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Dominic is a blues dance instructor currently based in Raleigh, NC. He has been dancing blues for about 3 and a half years but has been dancing in his bathroom mirror for as long as he can remember! He is originally from The Bahama Islands, and the Caribbean style music he grew up listening/dancing to has an unmistakable influence on his style. He enjoys the depth and richness of the stories told through blues music, and the strong characteristic sounds of the music itself. Dominic is best known for his fluid leg movements, whole-body multirhythm techniques, musicality and creative subtlety in his solo and partnered dancing. He draws inspiration from his 5 years of freestyle roller-skating, grooving to hip hop, house and R&B.
Dominic brings excitement and a calm, genuine enthusiasm to every class session! His love for personal expression and unique partnership dynamics shines through in his teaching as he encourages students to explore ways to take practical ownership of their movements. He regularly teaches blues classes in his current home scene in Raleigh, and has started to teach more at regional and national Blues events such as Take My Hand Blues in Washington, DC and Blues Geek in St. Louis, MO. Dominic is a structural engineer and approaches the construction of dance/partnership mechanics from this perspective, so expect entertaining metaphors in his classes! |
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Julie’s expressive dancing and dynamic connection are known throughout the blues dancing world. With a background in theatre and solo dance, and an undying desire for continued learning, she is best known for her solo movement, choreography, aesthetics, and killer follower expression. A hard-working competitor, Julie has won many national competitions, including Blues Muse 2017 Follower Invitational, North Star Blues 2017 Invitational Cuttin’, bluesSHOUT! 2017 All Star Jack & Jill, and more.
As a teacher, Julie is clear, thoughtful, and earnest. From advanced Struttin’ variations to beginner-friendly intros to lead-follow dynamics, Julie carefully crafts her classes and tailors her material to fit the crowd at hand. Julie has taught blues dancing in San Francisco, Seoul, Austin, Boston, London, Chicago, Zurich, and many places in between. She also teaches regularly in her home-base of Boston. For dance videos, pictures, and more info, check out https://dancewithjulie.wordpress.com. |
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Grace Jones-Taylor is an award-winning dancer and instructor based in Austin, TX. Known for her innovative exploration within blues idioms and movement quality, Grace seems to live within the music.
Grace has been teaching dance professionally since 2012 and has taught at festivals around the world, including NYC, Denver, Chicago, LA, Pittsburgh, Quebec City, and Seoul, South Korea. As a full-time dance teacher, Grace is adept at lesson planning, music selection, and adapting material on the fly to create the best possible learning experience for her students. Her teaching emphasizes collaborative learning, developing personal expression within the idiom, and a follow-focused pedagogy. An invaluable resource to students and organizers alike, Grace is accessible and professional both inside and outside of the classroom. While Grace has primarily focused on teaching in recent years, she has placed 1st in competitions at Nocturne Blues, North Star Blues, Steel City Blues, Snowbound Blues, Mile High Blues, Blues Muse, European Blues Invasion, and BluesSHOUT. Grace's hobbies outside of dance include board games, cooking, and spending time with her oh-so-fluffy cat and dog (Frida and Miri). Find out more and watch her dance at www.gracedances.com. |
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Kara Fabina is an international dance instructor based in Colorado Springs. Since 2008 she has been teaching and competing jazz, swing and blues throughout the world. Having been dancing for over two decades, Kara brings both knowledge and experience to the dance floor. She has been recognized internationally for her choreography as well as her achievements in competitions. As an instructor, she stresses connection with one’s partner, connection to the music, and intention in dancing. Her passions include studying each dance style’s rich history and culture and preparing the next generation of dancers to carry on valuable traditions.
