Hot Night Fusion Weekend Ever since the dawn of social dancing, people have been combining dance styles into an intertwined fusion of dance expression.
Hot Night Fusion Weekend is a full weekend event that caters to the roots of the fusion community, and how it has grown in Colorado. During the day you have access to over 14 hours of workshops, providing material with influences from more than 12 dance styles. Whether you want to learn the basics of a new dance, want to incorporate a variety of crossover influences into your current style, or want to deepen your experience with partnered connection, HNFW has workshops for you. In the evenings our DJ’s will play music designed for crossover/fusion dancing, allowing you to play with a variety of dance styles and techniques; creating space for different dance backgrounds to connect on the dance floor. All of this amazing fusion and connection is happening in the Performing Arts District in downtown Denver, with a vast variety of original Denver cuisine, bars, breweries and cafes within walking distance. Join us for an unforgettable weekend in the Mile High city this September! Save the date September 13-15, 2019!!
Use Code: Here4thefusion at registration!
Hot Night Fusion Weekend is an event produced by CMDance, and is put on in conjunction with Lindy on the Rocks, and the Denver Jazz Festival.
For a discount and to help us keep track of how many fusion workshop participants we will have
Use Code: Here4thefusion
Tickets available at the door! Cash and card accepted.
Please read before registering
By registering for the event you agree to the following:
No pass-transfers or full refunds will be allowed. Instead, if a registrant can’t attend and we are notified by August 14, 2019, we will give that person credit towards next year. (note: this applies to pass credit only; no credit can be given for add-ons or won passes) If that person can’t attend next year,
Won passes cannot be transferred to another individual or year, and carry no cash value.
I understand that dancing is both physical and athletic, and therefore poses some natural risks, for which I accept full responsibility. Furthermore I agree not to hold CMDance, its board members or its organizers legally or morally responsible for any injury or mental discomfort I experience under any circumstance. Therefore, I hereby waive any and all liability claims against CMDance, its organizers, board members, their agents and instructors or their agents for any and all injuries which I might suffer during, and/or as a result of, my participation in the Hot Night Fusion Weekend, September 13-September 15, 2019, in Denver, CO and its surrounding areas and parking lots. I also assume all responsibility and liability for any injuries I might suffer, or cause, during, and/or as a result of my participation in the Hot Night Fusion Weekend event, September 13-September 15, 2019 in Denver, CO and its surrounding areas and parking lots. Furthermore, I absolve CMDance, its organizers, their agents and instructors or their agents of any and all responsibility for future injuries I might suffer or cause as a result of my participation in the Hot Night Fusion Weekend Event, September 13-September 15, 2019, in Denver, CO, and its surrounding areas and parking lots.
By executing this waiver, I state that I am in good physical and mental health and know of no reason why I should be unable to fully participate in all event activities in which I partake.
I understand that CMDance intends to record participation in the classes, dances, and special events on video and in photographs. I expressly grant CMDance the unlimited right and authority to use any such recording in any and all media in which I appear by whatever ways or means with no obligation to me. Such recordings are the sole property of CMDance.
Hot Night Fusion Weekend is a private event and may refuse admission to any individual if it believes they pose a threat to any other attendees.
CMDance reserves the right to update these Terms and Conditions at any time, and will update our registrants with the new version when and if that occurs.
Early bird is sold out, but read this to learn about what we are doing to make learning more accessible to the community.
"ALL ACCESS PRICING!!! We have a few tiers this year to help facilitate your learning experience.
**It is our goal this year to not let finances be a hindrance to learning. On top of volunteering being an option to assist those having a financial hindrance, we have benefactor and advocate tiers that can directly provide support to others.**
We encourage you to purchase the highest tier you are able to, in order to directly support your community with obtaining access. We also have the option to donate directly through the registration form, which will be used to provide scholarships to those needing a little help!
Early-Bird - $119 - You're just on top of registering early
Super-Subsidized Tier - $139 - Need a lot of help from your friends
Subsidized Tier - $159 - Need a little help from your friends
Standard Tier - $189 - If everyone purchased this pass, then the event would cover costs
Advocate Tier - $219 - You are directly subsidizing your peers being able to learn
Benefactor Tier - $239 - You are directly subsidizing a lot for your peers to be able to learn
For now there are limits to the subsidized tiers, but as more Advocates and Benefactors support the program... we will adjust to reflect!"
