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Step into
the Blues
Room

With 54 full courses and 795 classes, The Blues Room offers tools for everyone, whatever your level or experience. Level up your dance and join over 3431 blues dancers today!

Learn to dance with us

New expanded library

There are five main categories of courses with hundreds of on-demand HD streaming lessons waiting for you to explore today.

  • 6 Full Musicality Courses

    Let the music inspire you, explore new rhythms and express what you hear. You will learn how to train your ear so you can connect to the music in more detail.

  • 7 Courses of Essentials

    Level up your dancing by building strong foundations. Explore techniques and ideas that will underpin the rest of your learning and enable you to grow.

  • 9 Courses of Solo Skills

    Boost your confidence, build your solo blues vocabulary, and fine tune your technique.

  • 7 Vocabulary Courses

    Enrich your vocabulary and make your dancing more dynamic and exciting.

  • 6 Idiom Dance Courses

    Learn a variety of blues idiom dances. Developed to different styles of blues music, learning these dances will broaden your vocabulary and give you the tools to dance to any style of blues music.

Level up your dance

Bonus Content for Members

In addition to the main courses, our members benefit from additional materials and live events. Step into the Blues Room!

    Choreographies

    Learn a selection of simple routines. A great way to discover new moves, work on transitions and identify details in the music.

    Online Workshops

    We organise regular workshops with guest teachers. These are free for all members.

    Q&A Sessions

    We get asked fabulous questions by students and want to share our answers with you! Discover our thoughts and philosophies on a range of topics.

    Challenges

    Test your skills with short, challenging sequences combining techniques from different courses.

    Top Tips

    Discover our pearls of wisdom about all the 'small' things that make or break your dancing.

    Warm-up Routines

    Warm up with drills and exercises. Follow along with us as we guide you through step by step.

New to Blues?

Start your journey with our Beginners Survival Kit.

Gain the skills and confidence to get out there, dance with a partner and have a great time on the dance floor.

  • Introduction to Blues

    Get to grips with the basic principles of blues dance

  • Basic Turns

    Learn new moves and develop your leading and following skills

  • Jookin' Blues

    Derived from Jook Joints in the Deep South

  • Ballroom Blues

    Explore the style of blues dance that developed in ballrooms

  • Side By Side

    Discover our favourite side-by-side variations

  • 5

    Courses

  • 58

    Classes

  • 59

    Hours

Try for free

Start a 14 day trial membership. Cancel at any time.

FAQ - The Blues Room

Online School for Blues Dancers

What is the Blues Room?

The Blues Room was created by Adamo and Vicci to break down geographical barriers so you can experience the joy of blues dance, wherever you are. With a team of guest instructors from across the globe offering progressive courses as well as live online workshops The Blues Room aims to broaden your understanding of Blues dance from a range of perspectives. Each instructor brings with them their own unique style and approach to the dance.

Whether you are a beginner who’s just starting out or a more experienced dancer looking for in-depth training, we are here to support you, motivate you and encourage you to express yourself through dance.

The Blues Room Team

Our Talented Teachers

With combined decades of experience, the Blues Room teaching crew provide a full spectrum of technique and knowledge.

    Dan Repsch

    Dan brings his enthusiasm and smile to The Blues Room! Dan’s unique approach brings a focus on innovation, connection, and attention to your partner. He is constantly learning and creating, and is happily sharing his ideas with you in his courses.

    Katrina Rogers

    Music and dancing are food for Katrina’s soul. She feels the music on a very deep level, and brings this depth to her teaching in The Blues Room.

    Damon Stone

    Damon brings a lifetime of experience with him to The Blues Room. Having first learnt vernacular jazz and blues from his grandmother and elders his teaching focuses on the history and styles of Swing and Blues as his family danced them, with a special focus on the Southern styles from the Mississippi Delta region. Damon…

    Kenneth Shipp

    Kenneth hails from St. Louis, MO and is the ultimate blues geek! He grew up dancing hip hop and breakdancing, before jumping into blues. With a particular love for idiom dances, Kenneth aims to give you a better historical and contextual understanding of blues dance. Will you join Kenneth in The Blues Room?

