21/I didn’t teach a new dance this week but the class worked hard as we covered the following.
We danced: Some Kind Of Wonderful, We Can Wait, Made In Mexico, Ah Si, Mamma Maria (Save Your Tears by The Weeknd), Homecoming, Stroll Along Cha Cha, Black Coffee and Stand By Me.
14/10/24 New dance this week was WE CAN WAIT (Maggie Gallagher & Gary O’Reilly). Thought I’d go with something slightly easier this week for this established beginner class. Turned out to be a bit trickier than I’d expected as this dance is made up of many bits from other dances we had just danced. So it was more about remembering the correct sequence rather than learning any new footwork today. I think they liked it!
Also danced: Rocket To The Sun, Dancing Queen, Glass Of Wine, Waltz Across Texas, Lucky Lips, A Bar Song and Electric Slide.
07/10/24 No new dance this week but I think I might drop a new one in next week.
We just danced: Ah Si (to Cher’s Believe), Made In Mexico, We’re Good To Go, Stand By Me, A Bar Song, Magic Moon, Go Cat Go and Homecoming.
30/09/24 Our second week of A BAR SONG and it seemed to be a lot easier this time around.
We also danced: Skinny Genes, Stroll Along Cha Cha, Mamma Maria, Grundy Gallop, Glass Of Wine, Homecoming and Dancing Queen.
23/09/24 Finally got round to teaching A BAR SONG (Ben Murphy). Have been looking at this for a while but wasn’t sure if the class would like it. I think they did and we danced it twice! Not too hard once you get up to speed with it.
We also danced: Stand By Me, Glass Of Wine, Rocket To The Sun, Homecoming, Go Cat Go and Made In Mexico.
16/09/24 Nothing new this week but we had another go at Dancing Queen.
We also danced: Lucky Lips, Some Kind Of Wonderful, Black Coffee, Rocket To The Sun, Magic Moon, Made In Mexico, and Ah Si.
09/09/24 Went over last week’s new dance MADE IN MEXICO (Madison Glover) – a bit easier for those who had already had one go at it last time.
We also danced: Mamma Maria (to Do It All Again), Homecoming, Stand By Me, Electric Slide (to Jerusalema) and Dancing Queen. This week, to make the dance a bit easier for the class I changed the Monterey turns to 1/4 turns instead of 1/2 turns. You can find sheets that contain links to a video for all the above dances on www.copperknob.co.uk
If you have any problems finding the step sheets, just drop me an email.
02/09/24 This week’s new dance was MADE IN MEXICO (Madison Glover) and there’s a link to the dance sheet below. Maybe another week or two before everyone has this one mastered. But if you want to practice it, there are also some videos of it being taught and/or danced on the link below. Just scroll down on the right hand side to find them.
We danced: Ah Si, Grundy Gallop, Go Cat Go, Stroll Along Cha Cha, Glass of Wine and Rocket To The Sun.
26/08/24 – No class due to bank holiday
We’ve started doing Monterey Turns just recently and here’s another video that helps to explain how to do them, should you want to perfect them at home.
19/08/24 We didn’t have a new dance this week and we’ve got another week off now due to the Bank Holiday. The next class will be on 2nd September.
We danced: Mamma Maria (to Do It All Again), Waltz Across Texas, Dancing Queen, Cowboy Charleston, Homecoming, Black Coffee and Stand By Me.
12/08/24 No class
05/08/24 Another go at last week’s new dance Homecoming plus a chance to dance some that we hadn’t covered for a couple of weeks. No class on the 12th and 26th August but there is a class on the 19th August if you can make it then.
We danced: Glass of Wine, Ain’t No Mountain, Stand By Me, Homecoming, Skinny Genes, Go Cat Go, Stroll Along Cha, and Rocket To The Sun.
29/07/24 New dance this week was called HOMECOMING (Lee Hamilton). Everyone did well to say this was the first time of dancing it, as I know it feels fairly nippy at first. Plus of course it was the first time we had attempted a turning heel grind step. I’ve attached a link to a video that shows someone demonstrating a heel grind into a coaster step. We were doing a heel grind 1/4 turn right followed by a back rock, so a bit different. But if you can do what is shown in the video, it will help next time you come to do this dance in class.
