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Latest dances taught…..

SHAMROCK SOUP TIME 2 BOOGIE BAILA BAILA CONMIGO IT HURTS YOU BRING ME DOWN SATURDAY FEELIN! RIGHT OR WRONG LA CABANA CABO SAN LUCAS HUMAN-DANCER WOMANISER GUANTANAMERA THE WAY YOU LOOK TANGO CHA GRAVITY GIMME IT! GET TRASHED. FROM THIS MOMENT. TURN ME LOOSE. DOCTORS ORDERS. AMAME.

For brief reviews on the dances taught….

16-12-08 Final class of the year so just did a quick teach of SHAMROCK SOUP (Maggie G). The first half of the dance is the trickier bit, very easy 2nd half.  Not a big success but some liked it.

09-12-08 TIME 2 BOOGIE (Daniel Whittaker) 80 counts and 4 walls but not that hard – honest! A good old fashioned upbeat country one which reminds me of The World from a few years back.  Went down fairly well as its lively and hopefully most might be able to remember it over the Christmas break!

02-12-08 IT HURTS (Kathy Chang & Sue Hsu)  First learnt this at a Hemsby weekend back in September but its now being taught around this area. Its an easy improver level 48 count dance which went down welland its filling the floor.

02-12-08  BAILA BAILA CONMIGO (Dee Musk) 32 count tag free Latin style dance to a beaty but fairly long track by Missiego. Mixed response first week, but most up for it on week 3.

02-12-08 YOU BRING ME DOWN (Maggie G) An after class teach really intended as a reminder for those who had learned it from Maggie herself at a workshop in Hull last weekend. But several of the class stayed behind and picked up this fast 96 count waltz to a Leona Lewis track fairly easily. perhaps I should have covered this as a main dance?

25-11-08 SATURDAY FEELIN! (Daniel Whittaker)Solid upper intermediate mainstream pop track from The Saturdays.  A bit of a tester for some the first week and I think this may take a couple of weeks before they all get comfortable with it and really appreciate it. Needed a 30 minute teach first time.

18-11-08 CABO SAN LUCAS (Rep Ghazali) Good country track from Toby Keith and went with the easier dance as an early teach warm up. This is the one being taught in the East Midlands.

18-11-08 LA CABANA (Francien Sittrop) Another dance that is being taught a lot in this area. Love the samba style rhythm, some in the class not sure about the music yet though.

18-11-08 RIGHT OR WRONG (Robbie McGowan Hickie) For those who wanted to stay behind for am extra one (and that was most of the class!) I covered this easy intermediate 32 counter to a two-steppin country track by the McClymonts.

11-11-08 HUMAN-DANCER (Alan Birchall) If you’ve heard the track “Human” by The Killers being played on the radio, you’ll already be famaliar with the music for this dance.  2 walls and 64 counts easyish intermediate but just very quick. I love the song and when it was taught at Stoke recently, it went down very well. It takes 2 walls for the heavy beat to kick in but the dance flies from the start.

04-11-08 WOMANISER (Maggie G) A fairly straightforward 64 counter, a little bit along the lines of Headphones (although faster) but in my opinion neither the dance or the music, by Britney Spears, are as strong.

04-11-08 GUANTANAMERA (Kim Ray) 48  count, 4 wall with one restart and one tag. This one had a few too many turns for a couple in the class but others seemed to really enjoy it. Famous song and a decent reworking of the old classic by Jody Bernal.

NB Also taught EL MUNDO BAILANDO (Peter & Alison) this week at Stella’s class.

28-10-08 THE WAY YOU LOOK (Craig Bennett) A member of the class had recommended this dance to me. I took a look, liked it and decided to teach it. Not as easy a teach as I first thought,as the timing takes a bit of getting used to but if you like the slower nightclub 2 step style of dance, well worth a look. Music from Elton John.

21-10-08 TANGO CHA (Jo Thompson Symanski & Deborah Szelely) Yes a cha cha with a tango feel. Only 32 counts but the last section of the dance needed a lot of practice. I like the change in tempo between the slow and fast sections of the dance.

21-10-08 GRAVITY (Bryan McWherter) Fairly easy waltz to a laid black bluesy kinda track.

14-10-08 NO CLASS

07-10-08 GIMME IT (Elle Jay) Classic Abba track covered by cast members from the Mamma Mia soundtrack for this 64 count, 2 wall dance with one small (4 count) and one large (22 count) tag.

07-10-08 GET TRASHED (Robbie M Hickie) Fast/ very fast country track. The steps are fairly straightforward its just getting comfotable with the quick pace of the dance. 64 counts for the first two walls and then 68 counts.

30-09-08 FROM THIS MOMENT (Peter & Alison) A basic (3 wall – yes 3!!) 32 count dance, with bonus steps on the side walls and one restart.  Its really much easier than it looks on the sheet and didn’t require a long teach. Cracking track which is the new Lonestar single. We like it!

23-09-08 TURN ME LOOSE (Simon Ward) Thought long and hard about which dance to teach to this track. Both this and Loosen Up have been taught elsewhere in the area. However, I personally think this is the more interesting dance and may stay around longer. Some who had learned the other dance decided not to learn this one, but those that did seemed to give it a big thumbs up.

16-09-08 AMAME (Robbie McGowan Hickie) Nice latin track from Belle Perez with a sweepy feel to the dance. Went down well but the 2nd half of  the dance needed more practice than the first.

16-09-08 DOCTOR’S ORDERS (Maggie G) Fairly easy 64 count, 4 waller.  Not one I personally like but it seemed most of the class did! Easy teach too!

09-09-08 MY LOVE PARADISE (Francien Sittrop) Another dance to Mark Medlock. Mainstream pop. 64 counts with 2 tags and a restart. A bit unsure whether they liked it at first start but after 3 weeks, its become a class favourite.