    Kelsy Stone

    Kelsy brings her lifetime of dance training and a passion for vernacular dance to The Blues Room. She loves to critique movement, get lost in the music, and embrace the ridiculous! She shows her appreciation of African American culture by speaking of the history of Blues idiom dances and taking her craft seriously (but never…

    Edmilson Botelho

    Edmilson brings his effortless cool to The Blues Room. His style is rooted in African and traditional dances of his country, São Tome and Principe, such as usôa, puíta, funaná, kadance (kizomba) and semba. Through his courses he shares his unique way of moving with you. Will you join Edmilson in The Blues Room?

    Vicci Moore

    Co-founder of The Blues Room, Vicci has been described by students as the perfect balance of elegance and kick-ass! A versatile dancer with more than 30 years experience in a variety of styles, she loves to dig deep into any topic, from anatomy, to the roles of leader and follower, and especially the roots and…

    Mike Sonder

    Mike hails from the USA and has a special ability to combine his knowledge of music, functional anatomy, physics, and a plethora of dance forms to create classes that are uniquely insightful, inspiring, and challenging. His courses are thorough and in depth, enabling you not only to understand a concept or feel a movement, but…

    Bibi

    Bibi’s super power is subtle intrabody movement, musicality and technique! From Italy, with over 25 years of dance experience, she brings a wealth of dance and anatomical knowledge to her teaching. Her passion for blues dance and her warmth of character are evident in her courses. Will you join Bibi in The Blues Room?

    Adamo Ciarallo

    Co-founder of The Blues Room, Adamo is the Italian master of musicality! He encourages you to be in the moment and truly connect to your partner and the music. His clear, concise (and often comical) teaching makes even complex things seem simple, and his passion for blues dance and music is infectious.

Blues Dance!

What's it all about?

Blues Dance refers to a mixture of Central African dances, West African dances and European dances mixed together on American soil. Developed alongside blues music after the emancipation of slavery it is intrinsically linked to its African American roots and cultural values.

As dancers not from this culture we step into this space with care and deep respect for the rich history and heritage of the music and dance, and honour the people who created it. The Blues Room aims to provide an educational platform for all elements of the dance; combining movement classes, talks, live workshops and lectures with guest instructors, blog articles, discussion forums and more.

Discover the Blues Vernacular Dance - The Blues Room

The blues is a train...

Blues “was folk music, pop music, and fine art, all at once. It was travelling music, born to take you wherever you wanted to go… The blues is a train, and the train meant freedom. And it still does…”

Wynton Marsalis

Membership

Get access to all the content

Get started or continue your Blues Dance journey with one of our all-inclusive membership subscriptions.

Try the Blues Room for Free with a Trial Membership

Not convinced yet?

Get a limited trial membership to preview the courses and see if The Blues Room is for you

What people are saying about The Blues Room

Student Stories

Students of The Blues Room have used the courses to progress their solo and partnered dance abilities and technique. And they've had fun doing it!

Great introduction to traditional blues

5.0

Precise, clear instructions for both leaders and follows. Everything is taken step by step so at no point was I lost when using the materials. Things are properly structured too, with courses for dedicated subjects that facilitate efficient learning. Also, it doesn't hurt that Adamo and Vicci are really adorable (the accents <3) and have great chemistry together so it's a real treat to watch them present the material.

Jacek Turula
Jacek Turula

The best online dance classes

5.0

The best online dance classes. Tutorials for all levels, very detailed and well explained. We have renewed the subscription for another year because it is worth it. Highly recommended.

Toni Barea Bernal
Toni Barea Bernal

Best online source for your blues dance training

5.0

Best online source for your blues dance training. From absolute beginning to quite advanced stuff, for both solo and partnered dance. One year is definitely not enough to learn all. Really enjoying it :)

Martin Šandera
Martin Šandera

Very professional content that allows good progress while having fun!

5.0

Very professional recorded videos and well structured courses with good side notes as prerequisites one should be aware of, further reading about history and context and music playlists to practice to. But most important, they are awesome teachers, where one can make good progress while having fun at practice.

