Davis lifted his hands at ?an angle.
“Create a suspension.”
The women followed suit.
Joanne Shank said she had been coming to the dance lessons since January.
“He’s so passionate,” Shank said. “His eyes just light up.”
Shank said she met Davis at an Arts Alliance meeting. When she found out he taught blues dancing, she said, she decided to start learning.
“My New Year’s resolution was to dance,” Shank said. “I’ve maybe missed one lesson since January.”
Davis is buoyant and energetic with his students. He jokes easily and tries to make each move — with names as odd as “Funky Butt” or “Snake Hips” — as accessible as he can. Davis said it’s usually just him and two regulars, but sometimes he gets a new ?person.
“I teach drop-in lessons, which I think is the hardest kind to teach,” Davis said. “You have to meet everyone at their level when you do that.”
Davis isn’t a certified dance instructor, but he said he’s always going to conventions and classes and has been for years.
He easily drops facts about historical blues dance.
“Blues is all about asymmetry,” Davis said. “Western dance is all about symmetry and partner dancing. That’s where the partner aspect of blues dancing comes from: Western influence.”
Chris Breedlove, one of the pub managers, said people like Davis are encouraged to make similar use of the pub.
“We’re a live music venue that just happens to serve beer and wine,” Breedlove said.
