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A little later than planned - today's post details all the line dances taught in the day workshops at our Live laugh line dance weekend in Bracklesham Bay last weekend. The workshops featured some of the biggest names in line dancing - Rob Fowler, Dee Musk, Vikki Morris, Peter Metelnick and & Alison Biggs.
Line Dancing

Below you will find details of each dance taught in the order we were taught them (the choreographers all took it in turn to teach their dances). I have attached scripts and videos for each one (where available) along with a write up on my own personal thoughts on each dance.

Day 1


Drift Away

The first dance which we did was 'Drift Away'. It's a lovely little dance to a country track by Nathan Carter but with a fairly quick tempo. None of the dance steps are particularly difficult and I particularly like the stomp stomp swivet steps in it as well. This dance goes really well to the music and its very catchy too so you will find yourself humming to it long after you've learnt it.

 Dance Details

 32 Count, 4 Wall Improver to 'Drift Away' by Nathan Carter choreographed by Rob Fowler

Script: Drift Away

 Video from Youtube:


Black and White

Our next dance was Dee's new dance Black and White, This dance is so beautiful to watch, I really can't wait to learn it once I'm up dancing properly again. I love the 1/4 twist right and back again in the first step it looks so graceful, especially when Dee dances it, the sway steps also work really well and the turns go so beautifully with the music. The track is so lovely too - I've already downloaded it however the version in the video below is actually sung by Nikki Napier of Calico (wish I could have her version as well) and I think she sings it better than the track I downloaded.

 Dance Details

 48 Count, 2 wall Advanced dance, 'Black and White' by The Shires choreographed by Dee Musk.

 Script: Black and White

 My video:



Moon Trance

Rob's second teach was 'Moon Trance' and I have to say there were elements of this that realy reminded me of 'Coastin' and 'Pot of gold' so if you like those dances like I do, you will probably like this. I wasn't sure about the music on this one but the more I hear it the more I like it. The dance itself is good too and if it wasn't for the turns I think an improver dancer would be able to manage it. I like the switch steps with the rock backs in the dance however I don't remember ever doing switch steps with a back rock so it takes some getting used. There is one restart on wall 3 at the end of section 4 but it feels like it fits well and the end of section 4 does feel like the end of a section making it easier to go onto the next section.
Dance Details

Script: Moon Trance

64 count, 4 wall Intermediate dance, 'Moon Trance' by Lindsey Stirling Choreographed by Rob Fowler.




Some Girls Will

Vikki's first teach was a fun little dance called 'Some Girls Will', its not been released yet so I can't post the video or script, but I can guarantee you will all recognise the music and will be singing along in no time. It's a fairly quick dance and I can't remember what level (either Improver or Intermediate) and I will confirm these details once I have them. I do know that this one had no restarts or tags and as dances like that are very rare nowadays I suspect we will see a lot more of this dance. I for one would love to have another opportunity to dance it.

Dance Details:

64 Count, 4 wall Improver dance to 'Some girls won't by Mike Denver choreographed by Vikki Morris.

Script: Some Girls Will (Copperknob link)

UPDATE 8/9/16: VIDEO NOW AVAILABLE: 


You don't know love

Alison & Peter's first teach of the weekend was 'You don't know love', it's a 2 wall intermediate dance to a track that is widely being played on commercial radio at the moment so I'm sure most people will be familliar with it. I particularly like the start with the dorothy step (called a wizard step in the script) as it fits the rhythm of the dance and I think the whole of this dance fits very well to the music. My only concern with this one is that I will get carried away singing it and will go wrong when I'm dancing.

Dance Details

Script: You don't know love

64 Count, 2 wall Intermediate dance, 'You don't know love' by Olly Murs and choreographed by Peter Metelnick & Alison Biggs.

My Video of Alison and Peter demo  (audio now fully muted due to copyright)




Lose yourself in the rhythm

Alison and Peter's second teach was 'Lose yourself in the rhythm', it's not been released yet so there is no script and no video yet but as soon as these are available I will add them here. I really liked this dance, it has a latino rhythm to it and when I was talking to Peter about it later in the weekend he told me that the music reminded him of the theme tune to the Sex and the City tv show (which I'm a big fan of) which made me enjoy it all the more. I really loved the sexy feel of the dance with its slow mambo step style rocks. Hopefully you can see it for yourself soon, but I for one am looking forward to when it is fully released.