We danced: Rocket To The Sun, Some Kind Of Wonderful, Ah Si (to Fireball), Grundy Gallop, Dancing Queen and Electric Slide.
22/07/24 Back to an almost full class this week but I didn’t teach a new one. If you are coming next week, and you’ve been away recently, the following video will help with one of the dances we will be doing next week. It introduces a new kind of turn, known as a Monterey Turn which can sometimes need a bit of practice to perfect.
We danced: Lucky Lips, Mamma Maria (to Daddy Cool), Ain’t No Mountain, Cowboy Charleston, Magic Moon (to Some Beach), Glass Of Wine, Black Coffee and Ah Si.
15/07/24 Sorry there was no class this week – I was laid low for several days with a gastric bug. Classes will be back to normal next week.
08/07/24 A lot of people missing this week due to holidays or health issues. In fact of the half a dozen who did turn up, a couple hadn’t been for a number of weeks. So we practised Monterey Turns and had another go at last week’s new dance DANCING QUEEN. I probably won’t teach anything new next week either, so those who are away, don’t get too far behind.
Also danced: Stand By Me, Skinny Genes, Electric Slide, Ain’t No Mountain, Go Cat Go, Waltz Across Texas and Rocket To The Sun.
01/07/24 This week I thought I’d introduce Monterey Turns to the beginners. So we tried DANCING QUEEN (Alexis Tait) to a rebooted version of the Abba classic. It’s classed as an Absolute Beginner/Beginner dance but I don’t think many Absolute Beginners would be able to cope with it. We ended up leaving the rolling vine turn out of the first section to concentrate on the Monterey turns.
As promised in the class, here is a link that demonstrates how to do a Monterey Half Turn. Remember, you don’t have to point the foot out as far as they do in this video – a little touch to the side, before the turn might help to keep your balance better.
Also danced: Ah Si, Grundy Gallop, Ain’t No Mountain, Black Coffee, Some Kind Of Wonderful and Stroll Along Cha Cha.
24/06/24 Nothing new taught this week. Had another go at AIN’T NO MOUNTAIN from last week which seemed a lot easier this time.
Also danced: Mamma Maria (to Last Night (Chill Factor), We’re Good To Go, Stand By Me, Skinny Genes, Waltz Across Texas, Magic Moon, (to Some Beach) Lucky Lips.
17/06/24 Great to be back after a bit of a break. New dance was AIN’T NO MOUNTAIN (Karl Harry Winson). This was a bit of a test for a beginner class that has been running for less than a year but it’s upbeat but I think they liked it even with the three restarts.
Also danced: Rocket To The Sun (to Voulez Vous), Glass Of Wine, Ah Si, Black Coffee, Stroll Along Cha Cha and Go Cat Go (to Mona Lisa by Conway Twitty).
24/05/24 The second and last of our brief change to classes on a Friday. With no new dance again, we got to practice one or two that we hadn’t done for a week or two. Thanks to all who came out today – enjoy the break and see you back at the normal day and time on Monday 17th June @ 1.10pm.
We danced: Magic moon (to Some Beach), We’re Good To Go, Grundy Gallop (to I’ll Me Ma), Waltz Across Texas, Mamma Maria (Saturday Night), Black Coffee (to Waka Waka), Every Move You Make and Electric Slide (to Jerusalema).
17/05/24 Was good to be back after our short holiday and a line dancing weekend up in Whitby. Thanks to all who remembered that this class had switched to a Friday for a couple of weeks. I didn’t teach a new dance this time. Next class is this Friday 24th May at 11.40.
We danced: Skinny Genes, Glass Of Wine, Every Move You Make, Rocket To The Sun, Black Coffee, Go Cat Go, Stroll Along Cha Cha, We’re Good To Go, Ah Si and Lucky Lips.
