Shootin' Stars LDC had a very special guest last week. We were joined by the fabulous Derek Darby of 'Magill' fame for one night only and what a night it was. I've been really looking forward to seeing Derek since I found out that Jackie & John of Shootin' Stars had booked him. I've seen him a few times performing with Magill - in fact I think they were one of the first live music acts I came across in the line dance community (if not the first) so I guess it's fair to say they hold a special place in my heart.
It was the first time I'd seen Derek performing as a solo act and I wasn't disappointed. He was brilliant very engaging and had us all singing along with him. I particularly enjoyed his first set and was pretty much up dancing constantly as was everyone else. I was also very fortunate to be on one of the front tables closest to the stage so even when I wasn't dancing (which wasn't very much) I still got to really enjoy the music and the atmosphere.
Derek sang a wide selection of songs both old and new including old classics like Just a Memory & Closer to more recent dances like The Real Deal & Until the Dawn/And Get it on. We also did quite a few floor splits so the beginners in the room could also join in alongside the more 'seasoned' dances and there were quite a few options for the beginners such as the popular dance Cowboy Charleston.
One of things I particularly enjoyed that night was dancing to some of the amazing classics which we really don't do very often at all. We danced My New Life, Hot Tamales, Save the Day, Sinatra and Chardonnay, Big Blue Tree, Galway Girls, Patient Heart & Walk the line (to name just a few) - I haven't danced this much in ages!
What also made a nice change was that we did two partner dances - Tempted and Barn Dance (thank you Jackie Clouting for dancing with me). I really don't get many opportunities to do these types of dances as they are not routinely played in our local socials so it is such a treat to be able to dance these - particularly to live music from someone so talented. I have to admit I didn't do the best job with either dance as I've only ever picked them up from following others at previous socials but fortunately no video evidence exists showing my terrible attempts so that's one good thing.
I couldn't believe it when we got to the end of the night, the whole evening had gone so quickly and I would have been quite happy to carry on dancing for at least another hour - all this despite the heat as well. We ended on a couple of party dances including Black Coffee for which the floor was completely filled and Derek did an encore for us as well so I think we may have slightly run over but it was well worth it.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any video of him performing as it was just too dark in the room and my video camera just didn't have enough light to catch any video. But I can tell you he was fantastic. I'd also just like to thank Jackie and John of Shootin' Stars for organising the evening - with a great atmosphere, fun crowd and even better entertainment from Derek Darby we couldn't have had a better night.
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!
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.
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:
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...
Welcome to this week's review of Episode 6 of Live Laugh Line Dance. I have to say I'm really enjoying the new format, particularly the addition of the new presenter Rob Fowler. One of the particularly good things about the show now is the variety of dances shown each week, with both old and new dances in the mix, and the clips shown are compilations of various clubs dancing to the tracks and it's great to see the different classes each dance in their own unique way and with their own moves.
This week's show opened to Peter and Alison's "Sinatra & Chardonnay", which is a nice little improver dance to a proper country track which is very catchy to sing along to. The dance fits well to the music, it's a 2 wall dance and the tags are very straightforward so it's not too intimidating to improver dancers.
The second dance featured was the Crystal Boot Award winning "Ticket to the Blue" by Niels Poulsen. A fantastic beginner dance, this dance is still filling floors and currently sits at 7th in Line Dancer Magazine's Top 50 Chart and from what I've seen there are no signs of this disappearing any time soon.
"Chill Factor" was the 'Guess the Dance' Feature, I danced this myself at a social last night and I have to say it is still one of the best dances out there (Yes I'm biased as I've already declared this as my favourite). There is just something about he dance and the music that it doesn't matter if you aren't feeling great or have been having a bad day - this dance will leave you with a smile on your face by the end and gets your adrenaline pumping.
The next dance was by a lesser known choreographer, Gary Samms. His record on Line Dancer indicates he is a newer choreographer on the scene but despite this he seems to have some great talent, with a great little dance to a fantastic track that really makes me want to get up and dance. I definitely think he is a dancer to watch out for in the future and I also applaud LLL for giving lesser known choreographers the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Our final track was "Making History", which is Craig Bennett's last choreography before he retires. Its a great track and dance for him to end on - A way to go out on top and this dance is still very popular in our class. A great way for Craig to go out on top.