DancingCurls
DancingCurls

Awesome classes

5.0

Awesome classes, great events, funny teachers... In one easy online form. It was great during the quarantine, and it's still great to keep up practicing at home, in far away Tromsø, where there no scene

Martin Lobert
Martin Lobert

Recommended classes with infinite material!

5.0

If you haven’t subscribe, then I really recommend it. Why? Because there are plenty of classes, like over 100s of material explained with fun and detail and to hook you as a student (and also could help as teacher ad well).

Tune Kantharoup
Tune Kantharoup

Definitely recommend Vicci and Adamo

5.0

Vicci and Adamo have a wealth of experience and knowledge that they share in a really fun and accessible way. I definitely recommend the Blues Room.

Melissa Davy
Melissa Davy

A lifesaver in lockdown, and now a thorough necessity for any keen dancer

5.0

I can't begin to explain how much of a gem The Blues Room is. The Blues scene is definitely not as big where I live as the Lindy Hop scene, and so having the opportunity to have more lessons and dance tips has been amazing. I was (happily) surprised by the extra online live lessons that Vicci and Adamo run, from which I have learnt so much about the history of the dance and the different styles of Blues dancing out there. The online recorded sessions are easily to follow along to, and I love the way I replay a video into I've got the move. There is such a gamut of Blues styles on there too; I love the Latin Blues classes in particular as it's a style that's not regularly taught in drop-in in-person lessons. A lifesaver in lockdown, and now a thorough necessity for any keen dancer.

Abercrombie
Abercrombie

Blues ist eine Lebenseinstellung

5.0

Durch eine Freundin kamen wir auf den Bluesroom. Seitdem lernen wir in unregelmäßigen Abständen nach den Videos. Uns begeistert besonders die immer freundliche Art von Vicci und Adamo, die professionelle Ausführung der Videos und das für uns sehr passende Tempo. Hoffentlich schaffen wir es einmal wieder zu einem Live-Workshop...

Uwe Meyer
Uwe Meyer

Blues culture online

5.0

I've been a member of The Blues Room for two years and it's kept me moving and smiling through tough times. I especially love the workshops because they make it possible to connect with many dancers around the world, catch up with friends and learn from some brilliant teachers. The classes on the site are great as well, there's a lot to learn for couples and solo dancers alike. It's embedded in a cultural knowledge that gives me a better appreciation of the music and the dance.

Pernille Bogø Jørgensen
Pernille Bogø Jørgensen

Blues indoors and out

5.0

Discovering that you could dance the Blues came as a surprise and quickly became addictive. Discovering The Blues Room and the work of Adamo and Vicci was fantastic because I can learn while at home, in an organized and easy to use way. “Seeing you dance is an inspiration, thank you for your dedication” SC, Portugal

Susana Carvalho
Susana Carvalho

The Blues Room is the place to meet blues dance lovers

5.0

It is very easy to use The Blues Room website. The classes are very complete and easy to follow. There is also a wide variety of steps for all levels, single and partnered, and it is a joy to dance along with Vicci and Adamo who take their time to explain in a very good mood, a joy which simply goes through the screen. You can ask for feedback, doubts, whatever you need to know about the blues. Not to speak about the Workshops with international teachers and researcers of blues dance and history, another extra point why I love the Blues Room. I will soon start my third membership renewal.

Maria Jose Castilla
Maria Jose Castilla

Frequently Asked Questions

What the FAQ?

Most common questions about memberships and courses are available here. If you have something else in mind, reach out to us with any query.

  • How does the Premium Membership feedback work?

    You will receive 6 one-to-one feedback sessions per year with either Adamo or Vicci. These will be provided on an online platform (Zoom or similar) and each feedback session will last 45min. You will receive personal feedback on your dancing, have a chance to ask questions and be set projects to help you develop further.  To give you flexibility and control over your learning you will be sent a calendar of available dates and time slots so you can choose when to book in for one of these feedback sessions.

    If you still have questions please feel free to contact us directly at hello@thebluesroom.com. We’re happy to chat!

