The History of Recess
Recess Productions was founded by Justin Riley in 2007 as Blues Recess, was later changed to Alt-Blues Recess (2011), and then finally Recess Productions (2014 - 2018).
Recess emerged from after-hours house parties in the Lindy Hop and Swing Dance scenes of the early 2000s. The events were aspirational, courageous, audacious and radical. Blues Recess and Recess Productions were seminal in bringing the underground fusion house-party scene into a festival setting. (Long standing dancers will remember that the Fusion Exchange and Aspen Recess happened in 2007 within months of each other.)
Fusion dances and scenes worldwide are deeply influenced by the structures, culture, music, dance aesthetics and community practices of Recess events.
In 2011, the term “switch dancing” was coined and heavily promoted in Portland, Oregon at Urban Blues Recess, creating a role-neutral and gender-inclusive Fusion dance culture overnight. (Do you still have your patch?)
After 136 festivals held in the United States and worldwide, the existing organizational structure disbanded. When Recess stopped in 2017, it was host to the three largest annual Fusion dance events around the world (Northwest Recess, Cali-Creek, and Recess Massive), including Radical Organizer and Instructor Trainings in The United States and Europe and an an UnSchooling Teen Youth Program, with a total of 12 events a year. The vast majority of Recess events were unique, one-off events, and were never repeated.
In some ways, Recess and Fusion Dance became synonymous. Thank you to everyone involved in making Recess and Fusion Dance possible for all of us to enjoy.
Historic timeline of the Recess festivals and event locations
Recess emerged from after-hours house parties in the Lindy Hop and Swing Dance scenes of the early 2000s. The events were aspirational, courageous, audacious and radical. Blues Recess and Recess Productions were seminal in bringing the underground fusion house-party scene into a festival setting. (Long standing dancers will remember that the Fusion Exchange and Aspen Recess happened in 2007 within months of each other.)
Fusion dances and scenes worldwide are deeply influenced by the structures, culture, music, dance aesthetics and community practices of Recess events.
In 2011, the term “switch dancing” was coined and heavily promoted in Portland, Oregon at Urban Blues Recess, creating a role-neutral and gender-inclusive Fusion dance culture overnight. (Do you still have your patch?)
After 136 festivals held in the United States and worldwide, the existing organizational structure disbanded. When Recess stopped in 2017, it was host to the three largest annual Fusion dance events around the world (Northwest Recess, Cali-Creek, and Recess Massive), including Radical Organizer and Instructor Trainings in The United States and Europe and an an UnSchooling Teen Youth Program, with a total of 12 events a year. The vast majority of Recess events were unique, one-off events, and were never repeated.
In some ways, Recess and Fusion Dance became synonymous. Thank you to everyone involved in making Recess and Fusion Dance possible for all of us to enjoy.
Historic timeline of the Recess festivals and event locations