A La Carte/At the Door Prices:
Saturday Day Pass - $100 - Access to all classes and dances (Lindy & Fusion)
Sunday Day Pass - $80 - Access to all classes and dances (Lindy & Fusion)
Friday Fusion Social Dance $15 - 10:15 PM
Saturday Fusion Social Dance $20 - 10:00 PM
Sunday Fusion Social Dance $15 - 9:00 PM
Three Night Fusion Social Dance Pass- $40
Tap Classes - $25 each or $40 for both - Saturday Only
House Dance Class - $25
All other classes are $20 drop-in per class
**Taxes and fees apply, purchasing at the door will incur an additional $5 fee.
The Full Access Pass includes all dance workshops for Lindy on the Rocks and Hot Night Fusion Weekend. This pass also includes access to all Denver Jazz Festival sessions, and dances for Lindy on the Rocks and Hot Night Fusion Weekend, and makes you eligible to compete in contests. Contest entry fees are NOT included in the pass, they are additional items on the registration form.
The All Music and Dances Pass includes access to all Denver Jazz Festival sessions, and dances for Lindy on the Rocks and Hot Night Fusion Weekend. This pass also makes you eligible to compete in contests. This pass DOES NOT includes any dance workshops.
Bought a Pass and can no longer attend? All Pass transfers to another individual must be completed by August 14th, 2019, and require a $30 administrative fee. Please email Kara@CMDance.org for transfer information. You can transfer your pass forward to next year until September 10th, 2018.
Strictly contest only one party in the partnership needs to pay for the contest. The $40 is PER PARTNERSHIP not per person.
Download the full weekend schedule here!
Saturday
9:15 AM Yoga
10:00 AM Solo Body Isolation’s
11:15 AM Afro-Pop
12:15 PM Lunch
1:30 PM Tango Zouk Fusion
2:45 PM Dancer Self Care
4:30 PM Blues Aesthetic
5:30 PM Dinner Break
8:00 PM Battle on The Rocks
9:00 PM Get out of your Head and into Your Body: part 2
10:00 PM Fusion Social
4:00 AM Dance Ends
Friday
8:00 PM Latin Body Movement and Musicality
9:15 PM Get out of your Head and into Your Body: Part 1
10:15 PM Fusion Social
2:00 AM Dance end
Sunday
1:30 PM Yoga
3:45 PM Zouk Tango Fusion
5:00 PM Dancer Self-care
6:00 PM Dinner
8:00 PM Get out of your Head and into Your Body: part 3
9:00 PM Fusion Social
12:00 AM Soul (Move to loft)
2:00 AM Dance End
Hot Night Fusion Weekend 2019 Instructors
Nathaniel Abrea
Nathaniel is a nationally acclaimed blues dancer who loves to social dance, compete, and teach as much as he sleeps. He is known for having precise musicality, playful movements, and expressive body shaping as a lead, follow, and solo dancer.
Nathaniel first explored dancing through a catchy choreography on YouTube in his bedroom, and continues to do so to this day. Coming from a non-technical background, he is highly attuned to his intuition for body mechanics and musicality. His intuition-first approach allows him to craft intellectually accessible and relatable lessons that reward students with new techniques to challenge themselves on their own time. He also executes each lesson with as much patience as he has excitement, and hopes to empower his students to start navigating their own personal expression within Blues.
Nathaniel has worked with dedication in the past several years, and competed and placed at many national events such as: BluesSHOUT!, Austin Blues Party, Rose City Blues, and more. He has won competitions as a Lead, Follow, and Solo dancer, and is proudly recognized as the first to officially qualify in the Blues All Star division as both a Follow and a Lead.
Nathaniel continually strives for new ways to grow, and for more things to learn, in hopes that he can share his newfound knowledge and experiences with his students.
Tom Ogunribido
Tom’s energy and enthusiasm make his classes the most fun, exciting way to learn Latin dance! He has been teaching Salsa in Denver for over 3 years and is so excited to share with you his love for Latin Movement and Musicality.
Jesica Cutler
Rachel Farley
Rachel is a Movement Coach and Certified Neurosculpting® Facilitator. She is dedicated to developing customized workshops that provide sustainable tools to empower businesses, dancers, social justice activists, and educators to thrive. Participants leave workshops with a deeper understanding of how our minds and bodies are intrinsically linked and in constant communication. Rachel received her B.S. in Pure Mathematics and Secondary Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and her Masters in Educational Policy and Leadership from University of Colorado at Denver. After teaching in urban high schools for 7 years, Rachel left the classroom to pursue her goal of combining dance and mindfulness practices to strengthen communities by cultivating healthier relationships rooted in trust and empathy. With over 23 years of experience in partner dancing including Brazilian Zouk, Lindy Hop, Blues, and Ballroom, she approaches the body and brain from a multi-disciplinary perspective.