  • Is The Blues Room suitable for beginners?

    Absolutely! We have a ‘Beginners Survival Kit’, specially designed for new dancers. Once you have completed all the courses in the Survival Kit you will be ready to try any of the other categories. All other courses are suitable for intermediate level dancers and above. All courses begin with more basic techniques and moves and progress in difficulty throughout the course.

  • Is The Blues Room suitable for advanced dancers?

    Of course! Although advanced dancers may be familiar with some of the moves and techniques that are taught in the classes, there is always more to learn! Advanced dancers can enrich their vocabulary, get new ideas for combining moves, refine their fundamental techniques, pick up new tips and techniques, improve their solo and partnership skills, and develop their style. Dancers who are teaching or interested in teaching can discover new ways of breaking down and explaining moves, practice exercises that can be used in classes, and collect lots of new ideas for class content.

  • What if I don't have a partner?

    Not a problem! We have a whole series of solo blues courses and solo blues choreographies, plus all the Practice With Us sessions and Top Tips are suitable for training solo. Many of the partnered classes also contain tips and techniques that can be practised solo. So if you don’t have a partner don’t let it stop you!

  • Woah! So many classes! Where should I start?

    The Blues Room offers you flexibility, so you are in control of your learning. You can choose whichever course interests you the most, however we do have some recommendations…

    If you are new to blues dancing then you should start with the Beginners Survival Kit. These courses will give you all the information you need to get out there and enjoy yourself on the dance floor.

    For all other levels – improver, intermediate, advanced, masters (whatever label you like to use!) – we highly recommend starting with the Essential Skills category. The techniques and ideas explained in this series will underpin the majority of all our other classes.

    Other than that you are free to choose your own adventure!

  • Can I cancel my membership?

    If you select the ‘Rolling Membership’ then you can cancel your membership at any time. Your user account will remain active but limited to a basic level. We will occasionally reach out to you with updates, offers, special tips and other news. If you want to completely shut down your account just send us an email and we’ll remove you from all mailing lists and permanently erase your account.

    If you select the ‘1 Year Membership’ or the ‘Premium Membership’ then you can cancel your membership after the 12 month period has finished. When your membership is coming to an end we will contact you to let you know so you can choose if you want to cancel the membership or renew it for another 12 months.

  • Can I download the videos?

    No, sorry. The videos are only available online via internet connection.

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6 Idiom Dance Courses

21

lessons

Texas Shuffle Vol. I

Dive into the Texas Shuffle. Learn the fundamentals of this fun, slotted dance, improve your stretch and pull technique and get shufflin’!

Struttin - Course Library - The Blues Room
15

lessons

Struttin’ Vol. I: Introduction

Struttin’ is a partnered dance, developed from 1930s-1950s in Memphis, Tennessee, often danced to uptempo blues music. Danced in small bars on Beale Street, the dance uses a unique closed hold. A defining feature of the dance is that your…

Struttin - Course Library - The Blues Room
16

lessons

Struttin’ Vol. II: More Moves

In Vol. II of our Struttin’ courses you will expand your range of Struttin’ capabilities! This course has some of our favorite variations and moves, which you can take and make your own. Once you have gone through this course,…

Slow Drag - Course Library - The Blues Room
9

lessons

Slow Drag

Learn the Slow Drag, the oldest known partnered blues dance. This is a close embrace dance, all about about spending time with your partner and enjoying holding on to each other and moving together to the music.

Four Corners Special - The Blues Room
11

lessons

Four Corners Special

Play with your Four Corners and explore a whole heap of different ways to use it! Turn it, travel it, and spice it up in new ways! This is one of many blues idiom dances that is now often used…

Chicago Triple - Idiom Dance - The Blues Room
21

lessons

Chicago Triple: Vol I

Let us share our way of dancing the Chicago Triple; an idiomatic approach to dancing to medium and up tempo shuffle blues rhythms. Full of rhythmic footwork, dynamics, compression, stretch, a swinging feel and lots of triple-ing fun.

