August Bands

All events are hosted by Lilli Ann Carey of Dance for Joy! unless otherwise noted. Lilli Ann is also the organizer of Dancing til Dusk. danceforjoy.biz

Thursday August 1

Birch Periera and the Gin Joints | Americana Rock ’n’ Roll Revival

Cal Anderson Park, 6–9:30pm

Hosted by Sean Donovan of GatorBoy Productions

Borne of a profound love for the early years of Swing, Americana, and Rock ’n’ Roll, Birch Pereira & the Gin Joints transport you to the rollicking good times of speakeasies, honky-tonks, and roadhouses. The band, with upright bassist and exceptional vocalist Birch Pereira at its center, features skilled and versatile musicians who share the love of — and put a super fresh and highly danceable spin on — the American song traditions. theginjointsband.com

Beginning Honky-tonk Swing lesson with Sean "Gator Boy" Donovan | GatorBoyProductions.com and Erika Olsen
Combining passion for music and dance with his great love of teaching, Sean Donovan provides joyful, exciting dance classes for all skill levels. Positive and playful, Sean is a creative, effective communicator with focus on the vital power of dance to delight and transform us. A professional dance instructor and DJ since 1999, Sean teaches classes and workshops year round, regularly hosts and produces live music dances, and provides music and dance for extraordinary special events. Contact Sean about private or group lessons. GatorBoyProductions.com

Friday August 2

DJ Jim Chow | Salsa

Friends of Waterfront Seattle, 6–8:30pm

Jim Chow is latin dancer for well over 20 yrs, currently a salsa and bachata dance instructor at West Seattle Health Club. He was a former a dance studio owner for 18 yrs. and been hosting dance events ever since he started. He has also worked with Seattle Park and Recreation (Dance til Dusk/Salsa & Bachata dance at Bell St Park).

He was the first to create outdoor dancing for Salsa and Bachata on Alki Beach and also hosted dances at Harbor Steps Apts. Salsa at Alki is now heading into its 15 year anniversary this summer starting on Sat. June. 29th under Sazon Dance Events.

Beginning Salsa lesson with Jim Chow: belltowndancestudio.com

Tuesday August 6

Kiki Valera y su Son Cubano | Salsa

Westlake Park, 6–9:30pm

Hosted by Sean Donovan of GatorBoy Productions

Son cubano is one of the most popular musical styles in Cuba and Kiki Valera is one of its foremost exponents. Over the last century, this style of traditional Cuban music has contributed to many other genres of music including jazz, cha cha cha, mambo, salsa, songo and timba. Cuban son is the music that made the Buena Vista Social Club worldwide stars in the late 1990s but Kiki Valera comes from a family of musicians whose involvement with Cuban son pre-dates the BVSC by decades.

Kiki Valera is the oldest son of the famous La Familia Valera Miranda septet, a multi-generational traditional music group from Santiago de Cuba. Since the 19th century, La Familia Valera Miranda has played a significant role in Cuban culture by collecting and preserving the deep-rooted traditions of the legendary Sierra Maestra mountain region. Their debut album, ANTOLOGÍA INTEGRAL DEL SON, released in 1982, helped initiate the explosion of interest in traditional Cuban music. kikivalera.com

Kiki, like most of his family, is a virtuoso. A multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, sound engineer and producer, he’s best known as one of the world’s greatest players of the Cuban cuatro, a mid-size guitar with 8 strings grouped in sets of 2.

Kiki picked up the Cuban tres under the guidance of his father Felix when he was a child. He later attended one of the most prestigious music schools in Cuba, the Conservatorio Esteban Salas, in Santiago de Cuba and by age 15 was touring internationally.

Kiki continues to direct, compose, arrange and perform internationally. He also performs and teaches in Seattle where he contributes to the vibrant music scene of the Pacific Northwest. His current project features several other internationally acclaimed recording artists including Coco Freeman (former lead singer of Adalberto Alvarez y su Son and NG La Banda), vocalist Carlos Cascante (3x Grammy Award winning vocalist of Spanish Harlem Orchestra), trompetista Alexis Baró (Cubanismo and Omara Portuondo) and bongocero Pedro Vargas (Barbarito Torres band).

Salsa lesson by Hallie Kuperman and Cockrill | CenturyBallroom.com
Hallie Kuperman is the owner of Century Ballroom and The Tin Table restaurant in Seattle. Since 1991 she has taught pretty much every form of social dance with the exception of Argentine Tango (for which you have to have prettier legs!). Currently she teaches Salsa and Waltz. She produces, co-choreographs and performs in Century's cabaret shows.