That's it for this week - here are the scripts from line dancer for you to view
Please let me know which was your favourite in the comments below and also check out the new Facebook page by clicking the link in the sidebar.
So we are now 5 episodes in with the new format in place and there are many changes in place one of which is our presenters now sitting behind a high 'bar' in the style of the 'Loose Women' presenters. Our presenters this week were Nicki, Nicky, Hillary and the newest edition to the show Rob Fowler, who of course needs no introduction with 3 Crystal Boot Awards under his belt at the recent CBA's.
We opened with 'Save the Day' - by Karl-Harry Winson - currently joint second in the Linedancer Magazine Top 50, a full review of which you can read on my blog by clicking here. One of the new features of the show is that the videos played are a collaboration of several videos from different clubs/events all edited into one and I think that is a lovely touch.
The second dance was our beginner dance 'County Line Cha Cha' - wow! I haven't done this one in so long and it used to be a staple in my beginner class all those years ago when I first started, it really brought back memories. The only sad thing about this dance is the choreographer is unknown - how could we have possibly lost this information. It's such a shame.
Rob Fowler then discussed 'Legends in Line', mum and I are still considering the Blackpool weekend as one of our options so we'll have to see but it sounds like it would be great fun.
We then saw the very talented and cute Blaire Morgan do 'The Wobble' at the CBA's and giving all the dancers there a run for their money - a real star in the making, she has the potential to be a great star in the future.
"Second hand heart" by Maggie Gallagher featured next - a dance which is currently number one in the charts recently and I'm was very fortunate to be one of the first to learn this having been at the workshop where Maggie first taught (and was still perfecting) the dance. You can read more about this by clicking here.
The next feature is a quiz to guess the dance and Rob Fowler gave clues to the dance name which was "Pot of Gold" a classic dance which is still done everywhere I have danced and will be around for a long time yet.
This week's show finished with the presenters choice - (Nicki's choice) - "Uptown Funk" the 2015 dance of the year and winner of the intermediate dance award at the Crystal Boot Awards choreographed by Rob Fowler. This is still a very popular dance and is still a floor filler everywhere I go, I don't think this will be disappearing in a hurry.
Let me know which was your favourite dance this week by using the comments section below.
Ok, I know. It's been a while since I did a post on LLL, before Christmas to be exact. I almost missed the start of the show as the dates have changed with the show now premièring on a Tuesday evening and then being repeated on the following saturday. I found out quite by accident the night this was on that it was restarting and noted down the dances with the intention of watching the show online later in the week and doing a full write up then. Problem was the show was not uploaded online and I missed the Saturday episode and then I basically got out of sync, missed the show a few times on a tuesday night and then missed the catch up. Anyway - the first 3 episodes are now online and I have sky plus set for episode 5 and beyond. I hope to add episode 4 to this catchup post when it is downloaded.
I haven't got time to do a full write up of all 4 episodes so I'm just going to list the dances as normal with choreographers and scripts. You can find this below and then when I review episode 5, I will do a full review covering the new format etc. As always you can view the shows by going to www.linedancer.tv
Episode 1
Black Magic - Alison Biggs & Peter Metelnick(Int) Cowboy Charleston - UNKNOWN (AB) - Ok not sure why the choreographer for one of the most popular and well known dances is unknown (strange!) Would like to add that I like this to the 'Cowboy up music' and I remember we used to do another dance to this one. Enchantment - Jo Thompson Szymanski (Int) Better When I'm Dancing - Julia Wetzel (Int) Derailed - Peter Metelnick (Int) Until the Dawn - Gary Lafferty (Beg)
That's all for now but please check out our new Facebook page (link on right side of screen)
I was driving home from Sainsbury's yesterday when Charlie Puth's song "One call away" (or Save the Day as I think of it) came onto the radio and it reminded me that I had not yet done the write up for Karl-Harry Winson Workshop I attended a few weeks ago. Karl-Harry also won Male Dance Personality last weekend at the 20th CBA's and had nominations in many other categories as well - so congratulations to him on his recent success - I'm sure he will be up for more nominations at next years awards as well.
