Blues dance is intrinsically linked to the music and rooted in history. Although the dance, like the music, has changed over the years we believe that to fully understand blues dance you must learn about and respect the history of the music and the dance and the culture from which it originated. Here are some of our favourite books, films and documentaries to help you discover more about the blues:
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[dt_list_item image=””]Books about music, history and culture:
– Blues: The Complete Story by Bob Allen and Julia Rolf (Also available in Italian and Spanish. Disponibile in italiano. Disponible en español)
– All Music Guide to Blues by Chris Woodstra, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, and Vladimir Bogdanov
– Blues People by LeRoi Jones
– Stomping the Blues by Albert Murray
– Blues Legacies and Black Feminism by Angela Y. Davis
– Black Pearls: Blues Queens of the 1920s by Daphne Duval Harrison- A Bad Woman Feeling Good: Blues and the Women Who Sing Them by Buzzy Jackson
– The Land Where The Blues Began by Alan Lomax
– The Devil’s Music: A History of The Blues by Giles Oakley
– The Language of the Blues from Alcorub to Zuzu by Debra Devi
– The Blues: A Visual History by Mike Evans
– Escaping The Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues by Elijah Wald[/dt_list_item]
[dt_list_item image=””]Books about dance, history and culture:
– Jookin’: The rise of social dance formations in African-American culture by Katrina Hazzard-Gordon
– Ballroom, Boogie, Shimmy Sham, Shake: A Social and Popular Dance Reader edited by Julie Malnig
– Black Dance From 1619 to Today by Lynne Fauley Emery
– Steppin’ on the Blues: The Visible Rhythms of African American Dance (Folklore and Society) by Jacqui Malone[/dt_list_item]
[dt_list_item image=””]Documentaries about the music
– Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues (7 films)
– Jazz by Ken Burns (10 episodes)
– American Blues Folk Revival (various editions available)[/dt_list_item]
[dt_list_item image=””]Online Resources
– Blues Dance World
– Blues and Jazz Bookclub
– Obsidian Tea: Blackness and Blues Blog
– The Blues Foundation [/dt_list_item]
[dt_list_item image=””]Films showing the culture surrounding blues
– Bessie (HBO)
– The Colour Purple (directed by Steven Spielberg)
– Cadillac Records (directed by Darnell Martin)[/dt_list_item]
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Enjoy!
