, we will not be able to refund registration fees if you are unable to attend. If you pay and are unable to make the event, you may transfer your registration to someone else.