It was a great afternoon and my second time in a year meeting Karl having previously seen him in late July last year at a workshop hosted by Boogie Shoes in Cheltenham. I particularly enjoyed having the opportunity to dance "Jealousy" in his presence, an old favourite dance of mine which has seen a revival recently - although despite my request for "Unpredictable" one of my all time favourite dances and my favourite of his, it was unfortunately not played :-( never mind. We also got to dance some of Karl's other well know dances, "Knock on wood", "A thousand miles", "Alcazar", "Your place or mine" and "Alvaro" - there were probably others too but I can't remember what they were now.
Pop that Lock
The first teach was "Pop that Lock", a 64 count, 4 wall, Intermediate line dance to the track of the same name by Adam Lambert. It's a funky track, very catchy to sing along to, with a great beat and 15 count introduction which is very unusual and takes some getting used to. As for the dance I particularly enjoyed the 'Camel Walk' steps, the knee pops and the 'Chill factor' knee turn brush steps all of which fitted really well with the music. The dance does have one restart but you can hear it in the music so its fairly straightforward and as it's on wall 2 you can get it out of the way early and don't have to worry about when it's coming up like in some dances.
If you'd like to view the dance or script please click below to view.
To view the script on Copperknob (not yet available on Linedancerweb) please click here.
Stitches
The second teach of the day was "Stitches" a 64 count, 4 wall, Intermediate line dance to a track of the same name by Shawn Mendes. This is a great upbeat track and at the time of being taught this it was actually number 1 in the UK pop charts, its also very catchy and I was humming this days later. As for the dance itself I particularly liked the heel twists at the beginning and the turning toe struts both of which are not that common in line dance choreography at the moment. The dance does have 3 restarts but they are all easy to hear and we had no trouble with them.
The script is currently not on Copperknob or Linedancerweb but Karl had some scripts we could collect so I've scanned this one in on my computer and if you click here you can view it.
Hey Elvis!
Our third teach of the day was "Hey Elvis", a 32 count, 4 wall, Improver dance to the track of the same name by Bryan Adams. This is a proper rock and roll track with a great beat and the dance is very straightforward and easy to follow - it goes great to the music and it is easy to get distracted as you can't help but sing along to the song. There are a few tags in this one but its a case of them looking worse than they actually are and they fit in so well and are easy to hear so there really is no need to worry about them.
Now unfortunately, when I went to record this dance on my iPad I accidentally had it set on photo mode: result 1 photo and 3ish minutes of aching arms for nothing. By the time I realised my mistake the dance was over and as this was the second time we danced this there was no option to re-record so I don't have video. Sorry :-( Here's one of my pics instead)
The script is on Copperknob though so you can view it here. I have looked on YouTube and I can't see that anyone has done a video yet but as soon as they do I will upload to this page. I'd also ask that if anyone has a video they could send me a link, or if they are dancing it could video and send it to me - (get in touch via the comments below)
Karl-Harry Winson recapping Hey Elvis
Save the Day
Of course I can't finish without mentioning "Save the Day", this dance has been talked about a lot, it was very popular at last weeks Crystal Boot Awards, is currently 7th on Linedancer Magazine's top 50 and is also 7th on Copperknob's most viewed chart. I honestly believe that this will end up in the number 1 spot based on all the buzz I've heard and potentially think this could be up for a nomination at next years CBA's (You heard that here first lol).
By the time of Karl's workshop late January some clubs in the area (mine included) had already taught this but as quite a few of those present at the workshop did not know this. Karl did do a quick teach which helped me as I'd missed the teach in class and had tried to learn via youtube and the script so hadn't really danced this properly. I really like the video already on youtube so didn't video this again and I'll link the video below.
Since returning to class this has continued to be very popular and the girls and I have been adding in the 'Superhero' moves so ably demonstrated by Karl in the video below. The song is also very catchy and I couldn't help but sing along to it when it was played on the radio. It's a real mood booster.
So as much as I really enjoyed all of the dances we danced at the workshop I think the one's that are likely to be the big hits are "Save the Day" (no surprises there) and "Pop that lock". Watch this space!