7 Vocabulary Dance Courses

Catches - The Blues Room
15

lessons

Catches

Add to your vocabulary, work on turning technique, create dynamics and improve your partnering skills. ‘Catches’ catch, absorb and redirect energy; they super versatile and some of our favourite moves! COURSE AIMS By the end of this course you will…

Dips and Tricks - Course Library - The Blues Room
26

lessons

Dips & Tricks: Vol I

Hit the breaks, finish songs with style and add drama to your dancing with our ‘dips’ and ‘tricks’.  There are moves at a range of levels, so what are you waiting for!  Please make sure you watch the introduction before…

14

lessons

Dips & Tricks: Vol II

Following on from the Dips & Tricks course we are bringing you part 2… more moves, more flash and more drama! Please make sure you watch the introduction before starting the classes as it includes important safety advice. COURSE AIMS…

Four Corners Special - The Blues Room
11

lessons

Four Corners Special

Play with your Four Corners and explore a whole heap of different ways to use it! Turn it, travel it, and spice it up in new ways! This is one of many blues idiom dances that is now often used…

The Blues Room landing page and Jookin Moves - The Blues Room
15

lessons

Jookin’ Moves

Discover a range of Jookin’ dances, and other moves with a shared aesthetic. ‘Jookin’ refers to a group of blues dances that originated in African American communities, danced in Jook Joints in the Mississippi Delta. COURSE AIMS By the end…

20

lessons

Late Night Blues

It’s late… the music is slowing down… you’ve been dancing for hours and your legs are tired but you don’t want to stop. This is our favourite moment in a party!  In this ‘late night blues’ course you will play…

Our Favourite Moves - The Blues Room
16

lessons

Our Favourite Moves

Show off on the dance floor with our favourite moves! You’ll see us dancing these moves when we dance socially and we wanted to share them with you. There are moves at a variety of levels using a range of…

9 Solo Skills Courses

Awesome Arms - The Blues Room
15

lessons

Awesome Arms

Wave goodbye to awkward arms and embrace my top tips for awesome arms – how to move them, where to put them, what to do with your hands, and how to make them an asset in your dancing. Express yourself…

Fancy Footwork - The Blues Room
23

lessons

Fancy Footwork

Explore the full potential of your feet and add texture to your dancing as you learn new footwork patterns and steps. Learn the James Brown, Tick Tocks, Happy Feet, Twists, Slides and more! COURSE AIMS By the end of this…

Hip Action - The Blues Room
16

lessons

Hip Action

Discover classic blues hip moves. Build your vocabulary, develop your range of hip motion, improve your quality of movement and move your hips in ways you didn’t know you could! Discover classic blues hip moves. Build your vocabulary, develop your…

Keep Your Cool - Course Library - The Blues Room
6

lessons

Keep Your Cool

Deepen your understanding of posture and pulse and find ways to groove effortlessly, even when the music is poppin’! However fast the music gets, you need to keep your cool!

Riffin and Cuttin - Course Library - The Blues Room
13

lessons

Riffin’ & Cuttin’

Join Vicci and Mike as they guide you through this fun riffin’ and cuttin’ course. Dance lots, laugh lots, and discover your dancing super powers! Learn essential skills for bringing out the best in your and your friends’ solo dancing!…

The Fishtail Special - The Blues Room
10

lessons

The Fishtail Special

Fine tune your Fishtail and get creative with timing, shaping and styling. Learn Vicci’s favourite variations that you can dance solo and partnered. COURSE AIMS By the end of this course you will be able to:

Dancing to Delta blues - Course Library - The Blues Room
18

lessons

The Magic of Intra-Body

Have you ever marvelled at the incredible dance our bodies perform from within? Let’s dive into the captivating world of intra-body movement!  Intra-body movement refers to the intricate coordination and synchronisation of various body parts as they interact harmoniously to…

Spirit Moves thumbnail - Course Library - The Blues Room
15

lessons

The Spirit Moves Solo Styling

The Spirit Moves: A History of Black Social Dance on Film is a documentary chronicling the evolution of African-American social dance throughout the 20th century and provides some of the very limited video footage of blues dance.  This course is inspired by…

Upper Body Coolness - Course Library - The Blues Room
13

lessons

Upper Body Coolness

Explore new, cool ways to move your upper body!  In this ‘watch and follow along’ style course, Edmilson shares his unique way of moving with you, layering up a variety of shoulder movements and body rolls in a progressive way.  English…

7 Essential Skills Courses

Close Embrace Intensive - Shop - The Blues Room
9

lessons

Close Embrace Intensive

Discover our top tips for making close embrace comfortable, effortless and magical! Improve your close embrace technique with a variety of exercises and new vocabulary.