09-09-08 TUMBLING RUSH (Peter & Alison) Upbeat country track from Trisha Yearwood. Not everyone liked it but nothing too hard and with a lot of shuffles in the 2nd half of the dance. On the third week, we tried it to the Bjorn Again track and found they preferred it to this.

02-09-08 SALSAMIA (Kate Sala) Quite a long teach to a David Civera track. A lot in the dance, and the last couple of sections especially required a fair amount of concentration. Great tag! Not everyone liked the music but after several weeks, most are dancing it although it needs a fairly lengthy recap.

26-08-08 OH LA LA LA (Pat Stott, Andrew Simon & Sheila) I like this one and I like the holds in the dance as much as the steps! This has been very popular but it took a few weeks.

26-08-08 JUST CAN’T STOP (Neville & Julie) Found this quite hard when I learnt it myself, and decided to cover it in the late spot at the end of the class. Most stayed to learn it and surprisingly, it seemed a fairly straightforward teach. Some different steps to what we’ve been doing of late and they all seemed to like it.

19-08-08 STOP RIGHT NOW (Peter & Alison) , Perhaps not quite challenging enough for some intermediates but a singalong track with fun arm movements so ideal for the improvers its intended for.

19-08-08 JUST DANCE (Peter & Alison) It says int/advanced on the sheet but its really not that hard in most places.  It didn’t take that long to teach and everyone up to dance it again although the music perhaps leans a little towards the funky side for a few in the class.

EXTRA WORKSHOP CLASS

15-08-08 LIKE A DREAM (Peter & Alison) This is one I’ve had down to teach for a while but never quite got round to. To be honest I expected more teachers in the area to cover it but it does seem to have been a bit overlooked around here.
 
15-08-08 1-2-3 SUMMERTIME (Roy Verdonk & Wil Bos) Upbeat latin one that has already been taught by at least one other instructor in the area.  Not sure I could stand the music week after week so this extra class was ideal to cover it. Those who want to dance it socially will now be able to do so.

15-08-08 HIGHER & HIGHER (Max Perry) Many had already done this one elsewhere but its a quick teach and a few particularly wanted to learn it. For me personally there’s not enough in the dance it to keep it interesting and I think I’ll soon be bored with it. However, its probably ideal for improvers and as a break from the harder stuff.
 
15-08-08 AT THE BEGINNING (Geri Morrison) Often seen at socials around the East Midlands and Stella kindly taught this little 32 counter to a lovely track from Richard Marx.

12-08-08 IF THIS IS LOVE (Neville & Julie) Mainstream catchy pop track from the Saturdays with a great beat to dance too. Two restarts but a bit easier than some of Neville’s more funky stuff. The entire class danced this 3 times.

05-08-08 LA VIDA (David Spencer) My own dance so I’ll just say its a solid intermediate 8&1 cha cha to a Julio Iglesias track.

29-07-08 EMPTY ROOM (Roy Thomspon) Slightly tricky timing at first but this nightclub 2 step was very well received. 32 count 2 wall.

29-07-08 MY SWEET SUMMER LOVE (Rep Ghazali) Easy intermediate 64 count, 2 wall dance to a great mainstream summery samba track from Mark Medlock. Nothing too hard.

22-07-08 2025 (Alan Birchall) An int/advanced dance, 64 counts and 2 walls. Took a while to teach and quite funky/jazz music. Not everyone liked it but most did.

22-07-08 DUCK SOUP (Frank Trace) Dead easy, beginner level dance, 32 counts, 4 walls but great fun and a great country track from Shelby Lynne.

17-07-08 Taught while taking Robbie MacGowan Hickie’s class in Nottingham – HEAD PHONES and THAT’S THE DAY.

15-07-08 HEAD PHONES (Maggie Gallagher) Same song as previous dance of this name but to a new upbeat remix.All seemed to like it and I know its being taught by several other instructors in the area this week. 64 count, 4 wall with one restart.

08-07-08 MYSTERY CHA (Paul McAdam) A not too hard 8&1 cha cha, just 32 counts and 2 walls so you can concentrate on the timing. Went well.

08-07-08 THAT’S THE DAY (Dee Musk) Some in the class love nightclub steps, others really do NOT like them. However, this seems to have pleased all as its a bit faster than some other NC2s and has a good combination of turns.

04-07-08 CHA CHA WITH ME (Niels Poulsen),  TAINTED HEARTS (Kym Barry & Elaine Aldridge), CHEEKY CHA (Kate & Robbie), NO BASTARA (Pete Harkness & Terry Cullingham). All taught at a one off workshop/catch up class.

01-07-08 DISCO DEFENDERS (Peter & Alison) Not a quick teach but it got a good reception and think this might do well. 64 counts, 2 walls, 1 restart, 2 tags and an ending. Music by Alcazar.

01-07-08 ONE STEP AT A TIME (David Spencer) My own dance which I’d been asked/press-ganged! to teach by a couple of people within the class. 32 count, 4 wall, 2 restarts and an ending to a Jordin Sparks track.

10-06-08 GOMENASAI (Mark & Jan Caley) Learnt this in Sweden at the weekend and ideal to teach before our annual holiday break. 64 counts, 2 wall and easy intermediate to a track of the same name by BWO.

03-06-08 DEVIL’S BEAT (Kate Sala) Good track but I’m not quite so sure the dance lives up to it – feels a little slow in places. 56 counts and you do 3 and a bit walls before its all over as the music is less than 2.5 mins long.

03-06-08 DID IT HAVE TO BE ME(Andrew Simon & Sheila) Another easy intermediate dance 64 counts, 2 walls to an old cheesey Abba track. Nothing too hard.