Welcome to this weeks review of Live Laugh Line Dance (Episode 51) the last episode of 2015 until the show returns in 2016. I'm a bit late watching this so if you also haven't watched this yet please click here to catch up on Episode 51.
Episode 51
This weeks episode was a look back at the dances being danced and the personalities who were featured on the show. The episode opened with an interview by Nikki Sharon with Rob Fowler at the Bracklesham Bay Summer Ball where he was a featured choreographer. He mentioned his current projects specifically "Legends in Line" the aim of which is to preserve the classic dances and to teach those to people who may have missed this the first time around or as Rob Fowler described it, "A tribute and a celebration of all the dances that we've danced on the dance floor for 20 years." It sounds brilliant, and I know we are considering this as one of our options for a dance weekend next year.
The first interview was followed by the opening dance "Price of Admission" choreographed by Daniel Trepat, Darren Bailey, Magali Chabret & Rob Fowler. This dance was taught at the Bracklesham Bay Weekend and is a lovely dance to a nice country song of the same name by Bradley Walker.
Hillary Kurt Webster than interviewed Karl Harry Winson also at the Bracklesham Bay, they were discussing the various genre's of music and styles of dances that we are currently enjoying dancing too. Hills also complimented Karl on his success at the 2015 CBA's where he walked away with three awards for Male Dance Personality, UK Instructor & Dance of the Year (with Robbie McGowan Hickie) for "Alcazar". This year he has been nominated for UK Choreographer, UK instructor, Male Dance Personality, Intermediate Dance for "Your Place or mine" (with Ria Vos & Robbie Mcgowan Hickie), and Advanced Dance for "The Remix" (With Yvonne Anderson) along with "Alcazar" for Dance of the Decade so I think he has a good chance of winning in at least one category.
The next dance featured was "Pop 'n' Drop" by Dee Musk and Ria Vos (also one of my current favourite dances) and was another dance taught at the BB weekend. This dance goes so well to the music whilst being a bit of a challenge as well - good fun to dance to.
We then had a brief entertainment with OGR sound (Glenn Roger's family) before moving on to "Shut up and Dance," choreographed by the shows sponsors Alison Biggs and Peter Metelnick. This is actually my favourite pop song of 2015 and the dance looks brilliant. Unfortunately, in the region where I dance this wasn't widely danced and I don't recall it going high in the charts (it's currently 37th in the intermediate line dancer magazine charts) which is a shame, compared to "Black Magic" which is still riding high at number 4.
Nicky then interviewed John and Jo Kinser who talked about their 30 years in line dance and reminisced about the various workshops that used to exist including workshops on technique. This has been a hot topic of discussion recently on both the line dancer magazine facebook page and also within my own class. Some of the instructors such as Rachael McEnaney-White do include tips on styling when teaching their dances but this is not widespread. I know several people in my own class are interested in doing a workshop on Styling and Technique so it would be interesting to see whether anything comes of this.
Our next dance was "Gods of Love," by Dee Musk a great track and a good one to sing along too (the track is very catchy). Dee was also a featured choreographer at the BB weekend and was interviewed by Nikki where they discussed Dee touring all over the world, from Japan to Rio and visiting Europe in between - she is very popular at the moment and has been nominated for 5 CBA's for 2016, UK Choreographer, UK Instructor, Female Dance Personality, Improver Dance (Heavenly Cha) & Dance of the Decade (Little Red Book) so I expect to see her to walk away with at least one of the awards.
The final dance this weekend was old favourite "Patient Heart" which has seen a massive surge in popularity in recent years and is regularly a floor filler at my local classes, a great sing along track this will be around for many years to come.
That's all for today - here are the scripts for the dances featured in the episode: Price of AdmissionDaniel Trepat, Darren Bailey, Magali Chabret & Rob Fowler (Imp) Pop n DropDee Musk & Ria Vos (int) Shut up and Dance Alison Biggs & Peter Metelnick (int) Gods of LoveDee Musk (Imp) Patient HeartMichael Vera-Lobos & Lisa Foord (Int)
Episode 50's review is very late so sorry about that but it has been a very busy couple of days, with the start of the festive period and various festive activities on my schedule.
