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I spent the most wonderful evening with Paul Bailey last night.

Paul was performing at an evening hosted by Jackie and John Barber of Shootin' Stars at a venue in Quedgeley near Gloucester.

It's actually my third time (I think) seeing him and it was an absolutely brilliant night, not only because I won a box of chocolate fingers in the interval raffle (much to the delight of my little boy this morning) but also because Paul is such a talented singer and overall entertainer.




Paul's first set started at 8.20 - 9.20 and this was when the fun really began. The venue was fitted with a sound limiter which basically means that if the volume in the room reaches over a certain level then the limiter trips the power and that's exactly what happened. It's a common hazard in the entertainment industry, and many venues across the country have these. For my partner, a mobile DJ by trade, it's part of the job (which is why I'm familiar with the problem) and he specifically asks on his booking form so he is prepared as there are a few ways around the problem. These include keeping the volume below the limiter's maximum level so it doesn't go off (easier said than done), turn the limiter off (if management onsite know what they are doing) or as a last resort the PA system can be plugged into a plug on a different circuit usually via a long extension lead so that when the limiter trips it doesn't turn off the power that's currently powering your equipment, but that can be a bit of a pain.




Luckily for us, Paul is well versed on the issues of sound limiters from his experience on the circuit - it's part of the job and whilst these limiters are a pain they service a purpose in protecting locals from anti-social noise disturbance in the evenings. When the music cut off in his set, the limiter was reset and Paul more or less just picked up from where he left off, altered some of the volume controls and got on with the show.

One of the reasons I really enjoyed listening to Paul was that he really knows what's popular on the line dance scene at the moment and he has updated his set to include a lot of the top dances in the line dancer charts. I'm not just talking about country music either, Paul played 'Ain't misbehaving', 'Until the Dawn' and 'Save the Day' along with a good number of Rock and Roll tracks so there really was something for everyone.


Paul's last set was from 10-11pm and we did a few more of the older classic, dare I say, party tracks like 'Just a memory'. It's a song I always love hearing live and I really enjoyed dancing to it. He also did 'Somebody like you' - A clip of which you can view below so you can hear him for yourself. There are plenty more clips on youtube of Paul performing if you want to see more. I will also share links on my facebook page for any photo's that are uploaded from the event for you to view.




All in all the night was really great fun, with a nice atmosphere and lots of dancing. It was also the first time Shootin' Stars had had a live act and I just want to say what a great job they did and a big thank you goes to Jackie and John for organising such a great event. (I'm looking forward to the next one)

Paul with Jackie & John


That's all for today - if you enjoyed reading please share to your friends and please like us on Facebook.

For those that were there please feel free to add your comments below and let me know which was your favourite song from last night that Paul performed. Please also take a look at his website -

http://www.paulbaileymusic.co.uk/


 It was approximately three and a half weeks ago when I went to Robbie McGowan Hickie's workshop at InTouch dance in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. I've been wanting to do a write up since then but unfortunately the dance scripts are not yet available for 4 of the 5 dances taught and I have been waiting for them all to be uploaded to either Linedancer Magazine or Copperknob.

As of today's date (Friday 29th April) the dances have still not been uploaded however as I know many of you have long been awaiting this post I have decided that I cannot wait any longer, particularly as in 2 weeks time I'm going to another Maggie Workshop.

I have been able to obtain scripts for 3 of his new unreleased dances due to a very limited number of hand outs that were available on the day and I would like to thank Sally Brown of Rebel Liners for sending me her copies to use for this article.

This isn't the first time I have seen Robbie as I remember going on a line dance weekend a few years ago (2011) to Ilfracombe and he was one of the featured choreographers there. I really enjoyed seeing him there and so I was really looking forward to seeing him again. In between the teaches we also dance some of Robbie's hit dances both new and old, but the real highlight for me was having the opportunity to dance 'Unpredictable' which he co-choreographed with Karl-Harry Winson a few years ago. I have been requesting this dance several times recently including at Karl's workshop a few months ago so it was great finally having the opportunity to dance this again and I just want to thank Keeley of In Touch dance for playing it for me. Whilst Robbie did not dance it with us, it was amazing to dance it with him in the room, particularly as its still one of my absolute favourites and one I never get to dance. Maybe you can join us next time Robbie?




So what did we learn? Here are the dances taught in the order Robbie taught them with videos and scripts (where possible).


What about tonight

The first dance Robbie taught was 'What about tonight'. There is no script available for this dance yet so I have been unable to double check the name of the dance but this was what we noted down on the day. If the dance title is changed or if I noted it down wrong, I apologise and I will update this once the full details are published.

