Blues Benefit Workshop 
&
The Eastside Kings Festival

September 8-9, 2018
The Eastside Kings Festival is a Texas sized blues bash: two days of 30+ blues bands playing in 8 venues (several bars, a couple parking lots, and even under the tin shed in an auto-repair joint), all within a single block in Austin. For only TEN DOLLARS A DAY.

https://www.facebook.com/EastsideKingsFestival/

We want all y'all to be able to experience it, so we figured we'd sweeten the deal a little bit, and invite a few of our favorite instructors to Austin for a one-day workshop benefiting an incredible local charity - H.O.M.E. 

While you're welcome to fly to Austin to experience the Festival, we've only got 60 passes total to sell to the workshop itself, so you'll want to jump on registration ASAP (we will try to provide local housing for those who sign up for the workshop)!
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Last year's poster

A Benefit For 
HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR MUSICIANS AND ENTERTAINERS (HOME)

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As a service to our community and our chosen charity, the Blues Association of Austin is covering all costs of the workshop. Attendees will be asked to make a donation of a size of their choice ($10-100) to reserve their workshop pass. 100% of donations will be passed on to the local charity H.O.M.E.
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HOME  is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit organization that strives to create more security for aging musicians of the Austin, Texas, music scene, by pursuing low cost housing for them, and providing other assistance, including referrals to other available resources. The performers who put Austin on the musical map have spent most of their careers working without a safety net. As they age, the fall from the tight rope becomes increasingly perilous. 

​Legendary blues and soul songwriter/singer Miss Lavelle White, born in 1929, has inspired women and men on and off the stage for more than 75 years, since she wrote her first song at the age of 12. Today, at 87, she is still an amazing performer. Miss Lavelle is one of HOME's first and most grateful benefactors. Join us in providing a safety net for so many like Miss Lavelle who have given their hearts and souls to entertain, inspire and mentor us for so many years. ​

Meet Your Instructors

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Kenneth Shipp
Nashville, TN

Kenneth Shipp is a dance instructor from Nashville, TN who grew up dancing hip hop and break before jumping into blues. He has been energetically studying the blues idioms over the past 3 years, incorporating his nerdy personality into all his classes. Kenneth’s life experiences inform his dancing and wants his students to walk away with a better historical and contextual understanding to exhibit it in their dances. At the bare minimum, he wants you to approach social dancing with coolness and relaxation or in the other words “Chill The Fuck Out.” Taking that same approach in competitions, he recently won the bluesSHOUT 2017 Open Strictly with Dawa Jung, Mile High Blues 2017 Open Solo and All-Star Follow’N’Lead with Cierra Ruffin to name a few

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Julie Brown
Boston, MA

Julie’s expressive dancing and dynamic connection are known throughout the blues dancing world. With a background in theatre and solo dance, and an undying desire for continued learning, she is best known for her solo movement, choreography, aesthetics, and killer follower expression.
A hard-working competitor,  Julie has won many national competitions, including Blues Muse 2017 Follower Invitational, North Star Blues 2017 Invitational Cuttin’, bluesSHOUT! 2017 All Star Jack & Jill, and more.
As a teacher,  Julie is clear, thoughtful, and earnest. From advanced Struttin’ variations to beginner-friendly intros to lead-follow dynamics, Julie carefully crafts her classes and tailors her material to fit the crowd at hand. Julie has taught blues dancing in San Francisco, Seoul, Austin, Boston, London, Chicago, Zurich, and many places in between. She also teaches regularly in her home-base of Boston. For dance videos, pictures, and more info, check out https://dancewithjulie.wordpress.com.


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Cierra Ruffin 
Denver, CO 

Cierra is known for being a quirky, musical, and emotional dancer. A a child she was never able to stop moving and became obsessed with Blues dancing after discovering it. Her love of blues comes from her relationship with her grandfather and the reconnection Cierra feels to her heritage while dancing the blues. Cierra loves to bring that history, culture and context, into her own and her student’s dancing by challenging their dancing in ways beyond just movement. 

​Cierra has only recently started competing and has been placing in open competitions and is excited to be a new competitor in the All-star Division. She also organizes Denver’s weekly local venue called Tuesday Blues and co-organizes Denver’s monthly event called Toska. You can read Cierra’s thoughts on the Toska blues blog. Cierra is excited to be sharing her passion for dance and culture with the community. You can read more about her philosophy at ruffindance.com.

Weekend Schedule


​Coming soon!

Reserve Your Spot