I actually watched this weeks episode over a week ago but it has taken until now to sit down and write up this weeks episode so if you haven't seen it yet please click here and select episode 50 to watch the show,
Episode 50
This weeks episode opened with an old favourite of mine which I have not danced in years. The dance was "Drip Droppin' "by Kate Sala, which has also featured on the show before. I remember when this dance came out a few years ago it was one of several dances to Alexandra Burke songs which were popular back then. Do you remember dancing "Playing with fire" or "Broken Heels" ? I'm ashamed to admit that I don't think I could do any of these now :-(
The next dance seen was "Is it over?" by Fred Whitehouse & Niels Poulsen to a track by Wynona Judd, this looks like a great dance beautiful to watch so I'll keep my eyes peeled for this one as I've not come across this yet.
"Dream lover" was the next dance we saw. Choreographed by Daniel Whittaker, this dance is great for Improvers and goes really well to the music. (I particularly like the touch steps in the dance). The music is good fun to sing along to as well as long as you remember to keep on dancing!
We've seen "Alcazar" quite a few times recently by Robbie McGowan-Hickie & Karl-Harry Winson, Karl Harry Winson is very popular at the moment with several of his dances in the linedancer magazine charts and no fewer than 6 nominations in the CBA Awards for 2016. My favourite of his is currently "Get up get down" but I don't think this has featured on the show yet, possibly a suggestion for a future episode.
"Please me" is an interesting dance with a "Bridge" which you don't see in line dancing very often, I've not done this one but one of my classes has just taught this on a weekend away so I'm sure I'll get the opportunity soon. "Please me" is a Dee Musk & Kate Sala dance. Dee Musk is someone who we've been seeing a lot of recently of on Live Laugh Line Dance and her dances have been doing very well lately. I'm looking forward to learning this one.
The floorfiller, "Uptown Funk" was next which is still a great dance to dance to - It's been around for a year now as we were dancing this after I had my little boy, and this little dance has also received a CBS nomination in the Intermediate category. I still enjoy doing this and hope it's around for a bit longer. That is something I've noticed with the majority of today's selection. Few of these are very recent which is a shame with so many great dances around at the moment.
The final dance of the evening was "Wave on wave" - our blast from the past of the week. We've seen this one on the show before but it is an absolute classic and still one I enjoy doing (if I can remember it!)
That's it for today's review - I'll upload a review for the latest episode 51 later this week, for now here are the scripts from this weeks episode. Enjoy!
Wow I can't believe we're over half way through November already and I find myself sitting here writing this weeks blog entry with proper November weather going on outside and the threat of snow forecast for the weekend.
After last weeks disappointing episode of live laugh line dance! I am really hoping this week is much better so let's see shall we?
Episode 49
We open this week with "Ticket to the blues" by Niels Poulsen - which is currently number 4 in the Linedancer magazine charts. This excellent beginner dance has slowly been winding its way up the charts and is rightly very popular. I do find this slightly difficult to do as I did Yvonne Anderson's dance "Eruption" to the same music a few years ago and I still remember some of the steps from that dance and have to be careful that I don't go into them when I'm dancing.
The second track of the show was "Cecilia" by Willie Brown & Heather Barton - such a great dance and both have recently been nominated for a cba for this dance and very well deserved. I actually met Willie a few years ago at the Linedancer Magazine choreography competition of 2008 where we competed against each other and he is a really lovely chap so I hope to cross paths with him again soon. I'm also really enjoying his and Heathers dance "The real deal" so hope to see more of this soon.
"Your loving arms" came next by Vikki Morris and it was great to finally put a face to a name. This is a beautiful dance and has been very popular locally although unfortunately I don't know this one. My favourite of hers is "Troublemaker" a dance that I still enjoy doing now but I think I'll have to learn this one.
We then had two offerings from Alison Biggs and Peter Metelnick "Waiting tables" and "Let's go stumblin'" - I haven't actually come across either of these but I have to admit that I really like the look of "Let's go stumblin'". The music is a nice country rock and roll style dance and the dance goes really well - a possible future hit? We'll see.
