Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Improving dance technique, foot exercises, and more

Anna Botelho has an article on her website called How to Dance at a Club or Party: an Analytical Approach. Anna covers various dance techniques such as body angles, coordination, and resistance. She has also posted videos on these topics as well. It's a great resource to help you improve your dancing technique! If you scroll down the page, you'll find more information on various topics such as foot exercises, dance resource books, routines, and types to shoes to wear to class, to name a few. I'm going to be busy digesting all of this over the next week or two.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Friday night dance - August 13

Susan Webb wanted to let everyone know that Bonnie plans to have a dance Friday night before Saturday's (August 14) workshop. The dance will also be held at Epworth Church for a $5 donation to the church. Ice and ice water in pitchers provided. The time of the dance will be 7:00pm-9:00pm.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Carol Craven's Weekly Dance Survey - July 25, 2010

Carol's Weekly Dance Survey for the week ending July 25, 2010 is out. Here are the top ten dances:
  1. Hey Soul Sister [video] - 32/I/4 - Ruben Luna & Bracken Ellis Potter
  2. Bobbie With an I [video] - 48/eI/2 - Rachael McEnaney
  3. Dog-gone Blues [video] - 48/I/4 - Jo Thompson Szymanski, Michele Burton, and Michael Barr
  4. Quarter after One [video] - 56/I/4 - Levi J Hubbard
  5. American Cowboy [video] - 64/I/2 - Peter Metelnick & Alison Biggs
  6. Rain Against My Window [video] - 32/I/4 - Michael Barr
  7. Oh! Ruby [video] - Phr/I+/? - Debbie McLaughlin
  8. Walking In The Rain [video] - 64/eI/4 - Maggie Gallagher
  9. NY Cha [video] - 64/IAdv/2 - Neville Fitzgerald & Julie Harris
  10. Gave It All Away [video] - 32/I/4 - Maggie Gallagher


Funny text

To warn you, this isn't dance related at all. It's just about a very simple site called Fliptext. "What does Fliptext do", you ask? Well, it only does one thing - flip your text! You enter in your text in one box, and in another box the text is reversed and flipped upside down. You can then cut-n-paste the new text to any number of sites including Facebook, Myspace, etc.

My dance shoes came in

My Celebrity two tone dance shoes recently had been showing the wear and tear that 5 years of dancing will cause, so it was time to find a new pair of shoes. The shoes had to be wide width (I have 'duck feet' lol), 10 1/2, two toned (I'm a swingkid), and above all comfortable.

After much searching I came across the Step One Shoes site. They can make shoes to your specifications and have a variety of styles. After a short search on the site, I found exactly what I was looking for and ordered a new pair of two tone wingtips. The picture here doesn't do the shoes justice, btw. They look 100 times better!

To make a long story short, once the order is made, it takes a few weeks for the shoes to arrive since they are custom made. The shoes did arrive in a few weeks and all I can say is "WOW!" These shoes look great and more importantly feel great. The shoes themselves are light and won't weigh you down on the dance floor. I'm probably going to order another pair soon.

Do you have a good experience like this that you'd like to share? I'm sure other folks would like to hear it!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

NC Regional Line Dancer shirts



Susan Webb wanted to pass on this bit of information:

Renita Vega is getting some shirts with the sparkle stones made up for those of us who want one with NC Regional Line Dancer on them. The logo (shown above) will go on a scoop neck short sleeve black shirt. If you are interested in purchasing one, contact Renita via email at renita.vega@ncmail.net to let her know what size shirt you need. The cost of the shirt will be approximately $20.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

NC Regional Line Dance Workshop - Aug 14


When:Saturday, August 14, 2010
Where:Epworth United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
 3002 Hope Valley Road
Durham, NC 27707
Time:Special Beginners-Only Workshop 11:00 - 12:30
Intermediate Workshop 1:00 - 6:00
Dance and Review immediately following workshop
Cost:$5.00 donation to church

Please bring a snack to share if coming to the afternoon session. Ice and ice water in pitchers provided. Bring anything else you want to drink.

NON-SMOKING FACILITY. SMOKING IS PERMITTED OUTSIDE
NO ALCOHOL ALLOWED ON PREMISES

Call 919-471-8602 or email linedancequeen@nc.rr.com if you have questions or need more specifics.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Thursday night's class

New dances that we learned last night included Never Stop [video], a 32 count 4 wall easy intermediate dance by Kim Ray, and Bobbi with an I [video], a 48 count 2 wall easy intermediate dance by Rachael McEnaney.

We reviewed Sue and Kathy's Under the Sun [video], an advancing beginner dance that's 32 counts and 2 walls.


Wednesday, July 14, 2010

NC Regional Line Dance Workshop Review

Review by Susan Webb:

A NC Regional Line Dance Workshop was held at Susan's Place on the farm in Stantonsburg on Saturday, July 10, 2010.

The beginner session was from 11:00-1:00.