Contrabody Adventure - The Blues Room
36

lessons

Contra-Body Adventure

This course is designed to give you exercises and drills to improve your contra-body movement, focussing on using contra-body to initiate rotations. All drills are practiced solo first, so if you don't have a partner to train with don't be…

Dan and Vicci
11

lessons

Exploring Axes

In dance, the term "axis" refers to an imaginary vertical line that runs through the centre of your body, usually extending from the top of your head down to your feet. This line represents the point around which your body…

In The Swing of It - The Blues Room
13

lessons

In The Swing Of It

Do you want fluid, effortless dances? Learn how to use the ‘swing’ to create and maintain flow in your dancing, transitioning smoothly between moves and improving connection with your partner. COURSE AIMS By the end of this course you will…

Stretch and Frame - The Blues Room
9

lessons

Stretch & Frame

Deepen your understanding of ‘stretch’ and ‘frame’ and how they apply to blues dance. Improve your partnering skills, develop essential technique and have safe dances forever more! COURSE AIMS By the end of this course you will be able to:

Partnered Transitions and Flow - Course Library - The Blues Room
19

lessons

Transitions & Flow: Partnered

Maintaining a clear flow within our own body enables us to communicate more clearly with our partner when we choose to dance with someone else. This gives us freedom to improvise and create magic in the moment with our partner,…

Transitions and Flow - Course Library - The Blues Room
18

lessons

Transitions & Flow: Solo

We find that adding swing to our dancing helps to maintain a flow of energy, creating smooth and easy transitions between moves. In this course we share our idea of swing with you, exploring side to side, backwards, and rotational…

6 Musicality Courses

Dancing to Delta blues - Course Library - The Blues Room
10

lessons

Dancing To Delta Blues

Follow along with Bibi as she guides you through a relaxing movement exploration. You will focus on embodying the intimacy of the music, dancing for yourself and letting go of any expectations to ‘perform’. In addition to the classes, check…

Latin Blues - The Blues Room
24

lessons

Latin Blues: Vol I

Welcome to the world of Latin blues! Identify and dance to three different rhythms, including the Afro-Cuban Habanera rhythm, popular in blues music throughout the 1950s but introduced in the late 1800s. St Louis Blues, published by W.C. Handy in…

Latin Blues Vol II - Course Library - The Blues Room
26

lessons

Latin Blues: Vol II

Continue your exploration of Latin rhythms in blues music. Following on from our Latin Blues: Vol I course, this course recaps the Habanera rhythm and introduces you to four new rhythms: the tresillo, rumba, cinquillo and son clave. By the…

Rhythm Toolkit - The Blues Room
26

lessons

Rhythm Toolkit

Your introduction to common rhythms & timings found in blues music. Identify and dance to the rhythms and learn how to improvise with them so you and your partner can have a wonderfully interesting rhythmic dialogue. COURSE AIMS By the…

Swinging Triplets - The Blues Room
31

lessons

Swinging Triplets

Make your dancing more dynamic by responding to the swinging eighth-note triplet rhythm, the base of any ‘slow blues’ or ‘shuffle blues’. Get the rhythm in different body parts & learn some exciting new moves. COURSE AIMS By the end…

The Blues Shuffle - The Blues Room
17

lessons

The Blues Shuffle

Discover new ways to respond to the classic Blues Shuffle rhythm with fun footwork, solo moves and partnered variations. The shuffle is more than a rhythm… it’s part of blues music history. Legend has it that the shuffle rhythm impersonated…