About

Blues dance refers to a family of styles originating from African Americans’ dancing to blues music in the early part of the 20th Century. These dances evolved alongside the development of Blues music across the USA, resulting in different regional styles. All these styles share aesthetics and techniques rooted in African American traditions and history. While Blues dances include many different styles, we tend to group them into two main stylistic categories; Ballroomin' and Jukin'.

Jukin'

Jukin' is the style of dance that you would have found at house parties and Juke Joints. This dance genre is typically danced on the spot and features the fishtail, jig walks, mooches and other asymmetrical movements. It is fun to do partner or solo where you can groove out to the music.

Ballroomin'

Ballroomin' as per the name was traditionally dancing in ballrooms throughout America like the Savoy Ballroom. These styles generally travel around the room in the flow of the dance. On the spectrum of blues this style is danced to the more jazzier music.

Dance the Blues was started in 2016 by Brian Stewart, Sheryl Tobin, Therese Lefebure and Marcel Giermanski to help grow the blues dancing community in Brisbane, Australia. At the time of formation it was the only dance school in Brisbane catering exclusively to blues dancing. We are committed to raising the public's awareness of blues dancing and getting people dancing blues whenever, and wherever they might be.

Marcel first stepped into a dance class in 2008, when he decided he needed some extracurricular activity to distract him from his engineering degree. As luck would have it, he happened to step into an Argentine tango class, and he was nigh on instantly hooked. His love of tango has lead him to travel as far as Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he learned from some of the best tango dancers in the world. In 2011 Marcel started Swing dancing, and this eventually lead him to find Blues dancing.

Marcel's love of Blues dancing was born one rainy night in 2012 when, in a small church hall filled with the music of BB King, he learned of the dance of the juke joints, where groggy rural workers danced away their troubles after a long week of back-breaking labour. He loved how similar, yet different, this slow dance was to his beloved tango, and how it allowed him to easily express what he heard in the gorgeous music. Since then Marcel has travelled to many Blues exchanges, learning from some amazing blues teachers, and (quietly) revelling in the awesome dancing to be had on packed dance floors, he has even been invited to teach tango-blues fusion interstate.

Spreading this love of Blues dancing, and growing the scene in Brisbane, has always been close to Marcel's heart, leading him organize the first regular "rent parties" of Brisbane, which were instrumental in growing the number of blues dancers in the community.

Marcel loves to dance, so please don't hesitate to ask him for a spin around the dancefloor. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask, you can also email Marcel via marcel@dancetheblues.com.au. Marcel also does privates, if you are interested shoot through an email. To stay up to date about where Marcel is teaching like us on Facebook. See you on the dancefloor!

Therese has been dancing and performing for over 15 years, it is a big part of her life. Over that period of time she has studied and self-taught 12 different dance styles including Traditional Mauritian dancing, Modern Jazz, Tango as well as a range of Latin and Swing styles. Her background of dancing influences her style and approach to dancing. It wasn't until her dance partner, Marcel, introduced her to Blues 2 years ago that she found out you could dance to blues music.

Throughout her dancing career, Therese has had many opportunities to travel across Australia performing and teaching dance, she has also had the chance to travel overseas for her dancing, and learn from internationally renowned dancers.

Therese has dabbled in choreography and has co-produced various routines, she looks forward to busting out some new routines in the future.

Therese is passionate about music and dancing and enjoys the freedom and rich history of Blues. She is currently studying music and has had the chance to research the origins of Blues music and is fascinated by the progression of the style and its related genre; jazz.

Therese is always up for a chat about dancing, music, anything really. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask, you can also email her via therese@dancetheblues.com.au. Therese also does privates, if you are interested shoot through an email. To stay up to date about where Therese is teaching like us on Facebook. Looking forward to seeing you at classes.

Brian started Swing Dancing in 2013 and has had the dancing bug ever since. Diving head first into this new and exciting world, he started with Lindy Hop and soon after fell in love with both Balboa and Blues. In 2014 Brian placed 2nd for Midstream Madness at the Australian Jitterbug Championships in Melbourne. He joined the performance troupe in 2014 and has performed at many dance events including Australia's largest Swing exchange Swing Camp Oz 2015.

Brian's passion is the slower dance style of Blues, where he feels he can really get involved and express the music. With a thirst for all things Blues related, Brian regularly travels to Blues exchanges around Australia to learn the most current techniques from internationally renown Blues teachers. Brian also has his finger on the pulse of the live Blues scene in Brisbane, so if you're looking for somewhere to dance each week then he is the man to talk to.

You may also see Brian behind a camera filming dance related videos such as the "Empire Swings Back - Cake Song" music video, which placed 2nd at the Jazz Dance Film Fest 2014 in Seattle.

Brian is always excited to talk about anything dance related so if you see him around don't hesitate to introduce yourself and have a chat. If you have any questions or are interested in taking a private with Brian, he can be contacted by emailing brian@dancetheblues.com.au.

Sheryl started dancing in 2013 with twenties Charleston and decided she wanted ALL the dancing! Within six months she was both leading and following, dancing Lindy Hop, Balboa and Blues (or at least attempting to!). At this time she wanted more so she attended her first blues exchange in Melbourne and has since then attended various exchanges and workshops around Australia from local and international teachers.

Outside of dance, Sheryl is a mum of two and is passionate about design. You may even see her custom painted dance shoes being worn at Swing Shack, or an illustration of hers being used on flyers for an exchange.

Sheryl's main passion is Blues, although Balboa comes a pretty close second. You'll see her around at lives blues gigs, behind the DJ booth playing her favorite blues tunes and teaching regular blues classes in South Brisbane. You may even see her performing with the Cats Meow solo troupe.

Sheryl wants everyone to have as much fun and feel as welcomed as she did, so she has a strong focus on building the swing dance community feel in Brisbane. She regularly organises the swing picnics and loves to hear people's ideas about our community. If you ever want to talk about social events or ask Sheryl for a dance, please don't hesitate to come talk to her (especially if you are new!).

If you have any questions or are interested in taking a private with Sheryl, she can be contacted by emailing sheryl@dancetheblues.com.au.