Rose City Blues

12/04/2018

Volunteer Call!

We still need more reliable volunteers for Rose City Blues! Volunteering is a great way to support your community and get into the event at a reduced cost or for free.

We need volunteers in a variety of roles, but we are especially seeking: reliable drivers who are willing to drive late at night (these drivers help us to make sure our VIPs are well taken care of, and also help to move equipment and supplies) and folks who want to stay until the end of the dance on Sunday and help clean up when it’s all over. And other roles are still available!

Please fill out our volunteer application here: https://tinyurl.com/ydcewwmu

And please tag any friends who you think might be interested! We could really use your help getting the word out so that this event can run as smoothly as possible. Thanks!

December 7th - 9th It takes a lot of different skills to make Rose City run! We will have a range of roles to fill, including things like: registration, set up/clean up, drivers for instructors and staff, and food prep. Let us know what experience and skills you can contribute to the team and we’l...

11/28/2018

Rooms at Rose City Blues

When we were exploring the Vitalidad Movement Arts Center, our new venue, we were struck by the interesting room sizes and shapes, and how they reminded us of different eras of blues music and dance. Driven by that inspiration, each room will have a name that reflects a place that has performed an important role in the development of blues music and dance.

First up we have the Front Porch

A lot of music in the early days of blues was played outside with simple instruments, and the front porch is still a popular spot for sitting and playing music today. This room is near the front of the building, with a large window facing the street.

The Jook Joint

Cramped venues with limited space to move and an informal atmosphere, jook joints featured close quarters dancing and live music. This is a small room near the back of the venue.

The Living Room

For most of the history of blues dance, dancing has been taught within families, in living rooms and kitchens, or learned on the social dance floor. The concept of teaching blues dance classes in a classroom is a fairly recent invention. This is the room with the couches and cubbies.

The Bar

A popular venue for dancers and musicians, blues has stayed alive in bars for decades, and the bar is still one of the best places to see good local live blues. In the evenings, this room will serve as our bar during the dance.

The Ballroom

With venues like the Savoy and the rising popularity of ballroom dancing, blues started to be performed and danced in ballrooms around the same time that jazz was rising to popularity. This one is the main dance room, where the evening dances will be held.

11/27/2018

We’re so excited about the variety of live blues music we’ll have for Rose City Blues:

In the traditional country blues and old-time styles, we have Mary Flower and Friends and Tevis Hodge, Jr. representing the oldest forms of blues.

When it comes to contemporary electric bar blues, we have the Norman Sylvester Band and the Zapata Brothers.

And bringing us a wide range of blues, jazzy blues, and torch songs, we’ll have our headliners for Saturday night - LaRhonda Steele presents the Essential Women in Blues Tribute Band.

And we can’t let you miss out on some super chill, melty, late night blues, so we’re very pleased to have Dan Nash.

And then there’s one more live act, but we can’t tell you about them yet…

11/25/2018

Housing Deadline Reminder! November 25th

Today is the last day to register for housing and be given priority placement! Please register ASAP if you are hoping we will match you with housing in the Portland area. We’ll continue to try to place people as they sign up, but the sooner the better if you want a place to stay.

More info here: https://www.rosecityblues.com/faq

Here's the housing offer form: https://tinyurl.com/y8bgzgnv

Here's the guest request form: https://tinyurl.com/y7gad292

This year we are using a sliding scale for passes! There are only a limited number of passes at each tier. If you are able and willing to purchase your pass at a higher tier, awesome! That will leave spots open for those who may not be able to afford the higher price points. Payment is through Event...

11/25/2018

Rose City Blues is just two weeks away! Do you have your tickets yet?

Come join us once again in the city of roses for Rose City Blues, the second weekend of December, located at the gorgeously remodeled Vitalidad Movement Arts Center (you may remember it as The Refuge long ago). Rose City Blues is a non-profit, community-developed dance event, brought to you by the P...

11/03/2018

We are SO EXCITED that Catherine Palmier is returning to teach at Rose City Blues this year! When she wasn’t here last year, a lot of our year-after-year regulars demanded that she come back for Rose City Blues 2018, and we couldn’t wait for her to return, so she’s flying all the way from Puerto Rico to bring you some amazing classes this year.

With over 10 years of professional dance experience, academic dance training in Paris, the Guinea, Conakry, Senegal, Burkina Faso, the U.S.A., 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, and then refine it.

Catherine's ability to interpret various dance styles coupled with her proficiency in revealing the unlimited nature of African dance and body mechanics makes her classes appeal to dancers of any genre or experience level. Catherine hopes her students receive insight, playfulness and enthusiasm from her work enabling them to develop their own signature style within their dance.

10/06/2018

Kelsy Stone brings her lifetime of dance training, a passion for vernacular dance, and a sharp eye for technique to the Blues dance world. She has brought her joy and knowledge of blues idiom dances to some of the most high-profile events in the US, including but not limited to bluesSHOUT!, The Experiment, Nocturne Blues and now, Rose City Blues!

09/21/2018

Rose City Blues 2018 Registration is live!

We've got a brand new website with all the information you'll need for this year's event. Get ready for magnificent live music, show-stopping competitions, 2 days of wondrous workshops, and DJs playing all night ‘till you drop.

Be there!

Come join us once again in the city of roses for Rose City Blues, the second weekend of December, located at the gorgeously remodeled Vitalidad Movement Arts Center (you may remember it as The Refuge long ago). Rose City Blues is a non-profit, community-developed dance event, brought to you by the P...