29/04/24 New dance was EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE (Jose Miguel Belloque Vane & Alison Johnstone). The double pivot turn in this made it a little confusing with some doing the turns and others doing a rocking chair instead. Others were just confused what they should be doing LOL! Next time I might get everyone to try it without the turns first and this should make it easier to pick up the dance.
Every Move You Make step sheet
Also danced: Stand By Me, Some Kind Of Wonderful (to In-Grid, Tu Es Foutou), Black Coffee to Newton, Sometimes When We Touch) Mamma Maria (to Whigfield, Saturday Night) and Lucky Lips.
22/04/24 Second week of Black Coffee and as well as the original Black Coffee track, we also tried it out to Sometimes When We Touch song by Newton. Despite being faster, it seemed to get a thumbs up! Next beginners classes will be on: –
Monday 29th April 1.10pm – Friday 17th May 11.40am – Friday 24th May 11.40am and then back to Mondays as normal from 17th June at 1.10pm.
Also danced: Go Cat Go, Waltz Across Texas, We’re Good To Go, Skinny Genes, Grundy Gallop, Stroll Along Cha Cha and Rocket To The Sun.
15/04/24 Didn’t get through as many dances this week, as I taught a new BLACK COFFEE (Helen O’Malley). This a classic old line dance from the last century! But it was a slightly longer routine than the class is used to and it has some arm movements as well as the footwork to think about. But everyone did well with it and next week we will try it to the faster track which has a stronger beat.
Also danced: Mamma Maria (to Daddy Cool), Lucky Lips, Stand By Me, Glass Of Wine, and Electric Slide.
08/04/24 We didn’t have a new dance this week so got through quite a few dances.
We danced: Ah Si!, Glass Of Wine, Skinny Genes, We’re Good To Go, Grundy Gallop, Rocket To The Sun, Waltz Across Texas, Stroll Along Cha Cha, and Electric Slide (to Jerusalema).
25/03/24 Changed my mind late on and decided to teach WE’RE GOOD TO GO (Rob Fowler) which my Improver class have been dancing for some time. The beginners did well with it for the first attempt, just the paddle turn and points at the end were a bit taxing for some. I think they liked this one.
Link below to the step sheet and several videos of it being danced.
Also danced: Some Kind Of Wonderful, Magic Moon (to Some Beach), Stand By Me, Stroll Along Cha Cha (to Pizziricco) and Skinny Genes.
Here’s a link to a useful site on Youtube that describes some of the basic steps in line dancing which may be of interest. Many you will already know but some you may not.
18/03/24 No new dance this week but we had another go at last week’s new one which was Skinny Genes.
Also danced: Lucky Lips, Glass Of Wine, Waltz Across Texas, Rocket To The Sun, Stroll Along Cha (to Changed Everything by Austin Burke), Ah Si, Grundy Gallop (to Tell Me Ma) and Mamma Maria (to Daddy Cool by Boney M).
11/03/24 The new dance this week was SKINNY GENES (Pat & Lizzie Stott) which everyone seemed to pick up fairly quickly without too many problems. There’s a link below to the step sheet and several videos of it being danced.
Also danced: Stand By Me, Some Kind Of Wonderful, Magic Moon, Mamma Maria, Waltz Across Texas, Grundy Gallop, Electric Slide and Go Cat Go.
04/03/24 Week 2 of Waltz Across Texas and there’s a link below to someone else dancing it.
We got through most of the dances we’ve learnt up to now and the ones we didn’t do, may well be included next week.
Also danced: Grundy Gallop (to Tell Me Ma), Rocket To The Sun, Magic Moon (to Some Beach), Go Cat Go, Ah Si, Glass Of Wine, Stroll Along Cha Cha and Lucky Lips.
26/02/24 This week we had our first go at a waltz and it was called WALTZ ACROSS TEXAS (Lois & John Nielson). As expected, some of the turns proved a little tricky at first for those who hadn’t done the dance before, but we got there and I was happy with how it went.
Here’s a link to the step sheet that also includes a video of people doing the dance.
