Brenda Jean Russell

02/07/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18AdKvNQqd/?mibextid=wwXIfr

02/01/2026

Upcoming Schedule & Booking Availability

✨ Camp Balboa is Live!
The website is up, registration is open, and housing options are available.

🔗 Camp Balboa Website: https://www.campbalboa.com/

📝 Registration: https://forms.gle/Z2ac1tRgJLcFmHc87

February – Switzerland

• Feb 4–20 – Private lessons available in Switzerland

• Feb 14–15 – Balboa, Winterthur

• Feb 21–22 – Lucerne Blues Weekend
https://www.triplestep.ch/angebot-1/blues-workshop/

March

• Mar 7 – Zurich Jazz Blues
https://bluesli.ch/bluesli-brenda-march-2026/

• Mar 8 – Zurich Balboa
https://www.facebook.com/events/1396901805218559

• Mar 14 – Fusion, London
https://facebook.com/events/s/fusion-workshop-with-brenda-ru/3712666172204268/

• Mar 20–22 – Dance by the Lake: Spring Fusion Weekend, Orgelet (France)
https://facebook.com/events/s/dance-by-the-lake/1663208204845345/

April – June

▫️ Available for booking
(Local workshops, weekend intensives, and special projects welcome)

Summer

• Jul 27 – Aug 2 – Camp Balboa, Bern
https://www.campbalboa.com/

📝 Registration: https://forms.gle/Z2ac1tRgJLcFmHc87

• Aug 3–8 – Bern Jazz & Blues Week
https://www.rhythmrebels.ch/bluesdance

Fall

• Sept 24–30 – DanceMode Training Intensive, Berlin
https://www.berlindancemode.com/immersions

• Oct 1–4 – Berlin Blues & Fusion Experience
https://www.berlindancemode.com/festival

• Oct 5–11 – Camp Blues Berlin
https://www.berlindancemode.com/immersions

Booking Outlook

I am now available for booking from March 2026 through January 2027, with some additional flexibility April–June for local workshops.

If you’re dreaming up something for your community — or want to catch me while I’m nearby — I’d love to hear from you.

Looking forward to crossing paths on the dance floor soon.

Warmly,
Brenda Jean Russell
Dance Instructor & Movement Educator
DanceMode
📍 London · Europe · Portland
📧 brenda.dancemode@gmail.com

📞 +1 503-998-7417

01/31/2026

I've been asked for an Autism book list more times than I can count.

I have a much longer list, but this memoir-based, largely female-focused selection helped me feel “normal,” even “typical,” and—most importantly—not alone.

Autism Audio Book List

Memoirs & Lived Experience
1. Autism in Heels — Jennifer Cook
2. Drama Queen — Sara Gibbs
3. But You Don’t Look Autistic at All — Bianca Toeps
4. But Everyone Feels This Way — Paige Layle
5. The PDA Paradox — Harry Thompson
Memoir-driven exploration of PDA with insight and advocacy

⸻

Research & Neurodiversity Context
6. Divergent Mind — Jenara Nerenberg

Podcast: Oh, that's just my autism
https://open.spotify.com/show/4RDyBTLKsbzD5eyk6cLDvX?si=285e2fef5a74499e

Podcast · Melissa Tacia · Join me (a woman in her 40’s) as I process the ins and outs of seeking, obtaining, and processing an autism diagnosis at the age of 41.

12/14/2025

✨ DanceMode Upcoming Schedule ✨
Workshops • Live Music • Community • International Adventures

December 2025

🟣 Dec 14 — Portland Balboa Workshop
👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/2375482616202549

🟣 Dec 15 — Registration Opens: DanceMode Berlin (October 2026)
👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/1123948126244276

👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/1181720837393308

👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/1361193842252071

🟣 Dec 16 — Tuesday Blues Lesson & Live Music + DJ (Portland)
👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/815748094849322

🟣 Dec 20 — Portland Blues Workshop
👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/1817245192237635

🟣 Dec 23 — Tuesday Blues Lesson & Live Music + DJ (Portland)
👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/1155041003501591

January 2026

🟣 Jan 1–4 — Fusionizers | Bern, Switzerland
👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/747740351009037/

🟣 Jan 23–25 — DanceMode Zurich Balboa Workshop
👉 https://www.facebook.com/events/2133116250828266

✨ Local to global. Dance, music, movement, and community.
More details & updates coming soon.