Karla Stith from Jacksonville started off the day teaching Hello Dolly by Lorraine Kurtela (mother of Michele Burton), a 32 count 2 wall dance danced to Hello Dolly by Bobby Darrin. Next, I taught Swing It by Lily Starnes, a lively easy beginner 48 count 4 wall dance danced to Time To Swing by Helmut Lotti. BC Beach from New Bern taught Under The Sun by Kathy Chang and Sue Hsu, a 32 count 2 wall dance danced to Under The Sun by Tim Tim, perfect for the sunny summer weather. Bonnie Mathews from Durham taught Your World by Niels Poulsen, a 32 count straight rhythm dance danced to the music It's Your World Now by the Eagles.

I started off teaching in the intermediate/advanced session with Imma Be by Guyton Mundy, Pim van Grootel, Will Craig, Daniel Trepat & Ryan Lindsey, an advanced 128 count 2 wall phrased hip hop dance danced to the music Imma Be by The Black Eyed Peas. Although the dance is phrased and has a lot of counts, it is definitely not a wall disease dance and the phrasing is easy to remember because all the A's are done at first, then 1 B, and the rest C's. Bonnie Mathews taught So Sexxy by John Robinson (Mr. Showcase), a fun easy intermediate 32 count 4 wall dance with one restart danced to the music You're So Sexy by Marlee Scott. Brenda Smith from Roxboro taught Blown Away by Dan McInerney, an advanced 96 count 2 wall dance danced to the music Lick Shots by Missy Elliot. Even though it is a 2 wall dance, the back wall proved to blow some of us away! Renita Vega from Fayetteville taught Forgiveness by Bracken Ellis Potter, a lovely 72 count 2 wall waltz with lots of turns danced to Forgiveness by Leona Lewis.

We danced many of the current or old favorite dances between teaches. Thanks to everyone who came, brought wonderful food and made it a fun-filled day.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Why Men Should Dance

I came across a nice little article by Karl Kehde called "Why Men Should Dance". It's an interesting read and spot on, imho. Here's an excerpt from the article, enough to whet your appetite:
...
I had thought that I was too old to learn anything as complicated and physical as dancing. It was a bit of a shock when I began, but what a refreshing awakening.

My behavior around women also improved. I usually don't like small talk. But, here in this wholesome setting, the emphasis is on dancing which begins with the physical connection. That really eases conversation. Also, in group lessons dance partners change continuously; a big help in learning social and dance skills. I learned that the man's role is to lead the dance partnership, suggesting steps in a way that makes the dance an enjoyable experience for his partner. I was also nervous about looking ridiculous in front of men and women I didn't know. But they were in the same boat, and we could all look ridiculous together.
...

Continue to the rest of the article...

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Line Dancing in New Bern and Jacksonville

BC Beach teaches line dancing classes on Monday mornings at the Rivertowne Ballroom in New Bern. The beginner class starts at 10AM and the intermediate class begins at 11AM. Check out the Rivertowne Ballroom page for more information.

Jim Hart has a line dancing class every Thursday evening from 6pm to 9pm at the Jacksonville Commons Senior Center at 100 Recreation Lane in Jacksonville. There is no costs for the class, and people all ages and skill levels are welcome to attend!

Line Dancing sites

The line dancing community can be found all over the internet at various websites, blogs, newsletters, and Facebook/Myspace pages. Here are a few of the ones that I use as my resources!


Carol Craven's

Carol puts out a daily newsletter via email called the World Line Dance Newsletter. It's a great little newsletter that keeps you up to date with reports on the line dancing scene from all over the country. Carol is a sweetheart and even posted an announcement once about an upcoming show my swing dance performance group performed years ago. Did I mention she has a cookie party each year at the Line Dance Marathon? Mmm mmm good! Carol's website isn't just about the newsletter, however. She has lots more information from new dances to step sheets to videos.

Doris Volz'

Doris is a line dance historian, instructor, and author of the LineDanceFun.com in the San Francisco Bay Area. It's always fun to go to her LineDanceFun.com site and see what dances they are doing out on the west coast. Doris lists the dances done each night at their various venues along with a link to the step sheet.

Sue & Kathy Line Dance
Sue and Kathy's site has lots (LOTS) of line dancing instructional videos, both their own dances and other instructor's dances. They are in the Cupertino CA area.

Peter Ng's

This is one of my main sources of step sheets and videos when a new dance comes out. You can search for dances in many ways such as by title, by song, etc.

Don and Patti Brown's

Don and Patti have said it best on their website: "Don is a square dance caller/instructor and is also the producer/owner of Circle D Records. After recording for Silver Sounds Records for eight years, Don made the jump and purchased Circle D/A-Bar-K Records. You can listen to clips of all Circle D and A-Bar-K releases by clicking our distributor's link at the bottom of the Circle D page, including music for our own Line Dance, called Raunchy. Don also teaches line dances along with Patti. Patti is, of course, the woman behind the caller. Don has been calling and teaching square dancing for 35 years and square dancing for 37 years. Patti has been square dancing for 31 years. Both have been round dancing for 15 years and line dancing for 14 years."

They have over 27,000 step sheets for you to look at and use on their step sheet pages.

Today's philosophical quote

Eleanor Roosevelt said it best:
"Great minds minds talk about IDEAS. Average minds talk about EVENTS. Small minds talk about PEOPLE."

Might I add... "and the smallest of minds talk about THEMSELVES."