Name: Juke Joint Blues Dance Foundations: 6-Week Progressive Series [Oakland]
Start: 2025-04-14T19:00:00-07:00
Location: 3630 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609-2427, United States

Juke Joint Blues Dance Foundations: 6-Week Progressive Series [Oakland]

Level: Beginner to intermediate (Having a few drop-in lessons under your belt recommended).
Date: Mondays in April and May, Starting April 14th. [Dates are 4/14, 4/21, 4/28, 5/5, 5/12, and 5/19]
Time: 7-9pm (90 minutes of instruction, 30 minute facilitated practica)
Cost: Sliding scale, Mid-tier $120/person for all 6 weeks (That's $10/ hour of instruction! )
No one turned away for lack of funds. If cost is an issue in any way, please reach out to [email protected]
Class Topic: Jukin’ Blues - Live Music Toolkit
Covid Precautions: Fully masked while indoors - KN95, KF94, N95 or higher rated masks required (well fitting, no vents) for duration of the class series. Vaccine highly recommended.
Parking: Parking along 37th St recommended. Parking at MacArthur BART Garage free after 3pm. Free parking along Telegraph after 6pm.
Transit: Less than 5 minute walk from MacArthur BART
Access: Ramp into building easily available. Classroom on ground floor. Fragrance-Free Policy. Instructions for building access will be emailed to registered students prior to the start of class.

Class Description:
Blues dancing is a wide and varied family of dances done to an equally wide and varied genre of music. In this series we'll be focusing on the Jukin’ side of the dance family, often done to Juke Joint music such as Delta Blues, Chicago Blues, and West Coast Blues.

After taking this series, you'll be able to:
- Feel confident dancing to most any song heard during a live Blues music set heard in the SF Bay Area.
- Build a comfortable connection with your dance partners regardless of skill level or body differences.
- Hear and note the general differences between Blues music styles.
- Identify what makes certain Blues dances better suited to which Blues music styles.
- Grasp the historical and cultural context for the dances taught as well as how they relate to the Blues continuum.
- Explore the body mechanics and partnering involved in the Blues Dances taught.
- Have tools to train, grow, and develop your foundational skills in pulse, posture, connection, and lag.
- Be familiar with the key elements of Black American Social Dances such as Groove, Asymmetry, Call and Response, and Polyrhythms.
- Develop an understanding of why and how your breathing can elevate your dancing.

We'll be covering things you'll here in a "Typical" live blues music set:
- Something Fast
- Something Slow
- A Latin or Funk Blues

And a variety of Blues Dances including, but not limited to:
- Struttin'
- Boogie
- Texas Shuffle
- The Grind
- Slow Drag
- Four Corners
- Touch and Go
- Shake-N-Bake
- Boogaloo
- Funky Butt

Note: Specific Blues Dances (also known as idioms) may change and shift based on needs of the class.

About Your Instructors:
Jeannie Tran has been bringing her love of Blues music and sharp eye for technique to her classes since 2008, starting with local college clubs and later becoming a regular instructor at Friday Night Blues in SF from 2015-2019, and in NYC from 2021-2022. With a lifetime of dance training, a background in music, Jeannie specializes in helping students find their personal groove, negotiate their dance partnerships, and challenge everything they thought they knew about their basics. As a firm believer in musically-driven movement and giving back to the musical community, you'll often find her stretching her creative dance muscles to live music wherever it can be found or geeking out about dance history and body mechanics in the back of the room.

Franz Jundis started his blues dancing journey in 2010, began teaching at various college Blues Dance clubs in 2013, and later joined the staff for Sundown Blues, teaching at Beat the Blues and Friday Night Blues starting from 2014 until their closure in 2019. He performed as part of the showcase dance troupe Sundown Strut from 2015-2016.

Outside of Blues Dancing, Franz has a background in Philippine fencing, southern Philippine folk dance, and large variety of bodywork modalities.

Covid Precautions:
KN95, KF94, N95 or higher rated masks required (well fitting, no vents) for duration of the class. We will not be checking vaccination record, but we highly encourage you have your booster shots. If you feel sick or like you might be getting sick, please do not attend. We are happy to offer full refunds upon request for the days you miss in order to support a healthy class environment.

If you have had COVID recently, do not attend unless you are testing negative and have had 10 days pass since your first symptoms or positive test. We also encourage you to take a test prior to showing up to class if you do feel well just to double check, but tests are not required as efficacy is not as high of a spread prevention method as masking up.