As for the dance itself I think this was definitely one of my favourites. I admit I struggled with it at first but I had a moment when I clicked that some of the steps were very typical of Robbie and once I realised this I seemed to manage much better. I wasn't sure about this dance when we first did it, some of the steps did feel like steps I wasn't used to doing and it took some practice, however having watched it back a few times since uploading it it strikes me that the dance goes really well to the music. The music itself is great, really upbeat and fun to dance to and I am now at the point where the song is stuck in my head. The dance was choreographed to 'More than Friends' by Inna Feat. Daddy Yankee and from watching the video I believe this is an Intermediate, 64 count 4 wall dance.

Once the script is available I will upload it to this page but for now you can view the video I took on the day below.



Let's Make Love

The second dance Robbie taught was of a slightly slower pace, to a beautiful country song of the same name by Coffey. Let's make love has a really beautiful flow to it and whilst there was a restart in the dance it is one that you can hear coming and it is very straightforward to do. This is a 32 count, 4 wall intermediate dance and it seemed to go down very well. Again this script is not available on either Copperknob or Linedancer Magazine websites but it was in the pack of scripts that were available so you can view it by clicking here and you can watch the video below.


Mirror Mirror (co-choreographed with Dwight Meessen)

Some classes in the area had already done 'Mirror Mirror' (some of my club had learnt this at the Maggie G. Experience weekend which you can read more about here.) but equally quite a few of us had not done the dance yet so we convinced Robbie to recap it for us and I'm so glad he did as it is actually my favourite of all the dances he taught that day. It's another very upbeat track and I particularly enjoy the chassis steps into a turn sequence in the dance which go really well to the music and the samba steps also give it a really good vibe. I also am not alone in my opinion on this one and its currently 25th in Linedancer Magazine's intermediate chart (as at today's date) and I fully expect it to go much higher as the song is catchy, well choreographed and fun to do. Its also being regularly featured on the Ranch Dance Radio show with Lorraine Brown. The dance is a 48 Count, 2 wall, Intermediate dance to Mirror by Karia ft. Elena and it only has one restart. I didn't take a video of this one as we didn't recap it later on (when I normally record these) but I like this video below. You can view the script on linedancer by clicking here.



Hello Hello (co-choreographed with Laura Sway)

Our penultimate dance was 'Hello Hello', another great dance and probably my favourite track that we danced to that day (where does Robbie find these gems?). This is definitely a dance that probably requires a bit of attitude when you're dancing it and I'm looking forward to seeing this on the dance floor in the future. The dance is a 64 count, 4 wall intermediate dance to 'Hello' by Celeste Buckingham, It has 2 restarts on walls 3 & 6 but both feel quite natural and were no problem for us. The script isn't available yet but as it was in the pack of scripts that were available you can view it here and you can watch the video below.

Skyrider


The last dance Robbie taught was 'Skyrider', a fantastic 48 count, 4 wall improver level line dance which really reminds me of his hit from last year 'Tell the world' not only because of the similar song track name - 'Take on the world-Summer Remix' by Sabrina Carpenter and Rowan Blanchard but also due to the beat, the dance steps and the general rhythm of this. I think this could potentially be quite a big dance I certainly had a 'feeling' about it, and it is perfect for the summer. I only wish I had a video for it to show you. Unfortunately after the initial teach and dance, Robbie did not recap this one when he recapped the other dances so unfortunately I don't have a video for this one :-( As soon as I do I will upload it but you can view the script by clicking here and you can listen to the track by clicking below (audio only on video).



So that's it for today, I hope you enjoyed reading and if you liked the look of any of these dances in particularly please let me know in the comments below - as for the dances you should keep an eye on for me the two stand out dances were 'Mirror Mirror' and 'Skyrider' - I guess we shall just have to watch this space to see what happens with both of those.


Wow it's April - can you believe it? This year is going so fast and I have so many lovely occasions to look forward to in the next few months starting with today. I am going to Woodstock, Ox. to see Robbie McGowan Hickie and I'm really looking forward to it. I'll update you on how I get on and what dances I learn later but for now here is a recap of the dances taught on the latest 2 episodes of Live Laugh Linedance!

Episode 9

I see me - Tina Argyle - (Imp)
Mamma Maria Frank Trace - (AB)
Evergreen - Karen (Hunn) Hadley - (Int)
Overloading - Gary O'Reilly (Int)
Precious Time - Pam Pike (Beg)

Episode 10

Locklin's Bar - Maggie Gallagher - (Imp)
Thinkin' Country - Simon Ward - (Beg)
Hey Hey Hallelujah - Dee Musk, Rob Fowler, Shelley Guichard & Conor McVeigh (Int)
Islands in the Stream - Karen Jones - (Int)
Darling Hold My Hand - Neville Fitzgerald & Julie Harris (Int)
Lipstick Powder and Paint - Steve and Claire Rutter - (AB)
The Real Deal - Willie Brown & Heather Brown - (Int)