This weeks episode finished on and old favourite of mine "Closer", It is so nice to see this as we don't really see it enough - a real classic - Can't believe it's 13 years old - Wow!. Next social I go to, I know what I'll be requesting.
Scripts:
Ticket to the bluesNiels Poulsen(Beg) CeciliaHeather Barton & Willie Brown(Imp) Your Loving ArmsVikki Morris (Int) Waiting TablesAlison Biggs & Peter Metelnick (Int) Let's go stumblin'Alison Biggs & Peter Metelnick (Beg) CloserMary Kelly (Imp)
I just want to end here by saying that this week's episode was a return to form and I enjoyed watching it. The show has a long way to go to become really great but I think it's back on the right track.
What do you think? Please comment below.
Welcome to this weeks review of Live Laugh Line Dance! - If you haven't watched Episode 48 the please click here to watch Episode 48, otherwise please keep reading.
Episode 48
Before I discuss this week's episode I just want to say that I usually really enjoy watching Live! Laugh! Linedance! It's great to see what other clubs are doing across the country and beyond, to see the great line dance personalities on our screen, and the latest dances with the odd classic thrown in which makes you go 'ooh I used to do that etc.' But I have to say I was very disappointed with this weeks episode.
Classics
This was the theme of this weeks show, but all of the video clips shown have been broadcast in previous episodes and this was just a mismatch of old clips. The classics shown were: (Scripts linked in title)
Now, before anyone gets on their high horse to defend the classics, I love all of the dance's above and I actually think a classics episode is a brilliant idea, but it would have been nice to see some of the other classic dances we do like Into the Arena & Shakatak (You can probably think of many others) and new clips - not clips recycled from previous episodes - Just a Memory was from Christmas last year (either that or someone has had a very early Christmas social this year),
The other issue is that we only had a 'recap' show a few weeks ago, which yet again was a compilation show of previously shown clips. I could even understand if these episodes were broadcast over Christmas or the Summer holidays, perhaps if the crew wasn't available but to have this show now at a time when there are a lot of line dance weekends going on, the crystal boot nominations have been announced and dancing is very popular with the return of Strictly - it just seems silly to me, particularly with new video's being uploaded on file sharing websites like youtube and facebook week on week.
If it was to be a compilation show, why not all the CBA nominees so we can be reminded as to what we're voting for with voting details for each one 'a la' tv talent shows. Why not a current chart playlist (although how you'd work that out at the moment I wouldn't have a clue!), a compilation of up and coming choreographers or even a classic episode showing different footage and more dances rather than wasting 5 minutes of screen time on Red Hot Salsa!
I miss the line dance chat and interviews - yes Nicki Sharon spoke to Alison Biggs about the up and coming live laugh line dance! party's but they've been promoting those for a while now and I want to know more about what is going on on the line dance scene in general not just when they are filming next.
I know they filmed at Bracklesham bay and I'm sure there has been filming since then so where is the rest of the footage from this as we've seen next to nothing.
Come on Live Laugh Line Dance! You can do better than this!
Do you agree with me? Please comment below whatever your opinion
Welcome to this weeks review of Live Laugh Line Dance! - If you haven't watched Episode 47 - I don't want to spoil the fun for you so please, stop reading, click here and watch the current week (47 at time of writing) episode.
Episode 47
This weeks episode was hosted by the lovely Hillary Kurt Webster as Nikki Sharon was at a line dance event. Hillary always comes across as a really fun, but down to earth character so I do hope I get a chance to meet her at some point.
Episode 47 kicked off with "The Bomp" a favourite of the Live! Laugh! Linedance! team as it has appeared several times on the show and is still very popular on both Linedancer and Copperknob. This recording was made at the Bracklesham Bay weekend and it features Kim Ray dancing in the 2nd Row (dressed in red) It has also been nominated as the Improver dance of the year at the Crystal Boot Awards - (nominations for the CBA's will be discussed separately in a further post).
Alison and Peter then introduced "Knee Deep", an improver dance of theirs from 5 years ago (has it really been that long?), I haven't danced this one in a while but I remember it being a lovely little dance, to a great track by the Zac Brown Band - a good one to sing along to and also one of the first revivals of the "walking around in a circle" steps which is very popular right now and found in a lot of dances.
