All I Do is Dream of You!!

Greetings, Dancers! It's been a while. I have been side-tracked into teaching couples dance at our Church Teen Camp, and working on music for the Sterling Flute Choir 

So now it's time to get back to Line Dancing. The song "All I Do is Dream of You" by Michael Bublé has been at the top of my playlist for a while. I went looking on YouTube for some choreography and found some other dances, but they didn't quite suit my class. So naturally I created my own!

Here it is, fresh off my computer. I haven't taught it in class yet, but I expect it to be an instant favorite. I will get a video up asap, but in the meanwhile, enjoy!

July, 2016: UPDATE

We've been doing this in class and the ladies love it!  

Coming Soon

My class has been working on learning my newest dance, "T.I.M.E."  That means we are ready to film a video of the dance! We slow the music down considerably, (17%!) which fortunately does not spoil the music and enhances the fun.

Click on the name of the dance on the right side of this screen, to get the cue sheet, and for a link to the video. Or go directly to YouTube and search on my Dance channel: HPDNCLine

I hope you enjoy the dance as much as we do. 

My Wonderful Students!

I just posted two new dances! Both dances have been successful in my "beginner" class of seniors! We may take a bit longer to learn them, but my students are sooooo wonderful that we just keep at it until we learn them.

I have not made videos for these yet, but will try to get that done by the end of February--so if you can't put them together from the step sheets, check back!

The first one, "Twilight Time" is deceptively simple...or not. The steps themselves are pretty slow, but there is a lot going on, and plenty of turning, so it's nice to have the time. Once you get the steps down, for a livelier dance, set it to the Beach Boys song: "Kokomo."

The second dance, "T.I.M.E" is very fast! We slow the music down 16%, and it's still a bit of a challenge. But it's a lot of fun. Don't let the number of steps scare you off (84!). It's not as bad as it sounds, and it fits the music so nicely, you will forget how many steps you had to learn!

I hope you enjoy these dances as much as we do. Don't forget to check back to see the video instructions and demo.

Let's Talk Terminology, Part 2

Hello! It has been a while. So it's time to get back to talking about terminology. 

What, really, is a "cha-cha" step? I don't know that I have the entire, complete, perfect answer, but here is what I have learned from many teachers over many years: It is a composite of two other basic steps. 

In essence, a "cha-cha" step is a Mambo/Chasse' and fills 4 beats. Most commonly you will have two to complete an 8-count. The Chasse' step has already been covered, so I will not be covering it again.

Mambo Step. Often, it is cued as "Rock-Recover." 
   This step moves all directions: forward, side, back, diagonal. In Latin styled dances it includes hip action. So you place one foot, rocking your weight onto it, and on the second beat, rock your weight back to the original foot.

Cha-Cha: Forward and Back - Beats 1 and 2 are the mambo, beats 3 & 4 are the chasse'
1. Step forward on R foot
2. Recover weight back to left
3&4. Chasse' back (RLR)
5. Step (or rock) back on the R foot
6. Recover weight to the left
7&8. Chasse forward (RLR)

When you do this step to the side, the chasse' step is either done with one foot crossed over the other, or you turn your body to chasse' in a forward motion.

One interesting aspect of the Cha-cha step is how it is defined in different dance disciplines. In common use, it is "Rock-Recover-Chasse' but when it is used in professional dance disciplines, it is "Chasse'-Rock-Recover."

So whenever you encounter this fun step, watch to see which way it is being used, and enjoy!

(Oh, and there is more to the "mambo step" story - that's for next time! Happy Dancing!)

Let's Talk Terminology!

The first thing that we encounter when learning a new skill is Terminology! In order to master our new skill we need to know the words to go with it.

Line Dance has evolved, and continues to do so, through many years. The nature of an evolving form is that the terminology ofter does not always keep up, or gets muddled.

For the sake of clarity in my teaching and dancing I would like to define a few terms, which are not standard in the Line Dance arena. I don't mean to make myself an authority..these standards are merely offered because I find it easier on me and my students when I can standardize my terms. If you like my standards, please feel free to adopt and pass them along.

So here's a little list, which I will probably edit and add to as time goes on. So come back to this article from time to time!

Chassé' - This step has been called a shuffle, cha-cha, triple-step, and probably other names as well. It is a syncopated step, following a pattern of 1&2, 3&4, etc. It moves forward, back, diagonal or side. To execute a right forward chassé':
1. Step forward on your right foot
&. Slide the left foot up to the right
2. Step forward again on the right.
      A right side chassé is the same pattern, except the movement goes to the side.

Vine - A vine step can be as little as two beats, and as many as you want. I ALWAYS start a vine with a cross behind. So a 4-count vine to the right would be:
1. Left foot crosses behind the right
2. Right foot steps to the side
3. Left foot crosses in front of right
4. Right foot steps to the side.

Grapevine - A FOUR-COUNT vine step that starts with the step to the side, then crosses behind on the second beat, another step to the side, and ends with a tap, scuff, hitch or kick.

Weave - The same as a Vine, EXCEPT: it ALWAYS starts with a cross in front.

So, when I am teaching someone else's choreography, I always change the names of these three steps to fit my definitions as I cue the dance. Naturally, I warn my students when I have changed a name so they can be adaptable to other teachers.

There will be more later...such as a discussion of what REALLY is a cha-cha step? and what is a mambo...so check back!

Welcome to Happy Dance Line!

Greetings!

I am very happy to have you here! I started this blog as a place to post the choreography/step sheets for the Line Dances I have created. Please allow me to introduce myself and give you a bit of background.

I have always loved to dance, from the time I was a little girl. Somehow dance was always just a bit out of reach. When I was all grown up, and my children were, too, I discovered the world of fitness and aerobic dance. Finally I had a way to bring dance into my life!

I spent the next 14 years creating dance-inspired fitness routines: as high/low aerobics, on a step platform (or two!), even in my Yoga classes. Dance was always there for me.

Now that I have "retired" from the gym scene, I finally had time to take classes for the fun of it. I found a local line dance class and started dancing in earnest. It wasn't long before my brain began to churn with new ideas and songs I wanted to dance to.

Eventually a teacher retired from a class, and I got to take it over. I LOVE teaching!

So here we are. I have just created a Youtube Channel, and will be posting my first videos of my dances in the next few days. They will seem a bit amateur at first, but I will get better at filming and producing. For now, I just hope you find a dance you'd like to do.

Once the videos have been posted, there will be a link here, so check back at the end of September! (2012)