Since 2005 she has been the co-instructor for NW School's Social Dance Program. Since 2010 she has helped produce the "Dancing With The Stars"-style fundraiser, "Seattle Dances," for Plymouth Housing Group. She has taught at Google, Microsoft, Team Survivor Northwest, EMP, University of WA, Cornish College of the Arts, Folklife and more schools and private lessons than she can remember.

Hallie's passion is Century Ballroom, her students, clients of the Ballroom and The Tin Table and creating a community that people will never forget.

Alison Cockrill began formal dance training at age 4, and a professional performing career in 1987. She has performed works by and toured internationally with modern dance choreographers Wade Madsen and Pat Graney. She fell in love with salsa after a trip to Guatemala in the mid-nineties and has been teaching it since 1999. One of her favorite parts of teaching is when beginning students get hooked and say what she said her first time in a salsa club, “I can’t believe this was here all this time.” She teaches Bachata and Salsa at The Century Ballroom.

Thursday August 8

West Coast Swing DJ Battle with Sam, Lia & Rebecca | WCS

Cal Anderson Park, 6–9:30pm

A trio of some of Seattle most popular WCS DJ’s Sam Lingane, Rebecca Savoca and Lia Brown

Beginning West Coast Swing instruction by Katie Schneider. Katie Schneider has been dancing West Coast Swing for over 10 years and competing nationally at the Champion/All-Star level since 2005. Her background includes a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education with a minor in Dance, and she has studied Jazz, Ballet, Modern/Contemporary, Country and Swing. She’s a very experienced teacher and is known for her focus on technique, the lead/follow relationship, and her creative musicality. You will typically find her developing beginning to advanced level WCS dancers at CenturyBallroom.com on Tuesday nights.

Tuesday August 13

Louisiana Night with DJ Sean "Gator Boy" Donovan | Cajun & Zydeco

Ballard Commons, 6–9pm

Hosted by Sean Donovan of GatorBoy Productions

Cajun is the French country music-inspired dance music of the Cajuns (French-Canadians) who ended up in Louisiana around 1760. Their music is based on the fiddle and accordion. Cajun culture mixed with the Creole and Indian cultures that was already there, and when rock 'n' roll was added in the 1950s result was Black Creole Zydeco music — a hibrid mixing washboard, accordion and electric guitar. As Sean will show you, the result is a music that just makes you want to dance.

Beginning Zydeco lesson with Sean "Gator Boy" Donovan | GatorBoyProductions.com
Combining passion for music and dance with his great love of teaching, Sean Donovan provides joyful, exciting dance classes for all skill levels. Positive and playful, Sean is a creative, effective communicator with focus on the vital power of dance to delight and transform us. A professional dance instructor and DJ since 1999, Sean teaches classes and workshops year round, regularly hosts and produces live music dances, and provides music and dance for extraordinary special events. Contact Sean about private or group lessons. GatorBoyProductions.com

Thursday August 15

Ranger and the “Re-Arrangers” | Django Reinhart Swing

Cal Anderson Park, 6–9:30pm

Seattle Gypsy Jazz band Ranger and the "Re-Arrangers" evoke the spirit of a Paris café and the raucous energy of a Gypsy campsite with their unique twist on gypsy jazz. "At the heart of their sound is Ranger Sciacca's sweet violin playin, his sense of melody and daring improvisations" (World Rhythm Webzine). The band's repertoire includes swing standards, traditional Gypsy melodies, the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, and Ranger's unique originals. Ranger and his father Michael formed Ranger and the "Re-Arrangers" in 2006, after returning from the Django Reinhardt festival in Samois, France. In the years since, the band has released 4 CDs and played over 100 shows a year, including summer concerts, festivals, swing dances, art openings, and weddings. www.rangerswings.com

Swing dance instruction with Peter Flahiff and Lauren Smith
Peter & Lauren are two dynamic instructors with over forty years of teaching experience between them. Based in Seattle, they are highly in-demand, sharing their passion for the great classic dances of the Swing Era. Their classes and workshops are noted for their clarity, humor and high spirits. peterlaurendance.com, centuryballroom.com

Friday August 16

DJ Jim Chow | Salsa

Friends of Waterfront Seattle, 6–8:30pm

Jim Chow is latin dancer for well over 20 yrs, currently a salsa and bachata dance instructor at West Seattle Health Club. He was a former a dance studio owner for 18 yrs. and been hosting dance events ever since he started. He has also worked with Seattle Park and Recreation (Dance til Dusk/Salsa & Bachata dance at Bell St Park).