Karina Stilpen
Karina is passionate about Zouk, meditation, and the breadth of human connection. She uses her experience and studies of tantric meditation to deepen her understanding of how to connect effortlessly with everyone she meets on the dance floor, and inspires everyone who knows her towards greater depth of self.
LaTasha Barnes
LaTasha “Tasha” Barnes is an artist, dancer, entrepreneur, and ambassador of culture. Born and raised in Richmond, VA, Tasha has enjoyed much of her life immersed in jazz, funk, soul, and R&B music and dance thanks to her DJ father and dancing family. Having turned that lifelong passion into cultural activism she serves towards achieving the mission of Urban Artistry, Inc to preserve the arts that represent the urban experience, as a directing member, performer and educator. She is celebrated for her musicality, athleticism, and joyful presence throughout all her dance forms which include: House, Hip Hop, Waacking, Vernacular Jazz, and Lindy Hop. Through her own expression and endeavors Tasha hopes to inspire fellow artists to cultivate an authentic sense of self in their creative expressions and daily lives.
Bennie Vo
Bennie is a licensed massage therapist with certifications in medical massage, neuromuscular massage, trigger point therapy and spurts massage. He is teaching a class focused on injury prevention for Dancers. The main topics covered are common injuries for Dancers, how to recognize these issues and self and partnered exercises.
Avital Miller
Avital Miller is known for inspiring people to experience boundless energy, absolute happiness, and truesuccess.With growing up as a gymnast and dancer and teaching yoga for over fifteen years, Avital hasan eyeforhelpingall body types activate alignment that efficiently strengthens and stretches them.After living in a yoga community based from the principles of the yoga guru Paramhansa Yogananda foralmost seven years and having held corporate leadership positions such asprogrammanager atMicrosoft, she also has a natural ability to combine spiritual principles to daily life in a universal waywithin a yoga practice.
Lindy On The Rocks 2018 is run in Conjunction with Hot Night Fusion Weekend 2018… All Access passes give you access to Lindy Hop classes as well as the fusion classes. Lindy on the Rocks has brought in Skye Humphries, Gaby Cook, Nathan Bugh, Latasha Barnes, Joshua McClean, Jenna Applegarth, and Jon Tigert to teach swing classes. Read more about these instructors HERE.
Getting out of Your Head and into Your Body:
Dive deep into an embodied experience of individual and partnered connection with this brand new series of classes, focusing on connecting to that within which moves you. Enjoy an exploration of the physical, emotional, and energetic bodies through breath and your body's essential nature. Find pleasure in the dance, no matter the partner, song or external circumstances. Seek and find the place in which movement and connection come as naturally as breath. Find the space where partnered connection is a natural, intuitive, effortless dance and conversation between two people.
Latin Body Movement and Musicality:
When dancing fusion we incorporate many styles and flavors into our movement. When the music has Latin influence, how do you add Latin movement and musicality into your favorite dance styles? No matter your dance background, you will love this all level fun and energetic workshop to get the feel of Latin movement in your body.
Zouk Tango Fusion:
Infinite Travel - Walks and collections in all directions, elegant leg articulations.
Mastering the Pivot - Finding ease and freedom in a connected calesita, Adornos.
Afro-pop:
As a music genre Afro-pop is taking the world by storm—uniting musical elements from Africa, and pulling influences from America (i.e. Jazz, Hip Hop) and from the Caribbean (I.e. Dance hall, Soca). As a class we will break down some key street dances that tie into this infectious music, and fusing them together into a dynamic choreo.
Blues Aesthetic (Athleticism):
The "Blues Aesthetic" is a conceptual framework that deconstructs the essence of the dance form into the following aspects: Poly-centrism, Poly-rhythms, Athleticism, Lag, and Improvisation. This class will have a heavy lean on what it means to be physically and mentally Athletic while dancing blues—and will frequently touch base on the other aspects that makes Blues amazing.
I.so.late. that bad ass:
Isolation's are not only a great party tick to pull out of your hat, but they are also valuable in understanding how to control your body movement. In this class we will drill exercises and techniques that will help us self assess and execute isolation's in pleasantly effective ways.
Dancer Self-Care:
Bennie Vo is going to walk us through how to prevent injuries when dancing and how to optimize recovery when we do get injured. We will go over common injuries for dancers and learn how to recognize and address these issues. The class will focus on self and partnered exercises and stretches. Bennie hopes to inspire the dance community to cultivate a happy life and healthy practice of self care.
