Blues Muse (October 16-18, 2009)

Our Muses...

...are known far and wide for their joyful, creative, graceful dancing and for their fluid, responsive, inspiring following. In every blues dance, they connect equally to themselves, their partner, and the music. Over the course of Blues Muse, our Muses will present beginner/intermediate, intermediate/advanced, and masters level classes to embody these concepts and skills.

Carsie Blanton

Carsie started out a Lindy Hopper, danced blues for the first time at the Portland Lindy Exchange late night in 2006, and promptly moved to San Francisco, where she could do so four nights a week without interruption. After one summer in SF, she moved to Philadelphia, made friends with a ragtag bunch of blues aficionados, and started LaB, Philly's weekly Lindy and blues dance (and the organization that puts on Blues Muse). As a social dancer, she is known for her incredibly comfy closed position, her connected and musical contribution to any dance, and her totally hot blues troupe, the Philly Bloomers. As a teacher, she is known for being silly, creative, and obsessed with musicality and connection. In her real life, Carsie is a singer/songwriter.

Here she is performing at Blues Muse 2008 with her women's solo blues performance troupe, the Philly Bloomers. Carsie is the one who starts out second from the left.

At this year's Blues Muse, Carsie will be teaching classes on Blues Music, Connected Expression, and a Masters' class with Mike on Music and Rhythm.

Abby Kunnecke

Abby danced classical ballet for 12 years before she had the chance to dance with anyone else. She quickly fell in love with Lindy after going to a swing dance with friends in 2003. After several years of off and on dancing and teaching, she was introduced to Blues, and never stopped wanting to groove. Her dancing tends to be full of whimsy and flow, plus the occasional injection of goof. During the days between her nights of dancing, she sometimes finds time to go to class and work at her job as a PA. Abby believes in using your body to express yourself- whether it's performing on stage, or dancing in your kitchen.

See her to the right performing in Portland with Brenda Collins at their local monthly venue. Abby is the one in gold.

At this year's Blues Muse, Abby will be teaching classes on Moving from Your Core, Lines of Dance (with Julie), Ballet for Blues Dancers, and a Masters' class with Karissa on "Connected Aesthetics".

Mike Legett

Mike combines an intuitive understanding of connection with an analytical speaking style to give her students technique, but also strives to challenge and inspire her students to push themselves further into the music. She aims to help leaders create artistic compositions that are clearly led; she wants follows to have the ability to be the completely literal follow, and the inspiration and freedom to be an imaginative and dynamic contributor. In the classroom or on the social floor, she seeks a connection that involves active communication from both partners, to make a dance together. You can find more information on Mike at her website.

Here she is performing with Megan Adair & Breanna Perry (Mike is the one in the middle).

At this year's Blues Muse, Mike will be teaching classes on Girls' Movement and Movement Quality, Active Following, a solo routine for ladies, and a Masters' class with Carsie on Music and Rhythm.

Karissa Lightsmith

On an enchanted New Years, five years ago, Karissa found herself blues dancing in a steamy Seattle kitchen. Very shortly after she began DJing blues music, teaching blues dancing, and organizing blues venues and events. Blues + Karissa = Perfect Match.

Karissa particularly loves to let her soul ooze out her pores as she solo dances to at least seven songs in a row, listen and respond exactly to every detail her lead gifts to her, and contribute subtle and sexy additions to her dance conversations much to the bedazzlement of her unsuspecting lead. Oh, and she especially loves teaching you!

On the right, watch her dance with Andrew Smith at Emerald City Blues.

At this year's Blues Muse, Karissa will be teaching classes on Solo Movement and Musicality, Pure Following, Proper Body Alignment and Blues Aesthetic, and a Masters' class with Abby on "Connected Aesthetics".

Our Other Instructors...

Julie Brown & Reuel Reis

Julie has been teaching, DJing, and competing in blues since 2006. With a background in many forms of solo dance, she is known for her musicality, great body movement, and playful dancing style. In her classes, she emphasizes individual body movement, musicality, and open communication in connection. Julie choreographs, performs, DJs, and teaches locally, and has placed in many national competitions including 1st place in BluesSHOUT 2009 Juke Joint, 2nd place in Enter the Blues 2009 Solo and Jack'n'Jill, 2nd place in BluesSHOUT 2008 Open Jack'n'Jill, and finals at BluesSHOUT 2009, BluesSHOUT 2008, Emerald City Blues 2008, Denver Blues Summit 2007, and BluesRising 2007.

Reuel Reis

Reuel's unique style of dancing holds its roots in the dirty streets of the Big Easy, where he was born and raised. Growing up, in New Orleans Reuel listend to, danced to, and even played a variety of musical styles with many challenging rhythms. Since then, Reuel attempts to imbue the spirit, culture, rawness, and variety of his hometown into every dance. Reuel currently lives in Nashville, TN, where he is a full-time Lindy Hop and Blues instructor. He also continues to teach Blues Dancing all over the country, from San Francisco to Philadelphia, from New Orleans to Cincinnati and many places in between.

Reuel has been recognized in competitions at many national blues events, including 1st Place Enter the Blues Open Jack and Jill with Candace Gustine, 1st Place BluesSHOUT Chicago Champions' Jack and Jill with Campbell Keating-Clay, and 1st Place BluesSHOUT Chicago Ballroomin' Strictly with Mike Legett.

Watch both Reuel and Julie compete at this year's BluesSHOUT. Reuel and Mike are the first couple in the video, and Julie dances in the second couple in the video.

At this year's Blues Muse, Julie will be teaching classes on Style and Poise, and Lines of Dance (with Abby), and Reuel will be teaching classes on 'Dude Movement' and Creating Space for Your Follow (with Jon).

Jon Darvill

Jon started dancing Lindy in 2003 in Ithaca, NY. He picked up blues dancing when he moved outside of Philadelphia in 2005. His focuses are clean and clear connection and making life better for his followers. Also a co-Founder of LaB, Philadelphia’s weekly Lindy and blues dance practicum, Jon is known across the northeast (and elsewhere) for his great connection and eagerness to please.

Stuart Collins & Jesse Young

The combined powers of Collins and Young is hard to describe. Like Pinky and the Brain, Shaggy and Scooby, or even Lindy and blues, the components of this dynamic duo are each powerhouses in their own right, but when you combine them, they form a distinctive union that leads to great things. Swing and lindy hop found Stuart back in the good year of 1999, but he really learned how to dance at the Mercury Cafe in Denver while attending Colorado University for undergrad. In Boulder, Stuart taught and choreographed for the CU swing team and now does the same at LaB and the University of Delaware, where he’s just finished grad school. Dance for him is about energy, musicality, and partnership. It’s also his form of Zen.

Jesse Young

We're not quite sure whether Jesse is Pinky or Brain, but just about everyone can agree that Stuart is Shaggy. Jesse's dancing was born and raised in Philadelphia, and like a hungry cartoon great dane with the munchies, his appetite for dancing was insatiable. He spent two years traveling the country dancing every waking weekend hour. In 2007, he helped found LaB (Blues Muse's host), and he's been a homebody ever since, devising devious plans (to take over the world) with Stuart, and figuring out ways to bring amazing dancing to Philadelphia.

Last year at Blues Muse, Stuart and Jesse choreographed and taught the men's solo routine the 'Sausage Strut.' This year, their devious plans will come to fruition, and they will be teaching the men's solo routine again. Be ready. Oh, for goodness sake, be ready.