Dance Details

Script - Not yet released

2 wall intermediate line dance to 'I wanna dance with you' by Stephanie Jones and choreographed by Alison Biggs and Peter Metelnick.


UPDATE 8/9/2016: VIDEO NOW AVAILABLE:




Day 2


The Compass Dance

The first dance taught in our second workshop on day 2 was 'The Compass Dance', again this one has not yet been released so I can't publish the video or script and I will also add them here once they are available. This dance was choreographed to a version of 'Killing me softly', I grew up with the Fugees version but I really like this one as well and I found myself singing all the way through this one as well. The dance is called the compass dance due to the tags in it. There are 4 tags one on each wall and they are very straight forward and easy to hear in the music. They also follow on from each other, the first I think was on the front wall, the second at 3pm, the third at 6pm and the fourth at 9pm. (I may be a wall out as to where the first tag started and if this is the case I will correct this once the scripts are released). I did manage to have a go at this one and quite liked it, I look forward to seeing this one when it is released.

Dance Details

4 Wall, High improver line dance to 'Killing me softly'(Burlesque House edit) by Mo'Jive choreographed by Alison Biggs and Peter Metelnick.


I can't unlove you


My favourite (and the only) waltz of the weekend was this one by Vikki Morris, it is an absolutely beautiful dance with some lovely twinkles, sways and sweeping steps in it. The step kick and half turn waltz steps remind me of 'Midnight Waltz' and the song is such a beautiful one to listen to which I have already downloaded (I love my country ballads). The dance has 2 restarts in but they both seem to fit really well and are quite clear in the music. I don't get to do that many waltzes so I was disappointed not to be able to do this one but I'm really hoping to get an opportunity to do this as it really is beautiful.

Dance Details

Script: I can't unlove you (Copperknob as not yet on linedancer magazine)
96 count, 3 wall intermediate dance to 'Unlove you' by Jennifer Nettles choreographed by Vikki Morris

My Video:





Na Na Na

It's not often that you get to have a go at an AB dance so I jumped hopped at the chance to try this one, Rob Fowler's third teach of the weekend. Its a beginner dance so wasn't difficult at all and is a dance you can have a lot of fun with it and really put your own stamp on it (like you'll see in the video below). Some of the steps in section A are a bit tricky and take some getting used to particularly the syncopated steps after the full walking turn but once you get used to them they do flow more naturally. The music is also really good fun and the band behind the song also did the music for 'Ain't misbehavin'' so you know it's going to be a good track to dance to.

Dance Details
Script: Na Na Na 

64 Count, AB Dance (Beginner Level) to 'Na Na Na' by Pentatonix and choreographed by Rob Fowler, Daan Geelan, Ivonne Verhagen, Giuseppe Scaccianoce & Kate Sala

Video from Youtube:



She wants a cowboy


Dee's final dance taught at the weekend was 'She wants a cowboy' which as I'm sure you've probably guessed from the title is to a country track. It's a slightly slower pace than some of the other dances we did over the weekend and the dance reminds me of 'Blue night cha'. I particularly like the press and sweep dance step in this one which you don't very often see in a country style line dance and it really stood out for me. I didn't find this dance particularly tricky and it is an improver so it is fairly easy to pick up. There is one restart but you can hear it in the music and you are facing the front wall anyway so you can just follow your instructor (or in our case Dee). I definitely think we'll be seeing more of this one.

Dance Details:

Script: She wants a cowboy

32 Count, 4 Wall, Improver dance to 'She wants a cowboy' by Dustin Lynch choreographed by Dee Musk.

Video from Youtube:



Kick a little dirt around


Our last teach of the weekend from Rob was 'Kick a little dirt around' which was co-choreographed with Heather Barton. This is a tricky little dance but I really liked it, it looks great and has some fantastic steps in it. It is fairly quick and it has a 'chorus' & a 'verse' with different steps for each so you do have to concentrate hard on this one. I particularly love the shuffles in each direction on this one and the music is so upbeat and great to dance to. I did try this one in the walk through but I just wasn't upto it at the time, really want to try this one again.