DJs
Kanit Dararutana
Kanit’s passion for dancing began when a friend invited him to a Blues dance workshop a couple hours away. “You should come, it will totally change your life.” Truer words we never spoken. Soon, Kanit found himself dancing 7 days a week and traveling as much as possible. Dancing consumed his life as over the next few years he branched out into many different dance styles, traveling for events, creating and nurturing dance scenes, DJing, organizing, and even a bit of teaching. Kanit found himself DJing more and more to fill the holes in his local community and found supreme joy when dancers expressed their excitement in his sets. Kanit loves to share new and old music with the community, shaping the energy of the dance floor with his sets and taking dancers on a journey for hours, especially when that music touches dancers deep down. Kanit’s favorite dance style is fusion followed closely by West Coast Swing, and Blues, but he enjoys learning any partner dance. Kanit is most passionate about sharing the world of dance and the benefits it can bring to one’s life. Nothing makes him happier than a friend who came dancing for the first time saying they loved their experience.
Miklo Moll
One of Denver’s best Fusion, Zouk, and Blues DJ’s. He will keep you dancing and feeling good all night!
Kara Fabina
One thing that you can count on from this DJ is a vast understanding of genres. Because of her background in various dance styles, Kara brings a depth of musical knowledge appropriate for dancing. Her loves vary from House to Funk, Old School Hip Hop, Vintage Jazz, Blues and Soul. She has a not so secret adoration for mashups, and has even dabbled in beat production and mixology. With a desire to be a jill of all trades, she began Dj’ing at house parties in 2011. Since then she has gone on to DJ at local dance venues
Aloura Summers
Aloura a Colorado Native has been in the Denver Dance Scene for over 10 years, she found her place in the dance community when she was introduced to Blues dancing at the Mercury Cafe. She started hosting and DJ’ing dance events regularly in 2015 and quickly fell in love with creating space for her communities to dance and connect on a deeper level. Her hope as she continues hosting and DJ’ing events is to help inspire a vibrant energy of connection, connection to the music, connection and fusion between dance styles, and connection to each other.
The Studio Loft at Ellie Caulkins Opera House
1400 Curtis Street, Denver, CO 80202
The Studio Loft is an beautiful event space with a cathedral ceiling, exposed brick, warm-colored walls, and a spacious wood dance floor. This venue has vast room, a bar, and plenty of seating.
Parking: There is metered street parking available, as well as a parking garage and lot (available all day) within 2 blocks of the Opera House. Parking garages and lots start at $12/day. Parking meters are free on Sundays.
Dances & Performance: All Lindy dances and Battle on the Rocks will be held here.
The Champa Studio
1245 Champa Street, Denver, CO 80202
Parking: There is metered street parking available, as well as a parking garage and lot (available all day) within 2 blocks of the Opera House. Parking garages and lots start at $12/day. Parking meters are free on Sundays.
All Fusion Dances and most workshops will be at the Champa Studio.
MOREY MIDDLE SCHOOL
840 E 14TH AVE, DENVER, CO 80218
Morey Middle School is located in the heart of Denver, with ample space to spread out and dance. The entrance is on the east side of the building off of Emerson St. The venue has a mix of hard wood and tile floors. We will be in the gymnasiums, auditorium stage, cafeteria, and some classrooms.
Parking: Morey has two small parking lots on the east and west side of the building. There is also free street parking during the weekend all surrounding the school.
What’s happening here:
Saturday day Fusion Workshops
CMDance is looking for volunteers for the 2019 year. Volunteers will provide a check deposit which will be returned at the end of their duties. If you are interested in volunteering for this year, please read the following information, and fill out this form. Feel free to direct any questions to Kara@cmdance.org or Aloura@cmdance.org (Event Directors).
You will be required to write a check for the amount of a standard pass to the event $189 or a dance pass for $120.
Volunteers at the event will be required to fulfill between 15-19 hours for the all-access pass and between 9-12 hours for the dance pass. All competition fees are separate, and no deposits or volunteer hours apply.
Most shifts are 1 hour in length, some shifts require 2-3 hour blocks, which will be indicated in the schedule when signing up.
Once the schedule has been finalized, the volunteer is required to cover their shift if they are no longer able to work for a time they signed up for. You are still required to meet the minimum amount of hours, so swapping shifts with another volunteer is acceptable. Any changes must be notified to event volunteer manager.
Volunteers are responsible for managing their own schedule. i.e. Don’t sign up for a shift during contest prelims if you are competing.
All volunteers must adhere to the responsibilities provided to the workers prior to the event.
All volunteers are representatives of CMDance, it’s mission and standards, which means you will conduct yourselves with professional, courteous and appropriate behavior for a work-place environment.
Hot Night Fusion Weekend is thrilled to have out of town visitors for the event. We work hard to help facilitate affordable accommodations for those travelling to Denver for the weekend.
We are working on securing a small block of rooms at The Curtis Hotel. You may also post on our Facebook Event page to connect with locals.
