Four Blues Games

I like games. They give a framework to play and explore. They give enough structure so there's a purpose. But, within the game, you can explore the idea fully.

So, here are 4 blues games:



1) Doorway partner (solo)
2) Jedi-mind dance (partnered)
3) Ideas from a hat (group)
4) On all fours (solo or in group)

1) Doorway partner (solo)

Skill development: Movement, finding one's own groove

In this game, find a doorway or sturdy object and solo dance with the doorway. The doorway should be sturdy, so you can push or pull against it. Use it to shift your weight. Put on some good music (I recommend Otis Redding). Make every step count.

These are some dimensions to play with

• Small vs big movements
• A light touch on the wall
• Level changes (moving up and down)
• Twisting
• Having your back to the wall
• Use the idea of Pole dancing as inspiration
• Be still, listen to the music, and let the movement build up

Listen to your body and mix it up. 

2) Jedi-mind dance (partnered)

Skill developed: listening for leads, suggesting for follows

In the Jedi mind trick of Star Wars, a highly trained person can control the actions of others. People are highly influenceable, so use this in your dancing.

For follows: 

1. Pick a theme for your night of dancing (or the exercise). It might be smaller movements. It might be spins. It might be "sass". Write it down or tell a friend so you are committed to it. 
2. On the dance floor, make your first eight or so 8-counts scream this theme. Then, follow like you normally would for the rest of the song, except...
3. Whenever the move happens, really milk that step and smile. This is called positive reinforcement. See if you can get them to do it more.
4. See if you can get the lead to listen and play with your idea. See what works and what doesn't. See which leads listen and which don't.

For leads:

1. Don't pick a theme.
2. On the dance floor, pick a very basic set of moves for your first eight or so 8-counts. When you do these moves, try to read the mind of the follow. Notice the quality of their movement. Do they like to move a lot or a little? Do they move their hips? When you don't shift your weight, do they sometimes guess? Do they have a nice lag in their following? Do they like turns? Do they like traveling? Do you have to lead every motion/accent, or do they accent their motions? Make a note of everything they like.
3. Then, try to give them the dance they want (that you perceived in step #2).
4. To excel at this game, you will spend more of your time noticing what the follow does and setting her up to "play" or feel comfortable. Sometimes it's more moves, but usually it's not.
5. Notice throughout the night how different follows feel. In particular, don't judge or think in better/worst terms. Notice differences.

Note: Master-level variation, do this on the social dance floor and don't tell anyone (except maybe the friends you come with). It'll give your friends something to look for when they watch you dance.

3) Ideas from a hat (group)

Skill developed: listening

Everyone at the practice writes 1-4 ideas in a hat about what quality of motion they want to have in a dance. Examples could be "traveling", "micro", "playful", or "beachball". Write your name on it.

Put all the ideas in a hat. Then, about half the people pick one out at random and this is the idea they have to dance with. (All leads or all follows usually works) Put on a song, and the people who didn't pick a paper rotate and dance with them. They try to guess the idea and are called guessers.

Leads will have to guess by noticing how follows follow. Follows will guess based on the things leads lead. If there is not balance, people participating watch and use their mirror neurons.

I recommend having people rotate every minute or two in the middle of a song. Or, organizationally, have people rotate out after they guess. Having extra guessers watch and then rotate in.

Afterward, if someone has a question about the idea, they ask the person who wrote it.

EASIER VARIATION: Gather all the ideas but put 3 in a hat. Half the people (follows) pull one out, read it, and then put it back in. This way, all the follows have the same 3 ideas. If people are watching, this makes it easier to watch each other. Also, easier for the guessers to see similarities.
FOR LARGE GROUPS: Pull out 3 ideas, announce them, and then have each person choose one of the three for each song.

(After you establish the idea and get success, give the idea pickers two ideas and have them alternate so the exercise doesn't get too stale for them while the guessers rotate in.)

4) On all fours (solo or in group)

Skill: body awareness, hip awareness

Get on all fours like your favorite four-legged animal (e.g., dog, cat, tortoise). Dance to a song on all fours.

Summon your yoga-skills, or football training-camp skills. Using a mat helps. (Warn people if they have bad knees or back.)

This sounds super goofy but, if you try it, you'll notice:

1) Your torso gets super active since your 4 points are weighted and can't move.

2) Your hips are very free to move.

3) You pay less attention to steps because you can't take steps easily.

4) You notice every small change in balance, because you are in an unfamiliar position.

I also use this as a warmup for my trunk/torso and hips.

VARIATION: in a group, have people crawl around and groove with each other. Being on all fours encourages people to be grounded on their own weight. Discourage leading because people tend to topple over or push too hard.

note on leading on all fours: you can add communication by having some people be leads. Leading while on all fours is hard, so "leaders" might just sit or kneel and lead by gentle pushes. Note that having weight on one axis makes leading much easier, otherwise people need to shift to one axis and then move the free axis. This is analogous to having split weight vs weight on one foot. This might be a situation where keeping the game simple (and not adding leading) makes more sense.


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If you use any of these games, I'd appreciate a feedback report. Happy dancing!