However, it might look a little confusing as they are dancing it in what is known as ‘contra-lines’ where two rows face each other! I don’t think we are quite ready to tackle it this way just yet. But once everyone gets confident with the steps and turns, we might try it at some point down the line – just let me know when you’re ready to give it a a go!
Note: This is a very old line dance and over the years some very minor variations have developed so you may find other step sheets describe the footwork slightly differently.
Also danced: Some Kind Of Wonderful, Mamma Maria (Daddy Cool), Electric Slide (Saturday Night At The Movies), Glass Of Wine, Stroll Along Cha Cha (One Night At A Time), and Stand By Me.
19/02/24 Decided to have another week without a new dance so we had a bit more time to get through some of the more recent teaches plus a few others that we didn’t get round to dancing last week. From what I could see the extra practice was useful as dances we found quite testing on the first week are definitely looking much better now. With healthy numbers and people looking like they are enjoying themselves, I think the class is doing really well. Don’t worry about making mistakes, we all do sometimes, just have fun!
Danced this week: Stand By Me, Glass Of Wine, Lucky Lips, Cowboy Charleston, Grundy Gallop, Rocket To The Sun, Magic Moon, Ah Si and Go Cat Go.
12/02/24 No new dance this week so had enough time to go over last week’s one GLASS OF WINE in a bit more detail. Concentrating on the second half of the dance, we got used to the speed of the dance and it went much better this time around when it came to dancing the whole thing.
Also danced: Stroll Along Cha Cha, Magic Moon (to Coast to Coast/East To West music), Go Cat Go (to Guitars Cadillacs & Hillybilly Music), Electric Slide (to Uptown Girl by Westlife), Some Kind Of Wonderful, Grundy Gallop (to Tell Me Ma), and Mamma Maria (to Saturday Night by Whigfield).
05/02/24 New dance is a brand new absolute beginner dance called GLASS OF WINE (choreographed by Malene Jakobsen). The first half of the dance was easy enough for my beginners but the second half, they found a lot harder due to the speed of the dance and the back rock, step 1/4 turn, jazz box cross sequence. Went better on the second attempt so should be easier next week hopefully. For anyone who wants to walk through the dance at home, here’s a video – first half in English, second half in (double) Dutch!
Also danced: Ah Si, Grundy Gallop, Some Kind Of Wonderful, Rocket To The Sun, and Stand By Me.
29/01/24 We had our second week of GRUNDY GALLOP and as well as dancing it to the original country track, we also tried it to Tell Me Ma by Sham Rock which some really liked.
Also danced: Lucky Lips, Magic Moon, Cowboy Charleston, Mamma Maria, Stroll Along Cha Cha, Go Cat Go and Stand by Me.
22/01/24 The new dance this week was a golden oldie classic GRUNDY GALLOP (Jenny Rockett). Quite tough at first when we danced it to the original country track but we had another go near the end of the session and danced it to Houdini by Pink – it seemed to go better then as it started to fall into place. We will go over this again next week. In the meantime, here’s a link to a video of it being danced and if you go forward to about the 2 minute 30 second mark, you can get a reminder of the dance steps being taught. It might help for next week!
Also danced: Rocket To The Sun (that we danced to Voulez-Vous this week), Go Cat Go, Stand By Me, Stroll Along Cha, Ah Si and Electric Slide (to Jerusalema).
15/01/24 This week we did some further work on last week’s new dance Magic Moon which is proving a little tricky for one or two. In fact as well as dancing it to the original Patty Loveless song, we also had a go at it to Coast To Coast by Modern Talking. I think some in the class prefer it to this one.
Also danced: Lucky Lips, Mamma Maria (to Daddy Cool), Stand By Me, Stroll Along Cha Cha (to Pizzirico), Electric Slide (to I’m From The Country), Ah Si and Some Kind Of Wonderful.
08/01/24 New dance was MAGIC MOON (Robbie McGowan Hickie).
Also danced: Ah Si!, Go Cat Go, Stroll Along Cha, Stand By Me, Lucky Lips, Electric Slide, Some Kind Of Wonderful and Rocket To The Sun.