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Mike Sonder is one of the most recognized names in the global Blues dance community. Mike is a top level instructor, dancer, choreographer, performer, and mentor. He has not only won respected blues competitions but also thrown down hard in unofficial late night dance-offs. Mike is a founding member and choreographer of the B Sides, which is the first and currently only ongoing professional blues performance group. Students across continents rave about Mike’s insights, personality, and breadth and depth of knowledge. In addition to teaching movement and dance in person, Mike has published a popular online dance course.*
As an instructor, Mike strives to put himself in his students’ shoes so that he can relate material as intuitively and thoroughly as possible. He loves seeing students’ eyes light up when they understand a concept or feel a movement work naturally in their body for the first time. Mike lives and breathes dance. He is constantly honing his skills and developing new ideas. If you run into him at grocery store, on public transit, in a museum, or on a mountain top, you’ll probably catch him dancing. *Check it out here for 50% off - https://www.udemy.com/get-on-the-dance-floor/?couponCode=RMBIOS |
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Known for both her leading and her following skills, Ruth’s teaching gives detailed, inspiring, and artistic guidance for both roles. Ruth’s 20+ years as a dance instructor have taken her on teaching adventures in more than 20 countries around the world. Some students enthusiastically claim that “mean Ruth” is their favorite- a hard-core coach happy to help people push themselves to fulfill their goals. Others say they prefer some of her more light-hearted classes, with vivid metaphors and lots of fun exercises that make learning natural and easy. Organizers, co-teachers, and students agree that Ruth’s teaching techniques combined with her dance expertise make her a fantastic instructor.
In addition to teaching, Ruth is passionate about choreography. She is one of the choreographers and founding members of the B-sides, the world’s first professional blues dance group, and collaborated with many people on projects. Her University studies in music and dance impact her choreographic style, merging stage and social dance ideas and aesthetics. Students rave about Ruth’s uncanny ability to change their lives on and off the dance floor by drastically deepening their body awareness and restructuring their longstanding movement habits. She draws on her two certifications in Franklin Method, as well as deep studies in many other mind-body modalities to help students eliminate pain and to discover new movement possibilities. As a dancer, Ruth is a technique geek whose true love is artistry. Her dance passions range across several dances- Balboa, Blues Dances (over 30 idioms), Lindy Hop, and Argentine Tango are her current focuses. When asked what her uniting vision is across dance- leading, following, solo, she replies, “Relating. Relating to a partner, relating parts of the body, relating to community, relation to culture, relating to history.” |
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Catherine Palmier assists individuals to unleash one's own authentic movement offering guided explorations to refine one's dance using grounded organic movement, effortless power and fluid grace.
With over 15 years of professional dance experience, academic training, and knowledge of multiple styles of dance, Catherine skillfully and with a keen movement sensibility helps dancers discover the origin and understanding of their own personal movement. She draws from performance concepts, emotions, visualizations, memories, body mechanics, sensations and alignment to support a constantly flourishing understanding of dance for her students. Catherine hopes her students receive insight, playfulness and enthusiasm from her work enabling them to develop their own signature style within their dance. Because of Catherine's ability to interpret various dance styles coupled with her proficiency in revealing the unlimited nature of African dance, this makes her appealing to dancers of any genre or experience level. |
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“You are truth in motion when you dance, Ms S.” - Jason
Jenny Sowden is an award winning, full-time, international dance instructor based in New York City where she is the founder and director of Brooklyn Swings. Jenny has been training in dance for over twenty-five years and teaching for over twenty, with a BA in Dance and Theater from San Diego State University. She has studied 34 different styles of movement including Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop, West African, Capoeira, Aikido, Tango, Salsa, Lindy hop, Balboa, and Blues. Her background influences her teaching and general style through musicality, variety, expression and an understanding of body mechanics. Jenny believes the dance floor is a ‘World of Yes,’ where by constantly accepting and being inspired by what happens, creates an amazing place to be. We then take classes in a ‘World of Intention’ to expand our ‘World of Yes.’ Find out more at JennySowden.com. |
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Known for her effervescent presence and upbeat teaching style, Laney has been dancing blues since 2009. She prioritizes empowering you, providing historical context, and keeping class creative and fun. Her primary goal is to help you find confidence and joy moving your body to blues and jazz.
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