Seattle Blues Dance Collective

"You're allowed to have your own voice - in fact, you are encouraged to."

At Blues Underground, we believe conversational dancing is more important than choreography.

Instructor and co-Director Dillon Arevalo says it best when speaking to our follows in this video:

"If leads don't give you [a] clear change,
they're not asking you to do anything.

They might be trying to tell you to do something,
but it's never going to be connected and clear and really a request if it's,
'you don't know what's happening, and now we're going.'

That's not a conversation."

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Dillon Arevalo is teaching alongside Alexandra Zinkus again on Friday, May 15th. Join them for a beginner-friendly Blues lesson in which you'll learn Blues dance fundamentals that you can take to add your own voice to the social floor.

📆 Friday, May 15th
🕘 Lesson 8:30-9:30pm, dancing 9:30pm-12am to DJ'd music by Jo Coker and Angel Kong

📍 Dance Underground

This month at Hillman City Sway, we’re joined by Amanda Wanner (she/her) - longtime pillar of the PNW Blues community - for a night rooted in pulse, play, and deep connection. Her classes are about more than movement: They’re about finding yourself in the music, stretching your comfort zone, and discovering what becomes possible when you show up fully.

Join us:
📆 Thursday May 28th
8-9pm lesson with Amanda
9-11pm live music & dancing with the Hillman City Sway band

📍 Black & Tan Hall
5608 Rainier Ave S

Come take class. Stay for the music. Let it turn into a night you didn’t plan (and won’t forget).

Tickets at the link in our bio or via

If you’ve been curious about Blues dancing in Seattle, this is your sign.

The Seattle Blues Dance Collective is your one-stop spot for Blues dancing in Seattle.

We run multiple social dances every month, and every single one starts with a beginner-friendly lesson - so you can just show up and try it.

Here's some information about some of our recurring dance events:

💙 Blues Underground
Seattle’s longest-running Blues dance, every third Friday at Dance Underground.

🪕 Hillman City Sway
Our live music night, every fourth Thursday at the Black & Tan Hall.

🌱 Emerald Blues
Our newest regular dance, happening every second and fourth Wednesday at Reverie Ballroom.

If you’re looking for community, connection, and a way to move that actually feels good in your body - this is it.

You can find all our events at seattlebluesdance.com.

Come see what the hype is about.

“What’s actually going through your head while you’re dancing?”

I (Lila) asked myself this after a recent demo with Robin… and then decided to make it visible.

In this Ballroomin’ Blues demo, I added my inner monologue in real time - every choice, every moment of uncertainty, every “wait, what are we doing?”

Because when I was first learning Blues, I thought good dancers just knew what to do.
But the reality (at least for me) looked more like:
👂 listening closely
🤔 making a choice (even when I wasn’t sure)
🔁 adjusting based on my partner
💥 committing anyway

Over time, I started to realize that this is the dance... Not having the perfect move,
but building the capacity to notice, decide, and respond.

And honestly? That’s a skill that shows up everywhere, not just on the dance floor.
If you’re in a place where you’re thinking,
“what am I supposed to do next?”

You’re not behind. You’re in it.

If you want support building that kind of clarity and connection in your dancing, comment “BLUES” and I’ll send you:
– info on upcoming classes (next series starts in May!)
– our newsletter (events, music, community things)
– ways to get involved in the scene

What’s something that goes through your head when you dance?

I want to talk to you all about something.

I want to name that Blues dance comes from Black American communities who used music and movement as ways to survive, care for each other, and stay connected.

Blues wasn’t created for studios or performance - it came from real people navigating racism, loss, joy, and community.
I’m a white woman teaching Blues, so I want to be clear: I didn’t create this dance, and I don’t own it. I aim to teach with care, credit, and accountability.

And I also want to name the limits - Blues can offer connection, but a dance class alone doesn’t dismantle systems of harm.

If this dance resonates with you, I encourage you to take that care beyond the dance floor and support local Black liberation and anti-ICE work here in Seattle. I’ve pinned three organizations doing vital work in the comments, consider donating to them directly or volunteering your time.

What is Blues dancing?

Blues dance is an umbrella term for a collection of Black American vernacular dances that developed across the United States alongside Blues music, starting in the 1800s and continuing through today.
These dances come out of Black Spirituals, Work Songs, and everyday social movement - shaped by improvisation, rhythm, grounded movement, and connection.

There isn’t just one way to dance Blues.From Piedmont Triple to Delta to Texas Shuffle - there are many different Blues dances that have developed alongside many Blues music genres. It’s regional, and it keeps evolving as people do.

Blues isn’t a single style - it’s a living tradition.