Hosts

Jeremy_lightsmith

Jeremy Lightsmith

Director, Community Director

Jeremy has hosted many, many blues parties in New York and now in Seattle. His home has always been a home to blues, and contributing to Burn Blue is his latest way of living with the blues.


Karen

Karen R. Smith

Host

Karen has loved dancing Lindy, Swing, and Blues for over six years, refining her technique, connection, and teaching skillZ, and is excited to bring that enthusiasm to developing Burn Blue. She has recently moved to the Seattle area from Austin, TX, where she supported the scene as a member of the Austin Swing Syndicate, volunteering for their weekly dances, and as a teacher and program coordinator for Go Dance Studios.
Karen’s dance philosophy has developed uniquely from her backgrounds in juggling, teaching, and bodywork. She believes that, like juggling, learning to dance is a step-by-step process that anyone can learn. She wishes to bring to Burn Blue her appreciation for the beauty of the couple’s interaction, and for Blues Dance (by its very nature) as an activity and a culture that promotes cooperative interaction.


Karissa_lightsmith

Karissa Lightsmith

Director, Host

Karissa loves to host! She is passionate about bringing in new DJs and Teachers, in addition to old favorites. It is important to her to facilitate teachers and DJs giving each other peer to peer feedback.

She also loves to bring in live music to connect dancers and musicians.

She wants to make you feel comfortable and at home. So, ask her to dance or ask her a question. She can’t wait to see you soon!


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Lauren RM

Lauren likes dancing and smiling at strangers. Burn Blue has been a life changing and eye opening part of her Seattle experience. She likes to think she helps make it be part of that experience for others.


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Lisa Lafleur


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Maggie Karshner

Maggie had years of experience hosting house parties before becoming a host for Burn Blue in 2011. Maggie loves dancing and likes to share it with people and make dancing more accessible to everyone. She’s excited to answer any questions you have about where to learn to dance, how to get more involved, and where else you can dance. She also just generally loves talking about dance; everything from if dance is more like a language or more like meditation, to the sociology of the dance community.


Markchandler

Mark Chandler


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Michael Smith

Director, Treasurer

Michael has experience in operating three different dance venues in Utah, including In Between Swing. While living in Utah, he hosted a weekly house party at “The Place”, which involved everything from lindy to west coast to blues. Having been in Seattle for almost two years, and a patron of many blues parties, Michael’s now looking forward to getting involved with Burn Blue and the dance scene at Waid’s Place.


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Nicole Ruedy


Rachelh

Rachel Hamstra


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Stephen Burrows