That's it for today - but please keep an eye out for my next post in which I review the Robbie McGowan Hickie workshop I am attending today. I shall be posting this in the next few days.
Dancers June Ingles, Karen Williams, Jamie Barnfield, Sarah Higgins & Linda Milne enjoy the Hawaiian fancy dress night. (Photo courtesy of Karen Williams)
A few of my lovely line dance friends have recently returned from the Maggie G. Experience weekend in Southport earlier this week and told me how fantastic it was and one of them, Linda Milne stated she thought it was 'probably the best ever' weekend she'd been on. So of course me being me I had to find out more and knowing so many of those that went from my local classes was able to obtain a full list of all the dances taught over the weekend. In addition many of the group had the opportunity to meet the lovely Lorraine Brown (host of Ranch Dance Radio) and she also interviewed some of them including Jackie Clouting, Linda Milne, Mike and one of my Instructors, Jamie Barnfield who's dance Tequila Boom Boom! has been featured in this months issue of Linedancer Magazine. If you want to listen to the interviews please click here to listen to this weeks show.

Lorraine Brown & Maggie G. (Photo courtesy of Lorraine Brown)


The weekend featured Maggie Gallagher and Rob Fowler as the main choreographers along with DJ Dave Baycroft who also taught a couple of dances as well. Having looked at all these dances I think there is a very good chance that these will be appearing in the Linedancer Magazine charts over the coming months so watch this space.

Here are the dances that were taught at the weekend with script links and videos:

Thank you to Jackie Clouting for providing me with the details of all the dances taught at this fabulous weekend.

Maggie Gallagher


 I'll be alright
A 64 Count, 4 Wall, Intermediate dance to a track of the same name by Beckah Shae. The below video was taken at the weekend and Maggie is joined in the front row by choreographer and instructor Jamie Barnfield of Boogie Shoes.



 Stand by you
A 60 count, 2 wall, Advanced dance to a track of the same name by Rachel Platten. The below video also features the fabulous Gary O'Reilly dancing with Maggie in the front row.



 Boogaloo
A 32 count, 4 wall, beginner dance to 'Dance yourself dizzy' by Liquid Gold. This dance was jointly choreographed with Gary O'Reilly.

Secret Love
A 32 count, 4 wall, intermediate dance to 'Secret Love Song' by Little Mix feat. Jason Derulo.


Rob Fowler


A 48 count, 4 wall, improver dance to 'Teddy Bear & Too Much (Medley)'  by Cliff Richard.
Dance choreographed by Rob Fowler, Shelly Guichard & Conor McVeigh.


A 64 count, 4 wall, advanced dance to a track of the same name by Thomas Rhett.



A 32 count, 4 wall, improver dance to a track of the same name by Rachel Platten ft. Andy Grammer. Dance choreographed by Rob Fowler, Dee Musk, Shelly Guichard & Conor McVeigh.



A 96 count, 4 wall, intermediate dance to a track of the same name by Jools Holland & Ruby Turner.


Dave Baycroft


A 48 count, 2 wall, intermediate dance to 'Mirror' by Karia feat. Elena. Dance choreographed by Dwight Meessen & Robbie McGowan Hickie.


Take it off  - Unfortunately there is no script currently available for this dance but as soon as it is I will upload this. NOW AVAILABLE!!!! However what I can tell you is this is a 64 count, 4 wall, intermediate level line dance to 'Take it off' by Inna and choreographed by Karl Harry Winson.



In the meantime here is a video taken at the weekend by Lorraine Brown of the dance 'Better when I'm dancin''


Full dance floor at Maggie g weekend for better when im dancin X
Posted by Lorraine Brown on Friday, 11 March 2016

So many dances taught! No wonder everyone was so tired after the weekend. Which dance of the above is your favourite/ which would you most like to learn? - please tell me in the comments below.


Just a quick recap post today I'm afraid, as my little boy is refusing to nap for any more than half an hour/ hour at the most meaning that I'm barely getting chores done let alone trying to write blog posts - the fun of being a parent to a 16 month old...

Here are the dancers featured on each show with the corresponding script links on Linedancer Magazine's website:

Episode 7 


Strip it down - Rachael McEnaney-White (Int)
Peaches & Cream - Peter Metelnick & Alison Biggs (Beg)
Buy Me a Rose - Rob Fowler (Imp)
Pop 'n Drop - Dee Musk & Ria Vos (Int)
Way Way Back - Guillaume Richard (Int)
Jukebox - Jo Thompson Szymanski (Int)


Episode 8


Eternal Secret - Ria Vos (Int)
Feeling kinda lonely - Margaret Swift (AB)
Swamp Thang - Max Perry (Beg)
Gold Watch - Kate Sala (Int)
Amazing Faith - Rob Fowler (Int)

That's all for now. Please keep an eye out for my next post on the Maggie G Experience weekend in Southport - I wasn't there but I know a lot of people who were there and have details of the dances taught.

Watch this space...