​The Blues Cafe is a monthly Blues, Alternative Blues, and Fusion Social Dance that takes place on the 3rd Friday of each month.  You'll currently find us stylin' it up on the classy floors of Academie Duello Centre for Swordplay  in Vancouver from 10:00pm-3:00am, mere minutes from Harbour Centre and Waterfront Station in Downtown Vancouver.

2013 also found us at the cozy haunts of The Beaumont Studios in Vancouver, 2 blocks east of Olympic Village Skytrain Station on 5th Avenue, Vancouver.

Bring $8 for cover, and be ready for a night of fun!

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Serving Vancouver's Hottest Monthly Blends of Blues, Alternative Blues, and Fusion Dance. Come get it!

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Safe, Clean, and Creative fun in the funkiest 'lil space this side of Rythmsville.
 

For Updates: 

To be able to get important event notifications

and mail updates, please Like our Fan page:

 www.facebook.com/thebluescafe

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and then add yourself to our

"The Blues Cafe - Notifications" group on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_157249087656823

History:​​​

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Third Friday Blues & Fusion began in May 2010 as The Blues Cafe Presents: Bubbles 'n Blues, located at ThinkTea Bubbletea at Hastings and Manitoba with the gracious assistance of bubbletea cafe owner Eddie Yang to the event's organizers.   The event was targeted to provide an alternative Blues dance venue every Third Friday of the month where social partner dancers could dance to a variety of mainstream Blues and Fusion dance music, with a house party-type feel and signature mood lighting for ambiance.  While this space was small, it had a happening floor and the added benefit of a bubbletea counter that remained open throughout the event, allowing for refreshments and snacks all night long.  As our event grew, it soon became apparent that a larger venue would be necessary.  

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The search began in earnest when the event received the news following the popular Halloween Bubbles 'n Blues event in October 2010, that owner Eddie Yang had sold ThinkTea and would soon be closing his tea shop.  The following month, Bubbles 'n Blues moved into a 1000 sq foot bellydance studio called Studio 505, then located at 505 Hamilton Street by Victory Square.  Eddie remained with the event, operating a mobile monthly bubbletea stand within Bubbles 'n Blues every month and providing some of the best bubbletea found anywhere in Vancouver.  The end of 2010 brought with it a change in organization with the departure of some of the team and the addition of a new organizer.  The event re-branded itself simply as "The Blues Cafe" and continued to operate from Studio 505, maintaining the great dance music, a welcoming atmosphere where new and aspiring Blues & Fusion dance DJ's were welcomed, and where bubble tea could still be found from the in-house counter.

 

​​The Blues Cafe was re-launched in its present form in January 2011 from Studio 505.  

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2011 was a year of many transitions and many developments for the event.  In the Spring, The Blues Cafe collaborated with Blues in the City to bring internationally respected Blues Dance instructors Damon Stone and Heidi Feite to Vancouver for a weekend-long Blues Core Blues Dance Festival & Workshop Weekend.  It also collaborated with local Blues dance instructors and with Argentine Tango and Salsa events to bring Blues dance demonstrations to other dance communities in the city, and organized an outdoor Blues Dance event on Granville Street called "Granville Street Blues" during the summer in collaboration with The Kidney Foundation of Canada's annual Vancouver Kidney Walk.  Following the Blues Core workshops, it introduced a regular solo dance jam circle into the monthly Blues Cafe event, one of the first to take place at a Blues dance venue in Vancouver, a tradition that went on for a number of months. The Blues Cafe continued its tradition of occasional live music events, notably at its two "Blues Cafe Plus!" Saturday-night events at the Dancey Ballroom on Hamilton and Pender street during the Summer of 2011. These special events featured the premieres of local dancers/musicians Hilary McNaughten and Trevor Bain (and later Trevor Bain with Stacy Hilton as "A Breath of Blue"), as well as out-of-town performers such as Portland Oregon's singer Karen-Maria Capo (accompanied by local Blues guitarist Tyler Hotti) and guest DJ then-Portland now-Vancouver dancer Magen Dean. 

 

The closure of Studio 505 in March 2011 meant that The Blues Cafe oncd again needed to move homes.  The event briefly shared venues with Blues dance event Blues in the City at The Academie Duello on Hastings and Richards street for two months - during which it brought up guest instructor/DJ Heather Kraft from Seattle, WA - before settling into a plush dance 3000 sq ft studio in Burnaby called Dance Addicts at Hastings near Willingdon.   The close of 2011 brought more live music with A Breath of Blue and The Butter & Egg Band, but it also brought the departure of bubbletea operator Eddie as he moved on to other projects.  The Blues Cafe remained at Dance Addicts Studio for much of 2012, where it found a welcome home with owners Peter Ferreira and Geraldine Goyer.



The Blues Cafe once again relocated from Dance Addicts in November 2012 to a more central temporary location at Ache Brasil Capoeira studio on at 341 East Broadway, also home of FUSE dance on the first Friday of every month.  The event's return to Vancouver also brought with it the return of live music with live Blues band Melodius Maximus as well as the return of the in-house bubbletea stand with new collaborator Douglas Liu, Chef of Golden Great Wall Chinese Seafood Restaurant, beginning at The Blues Cafe Christmas Party in December 2012.



2013 has already begun with a bang!  January's Blues Cafe rang in the new year with a splash with its very popular Blues Pajama Party (with PJ contest featuring a solo dancing competition between pajama-clad entrants).  Most recently, The Blues Cafe was lucky enough to host both popular Live Music duo Impossible Bird to perform and Blues Fusion instructor/Organizer of the Alt-Blues Recess dance exchange events Justin Riley to teach and DJ as the kick-off night to Justin's Vancouver workshop weekend March 16th-18th.   Our special night featured the additional talents of many local dance instructors performing their art in a feature showcase of Vancouver and international talent.



As of April, The Blues Cafe moves to its new location at The Beaumont Studios.  The organizers are excited to be a part of this unique arts community and will continue to bring you the highest quality social dance events possible as part of the Blues and Fusion Dance scene.

 

Interested in getting involved?



We're always looking for more people to join our volunteer crew and help out here and there to make this event the best it can be! We need setup, cleanup, door volunteers, and also technical volunteers. Drop us a message on our facebook​!