10/30/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18zixmGRtT/?mibextid=wwXIfr

What we will be doing at our next retreat

10/27/2025

✨ Two Weeks Off✨

Today marks exactly two weeks since I wrapped up three full weeks of teaching and organizing in Berlin. I’ve been working there over unification day since 2011.

This morning I woke up craving movement again—a gentle routine of apple cider vinegar, rolling out my feet, tapping, elastic band work, spine mobility. I made breakfast, washed my hair, and started getting ready for dancing tonight. It felt so good to want to move.

The past two weeks have been a dance of their own: back and forth between “shoulds,” task lists, naps, and binging trashy shows on my phone.

About 12 years ago, in Berlin, I confided to a New Orleans musician about my struggles with depression. He related, and even connected me with a therapist in Mendocino. Out of those sessions, two life-saving truths landed:
1. Get a pet to reflect my behavior.
2. Give myself two weeks of nothing after each retreat.

I’ve come a long way since then. I don’t beat myself up for “feeling bad.” But I do forget to really honor those two weeks of rest.

This time, I tried: I blocked the time, but I also packed in meetings, travel, teaching, DJing, and plenty of trains between cities. I flaked on a few meetups, got bursts of work done, and also…let myself sleep, wander, and zone out.

I felt guilty at moments—thinking I should’ve taught more, exercised more, worked harder. But I kept reminding myself: these weeks were meant to be slow. When I found myself watching a show, I allowed it. When I felt like dancing, I went.

And today? I woke up naturally wanting to exercise, to strengthen, to eat well, to focus again. I love that I can trust the habits I’ve built over time to carry me forward, even when I’ve needed a pause.

Rest is also part of the work. 🌿

09/03/2025

🌟 **Brenda Jean Russell – August Dance & Teaching Schedule**
🌟Come dance, learn, and connect with me at these special events around Portland!

🌿 Private Lessons – Summer Training Special
🌿Looking to deepen your practice one-on-one? I'm available for a limited number of private lesson packages this summer, in person (while I'm on the West Coast) or online.
📚 Rates:
• $1000 – 10 sessions (80 min each) – payment plan available
• $300 – 4 sessions (45 min each)
• $100 – single 50-min session
✨ Ideal for focused training in dance, movement, or energy work.

📬 DM me, text, or email: Brenda.DanceMode@gmail.com | 503-998-7417

My last few weeks in Portland schedule
Sept 2, & 9 Teach & DJ Portland Blues & Jazz Dance Society
Tuesday Blues Sept 2 nChicago Triple
https://www.facebook.com/share/1EQbkPrGcu/
Aug 28 & Sept 4 Teach & DJ Portland Lindy Society
https://www.facebook.com/share/19bB9DY5WX/
Barefoot Fusion Sept 5 Tango Fusion
https://www.facebook.com/share/1Ch2WPLszU/
Portland Dance Eclectic Sept 6 Tango Fusion 7:00 Lesson
Portland Blues Experience Charity Rummage Sale
Sept 6-7
Tuesday Blues Sept 9 Chicago triple
https://www.facebook.com/share/1YerP96Zkw/
Tuesday Blues – Fast Feet Month
September 2 & 9, 7:00–8:00pm

Kick off Fast Feet Month with Brenda Jean Russell and the Chicago Triple! This social blues dance, rooted in Chicago-style shuffle blues, uses a steady repeating rhythm that carries you through the entire dance. Danced in closed (though not necessarily close) embrace, Chicago Triple combines grounded efficiency with playful rhythm.
In this two-week series, Brenda Jean will guide you toward an efficient foot base, a relaxed and comfortable embrace, and smooth movement that makes it easy to sustain the triple action with your partner. She’ll also share direction and shape variations that let the dance travel, turn, or settle in place. Both lead and follow will explore how to bring in their own footwork variations while staying connected, creating a dynamic and musical dance.
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Let’s dance, celebrate, and build community this August 💃🌀
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