Crème de la Connection
a new partner dance weekend in Europe
Just after New Year’s 2023, I intercepted my friend Flouer in the stairwell of a dance event in Bern, Switzerland.
Blake: “Hey Flouer! Know how everyone talks about ‘connection’ in partner dance, and how special it is? Wanna co-create a retreat that explores this idea?”
Flouer: “Why yes, Blake, yes I do!”
(I’m pretty sure that’s how the conversation went.)
Flouer Evelyn is kind of a big deal in the blues and fusion dance communities. She’s taught all over the world, built up the New York City dance scenes, and organized everything from massive weekends to tiny retreats. She’s a hugely talented dancer, powerhouse DJ, and most importantly, a deeply kind and thoughtful person. And like me, she’s an American living abroad in Europe.
So when she said “yes” to my invitation, I gotta admit, I peed my pants a little.
It took us a few years to find the right idea, venue, and team. But ultimately, we did.
Now I’m proud to present the result: a 3-day retreat taking place at a riverside monastery in Germany from Sept 18-21, 2025: Crème de La Connection.
Here’s the big idea: Lots of people use the word “connection” to describe the warm, fuzzy feeling in their body during a great dance, deep conversation, calm moment in nature, or playful group bonding. Connection requires trust, comfort, and vulnerability… but beyond that, it’s hard to pin down. Everyone seems to want it, yet few can define it.
That’s why we decided to create a weekend that wasn’t just about finding connection through dance, but also:
shared accommodation and home-cooked meals (like an adult summer camp)
plenty of nature (with a swimmable river and green space nearby)
all-group playful bonding activities (facilitated by yours truly)
purposeful free time for long, slow conversations (rather than rushing from one thing to the next)
quiet hours starting at midnight (in the name of Really Excellent Sleep 🐑🐑🐑)
Our intention is to skim the crème from the best connection activities that Flouer, I, and our three co-organizer friends have encountered, and bring them together into one big, warm, fuzzy, late-summer weekend.
As a bonus: it’s a beginner-friendly dance weekend! While most fusion weekends are geared toward intermediate dancers (those with backgrounds in multiple dances), ours is explicitly designed to welcome newer dancers. So if your partner dance experience is limited (e.g. you’ve only taken a few salsa, swing, tango, blues, or zouk classes) but you love the idea of the retreat, you are warmly invited to register.
And if you arrive a day early (Sept 18th), we can celebrate my birthday together!
Whether you’re one of my European fusion dance friends, a curious dancer from another scene, or someone trying to bring more connection into your life, I hope to see you there.
Registration is open. First-come, first-served. All details here.
❤️ -Blake
Related reading:
And if you’re wondering… just what is “fusion dance?” This video offers one explanation. Flouer offers another.