He was the first to create outdoor dancing for Salsa and Bachata on Alki Beach and also hosted dances at Harbor Steps Apts. Salsa at Alki is now heading into its 15 year anniversary this summer starting on Sat. June. 29th under Sazon Dance Events.

Beginning Salsa lesson with Jim Chow: belltowndancestudio.com

Tuesday August 20 Cancelled due to weather!

West Coast Swing DJ Battle with Za, Thomas & Rebecca | WCS
Westlake Park, 6–9:30pm

A trio of some of Seattle most popular WCS DJ’s Rebecca Savoca, Thomas Carter and Za Thomaier

Beginning West Coast Swing lesson with Wren Newman and Scot McKay
Wren has been partner dancing for 20 years and teaching for 15. While she enjoys many different forms of dance, West Coast Swing (WCS) is her personal favorite. She has been dancing, teaching, competing and judging WCS around the world for the last 10 years.

Scot has also been dancing for 20 years, and along with WCS he loves to dance and teach Country 2-step.

Wren and Scot have been teaching together for years and firmly believe that there is nothing better than sharing their love of dance with everyone who wants to learn.

Thursday August 22

Buena Vibra | Salsa

Lake City, 6–9pm

Buena Vibra's mission is to recapture the glory days of the classic era of Salsa, Joe Cuba and Cheo Feliciano, Jimmy Sabater and the more modern sounds of Ruben Blades and Seis del Solar. The sextet is comprised of Fred Hoadley, piano and back up vocals; Jeff Norwood, Bass; Scott Ketron, Vibes and back up vocals; Sammy Alamillo, Timbales; Steve Guasch, Bongo and back up vocals; and Joe de Jesus on Conga and lead vocals. BuenaVibra is the newest addition to the Seattle salsa scene and promises to keep you dancing the night away. Buena Vibra Sextet on Facebook

Salsa lesson with Michael Cahn | suenosdesalsa.com
Michael grew up in Santa Fe listening to the Latin rhythms of his father’s flamenco troupe. During Spanish language studies in Cuzco, Peru, he discovered salsa dance, and when he returned to the U.S. he joined every salsa class he could find. Desiring a deeper understanding of the dance, Michael traveled to Havana Cuba to study with Yaykel Parez. He studied for the next several years, traveling to Ecuador, Mexico and all over the USA and has trained and performed with world champions, Omar Muños, Johnny Vazquez, and trained with Jonathan Ibarra, Jhon Narvarez, Adrian and Anita, Alien Ramerez and many others. He has performed and competed throughout the Northwest.

Tuesday August 27

The Elnah Jordan Experience | Swing & Blues

Ballard Commons, 6–9pm

Elnah Jordan's passion for singing was discovered when she was a child in the church choir. Originally from Ohio, Elnah was influenced and encouraged by her mother who is an accomplished pianist. She developed her natural and raw talent on a path that winded through the choir stands of her gospel roots to the streets of San Francisco and its clubs and eventually with much persistence, to the theater. She was awarded a nomination in 1986 in that city for Jazz Vocalist of the Year.

Elnah performed in several other theatrical productions including a two and half year stint in “The Evolution of the Blues” produced by Jon Hendricks in which she portrayed the legendary Bessie Smith. Her performance in the off Broadway musical drama, "Street Dreams” landed her the prestigious Cabaret Gold Award. She has also given opening performances for artists such as Gil Scott-Heron and Bobby Blue Bland.

Having moved to Seattle, Elnah has been embraced by the community of gifted performers and artists here. She continues to grow in her appreciation of the music and for the blessing of being able to do what she loves dearly. She has graced stages through-out the Pacific Northwest: She been a featured performer at Egan’s Ballard Jam House, The Sorrento Hotel, Tula's Jazz Lounge, The Royal Room , Grazies and the New Orleans. She even found her way into the Seattle theater scene performing in the last season of Black Nativity.

Beginning Blues lesson with John Lozano / www.fluidandformless.com
If John can learn to dance, then so can you! John began dancing around Detroit in 1997 while still in high school. He started with little skill and was regularly told “you're not actually leading me to do anything!” Luckily his love for music, interest in meeting people, and desire to figure things out drove him to keep with it. He began with East Coast Swing and Lindy Hop, and dabbled in other dances before finding Blues. He now enters his 20th year of teaching dance. He has taught throughout the U.S. and Canada, and as far away as England, Holland and Argentina. You can find him every Tuesday at Seattle's only weekly Blues dance at the Greenwood Alibi Room.