Happy 2008, Memphis!

Happy New Year... now, let's celebrate!

If you want to join NewVo Blues in ringing in 2008, come to the Memphis Blues Society Jam every 1st & 3rd Thursday at Neil's (1835 Madison Ave.). It's free, fun, and a casual way to get lots of good dance practice. We're usually there by 9 and stay til 11:30 or later. Some of the best blues musicians in Memphis show up to play their hearts out... and did I mention it's absolutely free?

Re-Enter the Blues, Jan. 25-27

Pre-Registration closes on the 16th for this Blues dance workshop in Atlanta. Featuring some of the top Blues instructors from around the nation, the 3-day event offers 18 different classes on a very flexible schedule. Last year, you signed up for one level (Beginner or Int/Advanced) and stuck with it. Great for many, but those dancers who fell somewhere between could end up feeling a class was too easy or too hard. I even had to repeat at least one class I'd already taken. So I'm very excited about the flexibility of taking whatever classes you're interested in, as long as you feel you're prepared for them. (Meaning, for example, if you've just been dancing a few months, you'd feel most at home with all Beginner classes.) Personally, I plan to take advantage of the mix & match offerings and take from my favorite instructors, plus a couple of new folks who I've never learned from. If you want to carpool with us, email getinfo@newvoblues.com to coordinate with us.

IBC is back in town...

The world's largest gathering of blues bands is coming to Memphis! Sponsored each year by the Blues Foundation, the International Blues Challenge showcases over 150 live blues acts on the world-famous Beale Street. Looks like we'll be out til dawn on Feb. 1st... just the way to prepare for...

Bluesalicious Feb. 29-Mar. 2!

I can't believe it's less than 8 weeks until Memphis' first-ever official Blues dance exchange! Many of you remember hanging out on Beale over the IBC weekend last year. Well, we're still doing a night of dancing on Beale Street, but without the crowds from the Blues Challenge. It's the Friday night Pub Crawl, followed by Saturday's Burgers & Blues, and big Blow-Out (with dance competition!) that night. Sunday has more than hours of dancing scheduled, for everyone who really gets into their groove on the last day of an exchange. YES, this is JUST an exchange -- no classes to wear you out during the daytime! Check out the schedule online or sign up for our email list. Early Bird Registration opens next week, so don't miss out on the savings!

Get ready for the next level...

Evolve your blues dancing! Cause this weekend is EvoBluesion, a 2-day workshop brought to you by NewVo Blues. Registration is still only $60 for all Saturday & Sunday classes with Candace & Reuel. This event is the first of its kind for our area -- don't miss out on all the great classes, from the 4th Dimension to Peel the Layers. This workshop will definitely evolve your blues dancing in a positive way!
Our Story:
Following the success of the Feburary IBC weekend blues dance classes & workshop with teachers in town for an instructors retreat, Candace Gustine & Sarah Beth Larson formed NewVo Blues to promote blues dancing in Memphis, TN. Monthly events followed, from dance lessons on Beale St., to road trips to the Juke Joint Festival & Buenos Aires Blues, to last month's house party. Good times were had by all, you can be sure... .

Blues is a Feeling...
The best thing about blues is its versatility -- it can be danced to a range of tempos, styles, and moods. After all, everyone knows the blues ain't always blue... .
It's also a conversation. Our focus is bringing more dancers to blues, since the music is so prevalent in this area. So far, we are happy to have brought dancers of salsa, tango, ballroom, contra, and swing dancing together to share and enjoy the blues. What could be more natural in the the Home of the Blues, Birthplace of Rock'n'Roll?
Next weekend is the Booze'n'Blues Festival in Indianola, MS. Carpool down for some of the hottest blues in the hottest month of the year. Join us! Check it out online -- or email us at getinfo@newvoblues.com for more details.
Sarah B

Traveling to dance weekends

WOW!

I could leave it at WOW, but I guess you want to know more, huh??

This past weekend I traveled to my second Blues event with classes and all night dancing. This trip to BluesShout was the first time where I really got to see Blues Dancing at its craziest.

(I suggest getting on YouTube and searching for BluesShout (2007) and watching some of the competition clips. I'm in the prelims, but not the finals.)

Competing against dancers from the west coast was quite an experience. I learned a lot. Next time I come better prepared - so watch out!

If you want to start traveling to blues dance weekends, there are 3 great events with classes and dancing to choose from this summer:
1. Buenos Aires Blues - Knoxville TN - June 1-3
2. Denver Blues Summit - Denver CO - June 29-July 1
3. Austin Blues Party - Austin TX - July 6-8

And stayed tuned...coming Feb 2008...
Bluesalicious ~the 1st Offical Memphis Blues Exchange.

Thanks, Paul!

Got a nice review from Mr. Ryburn Himself. Thanks for coming, thanks for dancing, and thanks for writing about us, Paul! We expect to see you at Rum Boogie on April 14th, even though the lesson starts at 10am on a Saturday and you're no early bird. Promise it will all be worth it!

Thanks also to everyone else who came out to The Blue Worm on Friday. We had a great crowd for the lesson, and more folks drifted in afterwards for dinner & dancing to the live blues band. The owner's daughter played, and has a stellar voice. I'm happy to say that a good time was had by all, even though just by me writing that, you can't really understand how fun & funky it was. We made connections between people while we gave them something that will enrich their lives.

Wow. How could you miss it next time? I hope you don't!

It all begins at 9:30am on Saturday April 14th.
Meet Rum Boogie Cafe on Beale Street for the 10am Blues Movement Lesson.
This time we will give you a little more sugar for your bowl. Don't worry if you haven't had the blues yet (I mean a dance lesson, of course).

We'll have lunch after the lesson ends, around 12pm, and head down to Clarksdale, MS, the historic crossroads of blues, for the Juke Joint Festival after that (meet us at Rum Boogie by 1pm if you want to caravan). We'll drive down & spend the afternoon, evening, maybe longer.

Never been to the Juke Fest? You can't call yourself a Mid-Southerner (in case you wanted to) until you have experienced the blues like they've got it down in Clarksdale. Real blues, juke joints, pig racing, and monkeys ridin' dogs--they've got it all! Don't make the mistake I did last year & miss the monkeys riding on dogs.
Plus, if you missed it this weekend at the Memphis Film Fest, you can catch the documentary Hard Times, a fun and touching documentary on bluesman Big George Brock. I'm sure the other films are great, too, but I can only recommend that one firsthand.
Don't see on their site how much it costs, but a wristband was only $10 last year, which is a great deal for all that great music.

Coming? See you on the World Famous Beale Street.

UPDATE: Got a nice write-up from J-1 on our trip to the Juke Joint Fest. Check it out for yourself here.