Levels, tracks & painters

To learn a little of the country you are traveling to, we chose very Dutch topics as names for the levels we offer. After the royal Family in the previous edition, this year we like you to introduce you to our world famous Dutch masters of painting.

Mondriaan track – Absolute beginners

Piet Mondriaan.jpg

In the absolute beginners track you do not need any dancing experience. If you already dance a partner dance like Lindy Hop or Tango, it will be easier, but we start from scratch. We offer 5 hours of classes in a small group (max 20) by professional international teachers. There is no better way to start your Blues dancing career.

Afbeeldingsresultaat voor victory boogie woogie transparant"
What better example to show dancers then “Victory Boogie Woogie”

Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (1872 – 1944), was a Dutch painter and theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being one of the pioneers of 20th-century abstract art, as he changed his artistic direction from figurative painting to an increasingly abstract style, until he reached a point where his artistic vocabulary was reduced to simple geometric elements.
(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet_Mondrian )

Van Gogh track – Beginner / Intermediate

A head and shoulders portrait of a thirty something man, with a red beard, facing to the left

The beginner / intermediate track will assume you already master you Blues basics. You are dancing Blues for about 6 to 12 months. You had weekly classes and joined several socials. You want to improve your technique and vocabulary and be more comfortable in leading & following.

A group of five sit around a small wooden table with a large platter of food, while one person pours drinks from a kettle in a dark room with an overhead lantern.
More Dutch is impossible: The potato eaters

Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853 – 1890) was a Dutch post-impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life. They include landscapes, still lifes, portraits and self-portraits, and are characterised by bold colours and dramatic, impulsive and expressive brushwork that contributed to the foundations of modern art. He was not commercially successful, and his suicide at 37 came after years of mental illness and poverty.
(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh)

Vermeer track – Intermediate

Cropped version of Jan Vermeer van Delft 002.jpg

So you think you can dance? As an intermediate we expect you to master your fundamental skills and be comfortable in dancing on different Blues styles. You can improvise based on the music and have no trouble with slow or faster rhythms. You already dance one or two years on a frequent base.

Johannes Vermeer, Het melkmeisje, 1658, olieverf op doek, 46 x 41 cm, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Het melkmeisje (The milk girl).

Johannes Vermeer (1632 – 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle class life. He was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime but evidently was not wealthy, leaving his wife and children in debt at his death, perhaps because he produced relatively few paintings.
Vermeer worked slowly and with great care, and frequently used very expensive pigments. He is particularly renowned for his masterly treatment and use of light in his work.
(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Vermeer)

Rembrandt track – Advanced

This level is for those who have been dancing Blues since birth, or at least three years. You have attended many international workshops and maybe even teaching in your local scene. Done competitions and reached the final now and then. There will be no audition but we don’t spare you in this level, so please don’t misjudge your ability, for your sake and for your class mates.

Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606 – 1669) was a Dutch draughtsman, painter, and printmaker. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history. Unlike most Dutch masters of the 17th century, Rembrandt’s works depict a wide range of style and subject matter, from portraits and self-portraits to landscapes, genre scenes, allegorical and historical scenes, and biblical and mythological themes as well as animal studies. His contributions to art came in a period of great wealth and cultural achievement that historians call the Dutch Golden Age, when Dutch art (especially Dutch painting), although in many ways antithetical to the Baroque style that dominated Europe, was extremely prolific and innovative and gave rise to important new genres. Like many artists of the Dutch Golden Age, such as Jan Vermeer of Delft, Rembrandt was also an avid art collector and dealer.
(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembrandt)