VEGAS, 2018!

My second time at the Doug & Jackie’s Vegas Dance Explosion! Just as awesome as ever! Am home after an exhilarating 5 days! The hotel was great; had some fun outside of the event; really enjoyed EVERY teach I took!

Started my time at the event with teaches from Jose Miguel Belloque Vane - “Silent Storm”, Jo Kinser - “Conseqences”; Roy Hadisubroto & Fiona Murray - “Hey Nah Nah Nah”; Amy Glass - “My Rules”; and Roy Verdonk - “Bethlehem Child”.

On day 2 (Thursday), I attended Rob Fowler’s teach of “Woman, Amen” and a bonus teach of “Vaiven”; Roy & Fiona’s “Dem Dey Go” (yes, am already dancing this but wanted to sit in on their teach since there are so many nuances that only they can provide!); Roy Verdonk’s teach of “When She Grows Up”; and Maddison Glover’s each of “Healing Hands.” We also went out to eat and saw the show “Absinthe” Thursday night.

On Friday, most of what I attended were repeat sessions but I also took Rebecca Lee’s teach of “Level Up” (such a fun, fast-paced dance!) and Chris Watson’s teach of “Waiting On The Stars” (pretty!).

Saturday was my 4th day and it was another “big teach” day... started with Roy & Fiona’s “Colors” (my absolute FAVORITE of the whole event!); Jo Thompson Szymanski’s teach of Team USA’s choreography from Windy City “Back In Town”; Rob Fowler’s “Bound Ta Git Down” (classic boot-stompin’, toe-heelin’, yee-hawin’ dance!). Also spent some time with 2nd-time around teaches as well.

Now on Sunday, I took a really laid-back approach to the day. Took a reteach of Colors and Back In Town and then found my way to the theatre where there were several screens of football playing. Enjoyed watching my team win! Also spent some time in open dance, packing, and saying good-bye to everyone. We caught the shuttle to the airport at 10:30 pm 

So now that I’ve napped on the plane, am home, have caught up on laundry, I can really sit down and think about the total experience. Many thanks to the event directors, staff, and volunteers for an amazing week of dance; and to the instructors/choreographers for sharing their time and talents with us both in workshop sessions and show performances! It is always fun to see all the passion on the dance floor, catch up with friends from near and far, and to meet so many new friends! And to the students in my classes - boy! Do I have some great new material to share with you!!!

Rachael’s Workshop 11/3/18

Another great workshop by Rachael in Orlando (or, in this case - Castleberry!) at the new venue - The Crystal Ballroom. We had great representation from Southwest Florida (and beyond with Jill here visiting from California!) and enjoyed a fun day of dance.

Rachael taught:
Bardot Blues (with Simon Ward)
Dip To The Bass (with Christopher Gonzalez)
Electric Church (with Johanna Barnes)
Faded (with Robin Madeley)
Jessie (with Simon Ward)
Make It Sweet (Rachael)

Jessie was the absolute favorite of the day followed by Electric Church and Bardot Blues (Bardot Blues needed more work by several). Faded is a classic of Rachael’s (2003). Dip To The Bass and Make It Sweet will work very well for Thursday’s class. Even Electric Church may work for an intermediate dance teach for Thursday as well.

Our choice (my selection) of hotels for the night was less than stellar. Since it sounds like this is going to be the venue for Rachael’s future workshops as well as Sandy & Diane’s Gary/Joey weekend, we’re gonna need to explore further lodging options in the area!

Deb’s Thursday Night Class in Bonita - 10/4/18

With some of the class off to Chicago and Windy City, I led the class Thursday night.

I taught:
Sleepwalk With Me
Jukebox
Oh Ruby!
With These Eyes
Kiss Of Heaven
Beyond Beautiful

We danced:
Uphill Battle
Diggin’
Dirty Little Secret
Only Love
Where I Stood
The Last Word
I Don’t Dance
Dem Dey Go
Naked

Classics Workshop 9/29/18

Betsy had another great Classics workshop in Deerfield Beach yesterday! (And - Dawn Demerest did a social the night before in West Palm Beach that was also a lot of fun!)

The classics taught were Oh Ruby!, Jukebox, With These Eyes, and Now Or Never (which is the one I taught).

Oh Ruby! is a phrased dance by Deb Rushton that will need just a little bit more work to master but I really liked it.

Jukebox is a classic Jo Thompson Szymanski that is just a lot of fun.

With These Eyes is an awesome nightclub by Niels Poulsen & Darren Bailey that I can’t wait to do again! Gooseys!

Lots of open dance in between with a great playlist - the day did not disappoint!

DANCE XPERIENCE 2018!

Well. As I was leaving Betsy’s Classics Workshop yesterday, and Sharon and I were talking about the Xperience, I looked back through this blog and guess what? I NEVER posted ANYTHING about New Orleans 2018! How sad is that? All I have are these notes! So - it’s all that gets to be posted here. 

DANCE XPERIENCE TEACHES

A summary of the dances taught at the Xperience ........

1) N&J - Five Million Pieces

2)  Fred - Acoustic Love

3) Gary - Taking Me Back

4) Joey - Filthy

5) Guillaume - We'll Stay Young

6) Trevor - VIP

7) Shane - Come Alive

8) Gary - Funk The Preacher Man

9) Fred - Don't Stay For Me

10) Fred - Tip Toe

11) N&J - Something I Can't Have

12)  Gemma - The Wolf

Bonus 1) Justin - Hola

13) Joey - Right Here

14) Dustin - Confessions

15) Shane - Boat Stuck In A Bottle

Bonus 2) - Klara/Lina - Slip Through 

19) N&J - Til I'm Done

20) Guillaume - Leave A Light On

21) Team Xperience - Watch The Tempo

Neville Fitzgerald & Julie Harris: 

*Five Million Pieces (WCS)

*#1 Something I Can't Have (NC2)

*(draft) Til I'm Done (Cha)

Fred Whitehouse - 

*Acoustic Love (NC2)

*#1 Don't Stay For Me (WCS)

*Tip Toe (Funky/Pop)

Gary O’Reilly- 

*Taking Me Back (Cha)

*Funk The Preacher Man (Funky)

#1 Follow My Footprints (NC2)

Joey Warren - 

Filthy (OMG!)

#1 Right Here (waltz)

Guillaume Richard - 

*#1 We'll Stay Young (waltz)

Trevor Thornton - 

VIP (Pop)

Shane McKeever - 

Come Alive (OMG!)

#1 Boat Stuck In A Bottle (NC2)

Gemma Ridyard - 

*The Wolf (Funky)

*#1 The Champion (Funky)

Dustin Betts - 

*Hola

Klara Wallman/Lina - 

*Slip Through 

Team Xperience (Joey, Fred, Gemma, Shane, Guillaume) - 

#1 Watch The Tempo (Funky/Samba’y)

The #1’s

Something I Can't Have (NC2)

Don't Stay For Me (WCS)

Follow My Footprints (NC2)

Right Here (waltz)

We'll Stay Young (waltz)

Boat Stuck In A Bottle (NC2)

Watch The Tempo (Funky/Samba’y)

FITS 2018

FITS 2018

As always, just a great event! Jen did an outstanding job and the hotel was wonderful! Certainly got my fill of dancing! I really liked having repeat teaches on Sunday! Gave me a chance to either catch something I missed earlier or a second chance on something that was trickier. Yay!

I really liked EVERY class I attended. The difficult part will be figuring out which one to teach first! 😱😱😱

On Friday I attended 4 classes: Rachael’s teach of Maddison Glover’s Tell Me You Love Me (Fun!), Roy & Fiona’s Make Ya Move (Funky Fun!), Sandy’s teach of Maddy & Simon’s Lost In Love (OMG! I think this will have to be my first teach!), and ended the day with Roy & Fiona’s A Lover’s Trak (from FLOSSING to LAUNDRY! Fun!).

On Saturday I actually made it to 5 classes!!! Started with Marilyn’s teach of Darren & Fred’s Second Time Around (FUN! Definitely up there with the 1st ones to be taught!), Sandy’s teach of Niels & Shane’s Vampire City (GREAT DANCE - will have to be right up there with one of the firsts to be taught!), Shane’s teach of his & Fred’s Light A Candle (I like this one! But, a teach on it will need to wait a bit - until I transcribe my video into a “stepsheet” - of sorts!), Rachael & Linda McCormack’s Can’t Even Dance (cute!), and I ended with Roy & Fiona’s The Last Word (POWERFUL! Might just have to be one of the first ones taught!).

And on Sunday I made it to 2: a reteach of Roy & Fiona’s Make Ya Move and Rachael’s teach of Maddy’s Sober Saturday Night. I REALLY needed more work on my FLOSSING and LOVED SSN. Sober Saturday Night might be right up there with one of the firsts to be taught!

Now that I’ve gotten home and have had a chance to re-read what I’ve summarized, it appears that I have 5 dances that might just need to be taught first! LOL! I guess that’s another sign of a truly great event!

Marathon 2018

THE MARATHON 2018

Exciting, as always, to see friends from around the country at events, and the Marathon is just a GREAT event! We came in on Wednesday so we wouldn’t miss any part of it! 

The schedule was full of awesome offerings, which always makes it difficult to choose what to attend. 

THURSDAY

*Muddy Waters - Darren Bailey. I’ve wanted to learn this ever since I first saw it. Amazing dance!

*The Good Parts - Amy (Glass) Bailey. Amy always comes up with nice dances and this is no exception! 32 count, 4 wall to the Andy Grammer track of the same name.

*Tip Toe - Fred Whitehouse. First learned this at the Xperience New Orleans but it’s been so long now that I needed another teach on it. Glad I took it again - just a fun dance!

*The Wolf - Gemma Ridyard. Another dance from the Xperience and I really needed the second teach! Funky fun!

*Mood Swing - Maddison Glover (and Chris Watson & Simon Ward). Easy, country, west coast. I always enjoy learning from Maddy!

*Hasta Luego - Joey Warren (choreographed by Debbie Rushton). Easy, fun! A samba-y, latin-y dance that just made me smile.

FRIDAY

*Loving Me Speechless - Gemma Ridyard. Goose bumps! Very turny, but I really liked it!

*Not About Love - Megan Wheeler. I hadn’t taken a class from Megan before and this was a good opportunity to do just that! One of those dances that you get to get your “groove” on! 

*Naked - Scott Blevins (and Rhoda Lai). May just end up being the #1 dance of the entire event!

*Filthy - Joey Warren. I had my first teach of this at the Xperience... I had another teach at the Gary/Joey weekend. And I took it again! I finally have it well enough to fake my way through it on the open floor at night! (Which is to say, I STILL need more work on it!)

*Don’t Sweat It - Shane McKeever (& Rebecca Lee and Fred Whitehouse). Rachael taught it first... now Shane. With a little work on my own, I might be able to do the first 16 counts! LOL!

There were more dances that I was interested in taking, but did not have the brain matter nor body ability to move another inch!

SATURDAY

Had very little energy to exert on Saturday! Did take 2 teaches, sat in on @ third and video’d it for myself for later, and sat in on a fourth - ending up standing up in the back so I could actually try it!

*Grow - Shane McKeever (& Kerry Maus). This is a fun dance - don’t let the ABC throw you off!

*The Way She Moves - Gemma Ridyard (Video’d this teach for myself to learn later - I just didn’t have what was needed to do it justice! Complete disconnect between my brain and my feet!)

*Stars In The Night Sky - Shane McKeever (choreographed by Paul James Culshaw). Once I got through the first 3 counts (again - blaming the disconnect between head & feet!), the rest was very smooth. Another dance to the Greatest Showman soundtrack that is well worth checking out!

*Taps - Darren Bailey. I watched this teach... and liked it so much I had to get up and try it in the back of the room. Like it even more after dancing it. Like it A LOT!

SUNDAY

Watched the choreography competition. Congratulations to all the competitors! There were some great entries!

Watched Amy (Glass) Bailey’s teach of “So Tied Up.” Cute dance! One I’ll be excited to learn once I regain sanity from the weekend!

Final teach of the weekend was Darren Bailey’s “Schoolyard King”. A 2-wall, 64 count, no tags/restarts, dance. This dance has a fun & interesting middle that took a minute to figure out but is really cool!

Congratulations to Scott Blevins & Jean Garr - another exceptional event! Beautiful decorations, fun show, lots of vendors, helpful staff, wonderful array of instructors & choreographers. And the hotel is awesome!!!

Home safely Sunday night... class right away Monday morning. First teach? Naked by Scott & Rhoda!

Joey/Gary Weekend

Diane & Sandy held the 2nd Joey/Gary Show this past weekend (or, as they are now known, the Goey/Jerry show!!!) and it was fantastic! Great playlist for Friday night at the Women’s Club in Castleberry and the day-long workshop on Saturday from 10-5. (Even “blossoming” Rachael came to say “hi” to everyone!)

Gary taught three dances: Vanotek Cha (which we already knew - great dance!); Beautiful Flames (with Maggie G) and Cross Your Mind (developed right there on-site for the last teach of the day). Joey taught two dances: Filthy and Right Here (both from the Xperience and it was wonderful to get re-teaches on them!).

We had a respectable number of attendees from SW Florida - Valerie, Nancy, Carol, Joe, Robi, Vicki, Kathy, Annie, and me.

First teach right out of the gate today at the Sunday class in Estero: Cross Your Mind. Will teach it tomorrow as well. Will need a step sheet for Beautiful Flames... and the stepsheets for Joey’s Filthy and Right Here were just posted so I can finally take a good look at those as well.

Another great weekend of dance!!!

Classics Workshop 4/14/18

Betsy held another great classics workshop on the 14th! She taught Street Soul, Whatever Happens, Drive Me Wild, and Crazy Foot Mambo.

Street Soul is from Masters In Line (aka Rachael McEnaney-White and Paul McAdam).
I had never heard of Whatever Happens - and it’s a GREAT dance!
Drive Me Wild (Scott Blevins) we had learned from Cody at the March Madness workshop and have been dancing it regulalry since... so I got to sit and regroup during that teach.
Crazy Foot Mambo (Paul McAdam) is an easy, fun little dance!

Betsy also taught Scott & Megan Wheeler’s newest dance “Do It Like This” which is a funky, fast 64-count awesome dance!

March Workshops!

This has just been a crazy stretch of dancing!

It all started in January with Betsy’s classics workshop which was followed by the Hillsborough County event followed by the Xperience in New Orleans followed by the Scott Blevins weekend followed by the Rachael workshop followed by our own March Madness workshop with Cody Flowers! There have been so many new dances introduced lately - it’s nearly impossible to keep track of them all!!!

We went to Orando for Rachael’s workshop the weekend of March 9. Rachael taught several new dances including Maddison’s Whiskey Bridges and her own If It Don’t Matter; her classic Don’t Miss A Thing, two dances from the Xperience - Come Alive and Watch The Tempo, her own See You Strut, and a waltz by Rachael and Brenna Stith - I Hate Love Songs. All just awesome dances!

On March 24, Valerie Reed hosted the March Madness workshop in Englewood with Cody Flowers. Cody taught his own dance, Vows, a cute new improver dance by Roy Verdonk, Jef Camps, & Pim Van Grootel - Do The Walk, and a classic Scott Blevins Drive Me Wild.

Debbie Carpenter and I team taught Neville & Julie’s Til I’m Done - a cha cha we learned at the Xperience in February.

5th Annual Scott Blevins Workshop 2/23-24/18

Another great workshop in Deerfield Beach this weekend! Friday night social, Saturday workshop, Saturday night social! We had three carloads of people there! It was Robi’s first overnight - so fun to see the awe and amazement (just like a kid at Christmas!).

Scott taught 3 new dances and 1 classic.
Gypsy in the Night (music Roots)
I Won’t Let You down (music same name) with Deb Rushton
Lil lMama (music same name) with Jo Thompson Szymanski

Classic: Coochie Bang Bang

All 3 dances were great! All will probably be taught - WHEN is the question as this weekend came right on the heels of the Xperience which came right on the heels of Tampa (Hiillsborough Celebration) which all come right before Rachael... followed by our own workshop with Cody Flowers!!! OMG OMG OMG!!!

Hillsborough County Line Dance Celebration

This year’s Celebration was held on Saturday, Feb. 10 at the Northdale Rec Center in North Tampa. (And for next year, I need to remember that the drive takes just under 3 hours! For a 9:30 start, we don’t need to leave before 6:30am!

Lots of people in attendance - lots of great dancing! We had six of us (Cheri didn’t come along as she was still battling a cold) - Colette (who did all the driving!), Robi, Karen, Kathy, Terry, and I. Jutta and Marie were there as well - along with plenty of dancers that we know from all over Florida.

The classes I took were:

Sheri teaching Ria Vos’ “Tearing Us Apart” (a winnner for everyone who atttended!), Marilyn teaching Gary Lafferty’s “A Thousand Stars”, Andrew & Sheila Palmer’s “Sleepy Eyes”, and Maggie Gallagher’s “Tightrope”. A Thousand Stars and Sleepy Eyes will work well for Thursday. Tightrope is an awesome waltz! I peeked in on Lynda Licht’s teach of “Perfect” to make sure I was doing it right - only to break her concentration and had to help her out of a counting jam... and then attended Lynda’s teach on Jo Thompson Szymanski & Maddison Glover’s dance “Pull You Through” (which Deb had taught on Thursday so it wasn’t brand new...) - another good dance. Everything I took will work well in one class or another! It just may be a bit before anyone sees them.... we leave for New Orleans on the heels of this - and there will be plenty more coming out of there! Woofda!

Thursday Dance Class Analysis

I finally got around to analyzing our dancing for the last year (or so).

From 8/22/16-1/25/18 (16 months) we have 5 dances we danced at least 15 times or more. 158 dances were taught/reviewed/danced; 64 new dances taught (which came out to about 1 new dance/week).

Most danced - Blessed (20)
High On Loving You (19)
Why Baby Why (18)
American Kids (16)
Love Junk (15)
Friday At The Dance, Homegrown, and Lit (14)
1159 and Lonely Green Eyes (13)
Made In The Shade and Oops Baby (12)
Keep It Groovin’, Lonely Drum, Never Ever Go Away, and No Mercy (11)

Most Requested Dance For Socials -
American Kids and High On Loving You (each at 9)
Homegrown (8)
Never Ever Go Away (7)
Askin’ Questions, The Bomp, 1159, Lay Low, Night Train, Telepathy, This Is Me, Under The Sun, and Why Baby Why (5)

Classics Workshop

Another great day of dancing in Deerfield Beach on Saturday (1/27/18)! 4 classics were taught (Betsy taught Hands Up, Jesse James, and Smooth Criminal, Candee taught Freak A Little More). All great teaches!

Also, quick reviews of the last workshop’s teaches and open dancing included 3 of the 4 taught at the first workshop!

Looking forward to the next one!