"Goodbye California" was this week's entry from Rob Fowler, - this is new to me but I really love the music and the dance seems to go really well.
Next up we had a short piece from Nikki who was (very appropriately) dressed up for what appeared to be a halloween outfit for a themed night on her weekend away. In the piece she encouraged dancers to go on line dance weekends away with their clubs (which I very much encourage) - for those who haven't been I can promise you that once you've been on one weekend you will definitely want to go on another.
Ria Vos, is a very popular name in line dancing at the moment. Recently she has written some lovely dances of which I count "No man's land," this is a beautiful dance but unfortunately the video was not that impressive. Well to be frank it was a bit of a mess... dancers going all over the place, very few people knowing what they were doing... but at least they looked like they were having fun :-D I'd also like to give a special mention to the lady in the pink top at the front - whilst all hell was breaking loose around her she kept going (and to me that's what line dancing is all about.)
The next dance was "Wasn't expecting that," by Richard Palmer and Lorna Dennis. I've heard this song on a number of occasions, it's beautiful and emotional and incredibly sad at the end (if you ever watch the artist music video please have a box of tissues to hand).
The Classic dance this week was Kathy Hunyadi's "The One for Me" which I have never come across before however it's a fun little dance to a lovely track by the Rascal Flatts (one of my favourite country bands) and I hope it pops up again in the future.
In honour of the Halloween theme of last weeks episode the music over the credits in this weeks episode were replaced with "The 'Rogers' Mash" Glenn Rogers own take on the famous 'Monster Mash'. It was a fun one to listen to and I laughed a few times, it makes a nice change from the usual music on the end credits.
That's all I have time for today. Scripts for all dances featured in this weeks episode are featured below. I also have no affiliation to the TV Show whatsoever. Please feel free to add any comments below on your thoughts for this week's episode.
This weeks episode review comes slightly late so apologies for that.
Eagle eyed reviewers may have noted that there was no episode 45 review and this was due to the episode broadcast being a recap episode and so I have decided to carry on with episode 46.
As usual if you haven't yet watched this, stop reading now and click here to watch this weeks episode.
Episode 46 Review
This week our usual presenters Hills and Nikki were back and the episode kicked off with "Lay Low" by Darren Bailey choreographed to the track of the same name by Josh Turner. This is a lovely improver dance which I particularly like.
The next dance was "New Shade of Blue" choreographed by Yvonne Anderson to the track of the same name by Southern Pacific. This easy improver dance looks lovely to dance to with only 2 restarts and the laid back style of the dance and relaxed speed makes this look like a great dance to do.
"Superheroes" was this weeks offering by Maggie Gallagher (for a review of her recent event at Woodstock click here) This advanced dance to The Script is looking like a good candidate for the advanced dance of the year at the 2016 Crystal Boot Awards.
Back to Bracklesham Bay next and the dance "Walk with me" by Rob Fowler a 48 count 2 wall dance to Would you go with me by Josh Turner. (The second of his to feature, must be Josh Turner week!) Love the upbeatness of this track and whilst I haven't done this it looks like a great dance and there don't appear to be any restarts/ tags in this which in my book is even better.
Robbie McGowan Hickie's offering this week was "Crazy For You" a 64 Count Intermediate dance on 2 walls. The music for this is very 50s/60s inspired with 'shoopy' style music, and the dance really seems to incorporate this.
Trivia time! I've learnt something new - "Simplemente" by Kate Sala was originally called 'Heaven Sent' - Our Classic dance for episode 45, this dance was originally choreographed in 2005 and I remember the music for this one so I think I may have done it at some point. I still love this music and I think this would be a great blast from the past - particularly as there are not many latino inspired dances around just at the moment.
This weeks party dance was the partner dance "Tempted" performed by Glenn Rogers and Natalie from Calico. A fun little dance perfect for socials and live music act events, we don't see enough of this dance. I still love the track as much as the first time I heard it this really is another classic dance!