Dance Details

Script: Kick a little dirt around 

84 count, 4 wall, Advanced dance to 'Kick a little dirt around' by David Shelby and choreographed by Rob Fowler and Heather Barton

Video from Youtube:




I hope you enjoyed reading my post.

If you'd like to see the full DJ set lists for each of the three evenings you can view them by clicking the relevant links below:

Friday Night 
Saturday Night - CLICK TO WATCH ROB FOWLER DO 'THE BEAST'
Sunday Night - 
Firstly I want to start with an apology.

The internet is slow here and trying to upload a video is very slow going so I will post my videos separately later in the week. This also means that I will also post the workshop videos and reviews later in the week.

line dancers


Yesterday was a fantastic day topped up by an even better evening. Our live band for the evening was Calico and as you can see from the photo's below, we also had a green and white theme in honor of the chosen charity Macmillian for whom we were fundraising throughout the weekend. 

Rob Fowler danced THE BEAST for charity donations to Macmillian which as anyone knows who has seen him before is absolutely brilliant. Take a look at the video and please don't forget to donate if you can.



Our second evening featured the amazing Calico and we had a green and white theme for Macmillian. Rob Fowler was also good enough to do the Beast but only for a Macmillian donation – so that’s what we did. I have a video of him doing it so once I have a better internet connection I will upload so you can all see it.

Of course we also danced some of the dances we learnt in the workshops and I have highlighted the relevant dances below – more details on these will appear later this week.

Here are the DJ set lists for the evening, I managed to do a few dances despite my ankle injury and so a few dances might be missing a few dances if I forgot to update my piece of paper when I got back. I think I might be missing the last few dances of the night too (apologies for that) as we retired about 5 minutes before the end at 1am. I appreciate some of the dance names might not be quite right - I will also correct these in the week.

Any of my fellow dancers who wish to add any further dances I missed please add these to the comments below.

Cathy’s Set 1


This & That
Caught in the act
Driven
Come as you are
Solo Amor
All day long (Mr Mom)
Wow Tokyo
Mony Mony
Saltry
Brand new chick
Intrigue

Nikki Calico

Calico Set 1


Ticket to the blues
Ribbon of highway
Blue night cha
Jai du boogie
Fireball
Telepathy
Heavenly Cha
This is me
Ain’t misbehavin’
Closer
Strip it down
What if I never love again
Just for grins
Islands in the stream

Cathy’s Set 2

 Wagon wheel rock
Woman up
Nimby/Cheek to cheek
Run back to me

Rob Fowler Demo – The Beast (for Macmillian)

Shakatak
Its up to you
Throwaway the key
Blue ain’t your colour

 NOW ADDED - CALICO PERFORM - BLUE NIGHT (Blue night cha)


Calico set 2

Black and white (Dee’s new dance)
Sinatra & Chardonnay
Save the day
Making history
Lamtarra rhumba
Better when I’m dancing
Uptown funk
So just dance dance dance
Lay low
Gypsy Queen
Locklin's bar

Max’s Set

Doctor Doctor
Some girls will (Vicki’s new dance)
You don’t know love (Alison & Peter’s new dance)
Dance with me tonight
Heartbreak Express
Lightning Polka
Hold your horses
Losing my rhythm (Alison & Peter’s new dance)
Love her for a while
Bossa Nova
Deeply completely
Sexy
Slammin’ Doors
Young Blood
Stop it
Have fun go mad
Black horse
Walkin after midnight
Eternal Secret
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...

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.

Save the Day Karl-Harry Winson (Int)
County Line Cha Cha - Unknown (Beg)
The Wobble -Vic Brentnall (Imp)
Second Hand Heart - Maggie Gallagher (Int)
Pot of Gold - Liam Hrycan (Int)
Uptown Funk - Rob Fowler (Int)

Let me know which was your favourite dance this week by using the comments section below.