​On October 21st and 22nd, 2023, the Crescent Arts Centre will present the MAD about TRAD Jazz Party.

It is a weekend event that includes: workshops, music, live sketching, and swing dancing! Each workshop is based on a beginner/intermediate level and are built with the three main goals in mind: learning, having fun and socializing. ​

WORKSHOPS LEADING UP TO THE WEEKEND Leading up to the MAD about TRAD Jazz Party weekend we will offer a series of swing jam workshops where we will take you through the songs so that you feel comfortable with them on the jazz weekend. These swing jam workshops will be held at Crescent Fort Rouge United at 1:00pm on the following Wednesdays: Wed. Sept 13, Oct 04, Oct. 11th, Oct. 18th (You can download the music book here) Picture MUSIC In the music workshops we will be playing through tunes that are now available online in a PDF songbook. (You can download the music book here) These are the songs we will be using throughout the weekend in our workshops. Leading and playing in the workshops are some stellar musicians from the Yukon: Rob “Rocky” Bergman on Bass, Annie Avery on piano.

FROM VANCOUVER: Bonnie Northgraves on trumpet and vocals and Joe Abbot on Clarinet. FROM WINNIPEG: Jaxon Haldane on guitar and vocals, Cameron Denby on drums, Tim Osmond on banjo and Grant Simpson on piano. Imagine jamming with a band like this! Well, you can!

You will also learn about jazz phrasing, dynamics, call & response, jazz counterpoint and many other fun aspects of playing this joyful music. Picture ART Drawing at Live Events – 1 hour Ten minutes of tips and orientation before you dive in to quick line drawing in a live setting. Artists (that’s you!) will move from station to station to capture views of the live music. Stations will be 5-10 minutes max each using felt pens only – no erasing! This session will kick start your journey of being an artist at live music/dance events. All supplies provided, all experience levels encouraged!

Picture SWING DANCING Friday: This introductory Jive class will teach you the beginner swing steps and get you toe tapping and ready to dance right away to the live band!

Saturday: 1: This first class in the series will start similar to Friday's lesson but with a variance on the footwork which will allow a greater degree of freedom to improvise and perform more movements. Attendance from Friday's class is not mandatory.

2: The second class will take a break from all the partnered movements and spend some time focusing on individual jazz movements and line dance steps. This class can be taken solo for those not wishing to take all three progressive lessons. The moves learned here can be performed in a routine or within the structure of a partnered dance.

3: We will take the patterns that we learned in the first class today and build upon them with additional turns and movements. "Fancy moves" as it were.

Click to purchase tickets now on Eventbrite. ​ The Schedule:

Friday, October 20th 6:00 – 7:00pm Opening Reception 7:30 – 8:30pm Workshops: Music: Swing Jam 101 Art: Live Sketching Workshop Dancing: Introduction to Jive

9:00 – 10:00pm: Friday Night Jazz Party! Dance, Draw and Groove to this awesome eight-piece jazz band consisting of musicians from Vancouver, Whitehorse and Winnipeg.

Saturday, October 21st 10:30 – 11:30am: Workshops Music: Dynamics! Art: Live Sketching Workshop Dance: Beginner Jive

1:00 – 2:00pm: Workshops Music: Swing Phrasing Art: Live Sketching Workshop Dance: Solo Dancing and Line Dance Swing Dance: Individual steps and line-dancing

3:00 – 4:00pm: Workshops Music: Jazz Counterpoint Art: Live Sketching Workshop Dance: Fancy Moves

8:00 – 10:00pm: Saturday Night Jazz Party! Dance, Draw and Groove to this awesome eight-piece jazz band consisting of musicians from Vancouver, Whitehorse and Winnipeg.