That's it for today. A full list of the dances featured on the show are listed below with links to the scripts on Copperknob (It's easier to link to them than line dancer magazine)
Several months ago, whilst channel hopping on a Thursday night, I came across something rather interesting. A tv show called Live! Laugh! Line Dance! was just starting, and being stuck at home on maternity leave with a baby who'd only just gone to bed, I sat down to watch whilst eating my hastily prepared dinner.
I have to confess I was a bit sceptical of what the content was likely to be. Line dancing in the UK is seen by many as tongue-in-cheek and rarely gets the attention and respect it deserves, but when I saw that it was produced by one of my favourite line dance personalities, Glenn Rogers, my hopes were lifted and once I'd watched my first episode, I felt it was a true and accurate picture of line dancing right across the UK (based on my own experience).
The show is now on during a Saturday afternoon on Showcase TV at 15.00 and is part of my regular weekly tv viewing, so with the start of this blog, I have decided to write a review of each week's episode.
If you've not watched it yet - stop reading and click here and check you are watching episode 44. If not click here and choose number 44.
Episode 44
This week's episode was hosted by internationally renowned choreographers Alison Biggs and Peter Metelnick (Dance Factory UK) who are also sponsors of the show.
The show opened with Karl Harry Winson's "Alcazar", a great dance which has the capacity to fill the floor wherever it is played. The video clip on the show was taken at the Bracklesham Bay Summertime Ball in August 2015, which some of my own friends attended, and if you look very closely I believe that is Karl Harry dancing in the 4th row on the left side (from the front) after he popped in on the weekend.
The next dance introduced was Kim Ray's "The Bomp" - currently no 1 in the Linedancer Magazine charts and a great track with steps that remind me slightly of Miller Magic (remember that one?). Alison and Peter also reminisced about some of Kim's previous dances, namely a dance to Pretty Woman (possibly called "Rodeo Drive"?) and also the very popular dance "It's up to you" which to this day is still one of my big favourites. I understand this was also danced at Bracklesham Bay so fingers crossed there is some video of this to come in a future episode.
"Hit the Base" was the next dance to be shown. I've not dance this yet but I think this is going to be a big hit - it's showing as 4th most viewed on Copperknob and is also one of Line Dancer Magazine's most viewed dances. It's a great dance by the fabulous Daniel Whittaker to music which has a great beat - I'm really looking forward to doing this one.
"Tell the World" has been a very popular dance in recent months for choreographer Robbie McGowan Hickie. A fun dance for Improvers which is fairly easy to grasp and with music which most of us have come across on the TV adverts for Windows 10 (I wonder if the person in charge of UK marketing for Microsoft is a line dancer?).
Moving on, our classic dance this week is the amazing "Shania's Moment" by Nathan Easey. I love this dance, it really shows line dancing at its best and I think it's a dance all line dancers must learn. It's danced everywhere and its great if you want to add your own variations as there is so much you can do with this. I hope this will be around for many years to come.
"Tuesday Blues", is a new dance and one I have to say I am not familiar with. It's choreographed by Simon Ward known for dances such as "Titanic", "Turn Me Loose," and "Outta Control". The music is Elton John's, 'I guess that's why they call it the blues" and from the video the dance looks like it fits really well to the music. I'm sure we'll probably be seeing more of this one soon, I can see its the 2nd most viewed dance on Copperknob already and its also one of the most viewed dances on Line Dancer Magazine too.
The show ended on "Hit the Road Jack" a fun little improver dance from a few years ago by Alison and Peter. This still seems very popular as I've seen it danced at classes, socials and events this year and I think its another dance that will stick around for a few years yet.
That's it for today. A full list of the dances featured on the show are listed below with links to the scripts on Copperknob (its easier to link to them than line dancer magazine)
Dances featured:(with links to Copperknob for scripts)
Alcazar - Karl Harry Winson & Robbie McGowan Hickie (Int)
Hi I'm Gemma - A Line Dancer Instructor in Evesham, Worcestershire. I'm originally from Gloucester and I've been Line Dancing for over 20 years and absolutely love it. I really enjoy dancing to music from different genres including pop, latin, irish, rock, disco, and more! I run a class on a friday Night in the gorgeous exercise studio at TDMS (High School), to join please pop us a message.
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