Dances to Olly Murs music always do down well at my class so looking forward to the release  of Karl-Harry Winson’s new 64 count intermediate dance called Feel The Same to this track.

Neville Fitzgerald and Julie Harris have a new nightclub two-step to the Gavin James track “Always”. You can see Julie dancing it here or listen to the track here. They’ve also got a waltz on the way called Out of Love and a West Coast to this track from Guy Sebastian called Before I Go that looks pretty smooth. this is another 64 count intermediate level dance.

Maggie Gallagher and Gary O’Reilly have teamed up again to write a dance to the new song from Westlife called Better Man. Video below.

Very sad to hear that Liz Clarke (often know as Mad Lizzie) passed away  on Friday 26 April 2019.

Liz was there from the beginning of the line dance boom and certainly made sure the business of teaching line dancing remained an enjoyable activity with the emphasis very much on having fun. I remember her well from many weekends at Skegness and Hemsby dressing up in various costumes, banging through the dances she was teaching at a fair old pace but always cracking a joke and ending her teach with a cheeky giggle or smile. Her relaxed jovial style also came over when she appeared on an episode of the BBC show Pointless.

She actively encouraged new choreographers in the line dance world. Although she choreographed dances herself, like Scotia Samba and Kelly’s Cannibals, she always kept a look out at for newcomers or unknowns and keenly supported their efforts by teaching their dances on her travels. When I choreographed a few dances many years ago, she taught several of mine and actively encouraged others to check them out, as well asking me to send her any new ones I wrote.

At my own class we enjoyed several of her own dances. Watch Me Shine to a lovely track by Paul Simon was very popular as was The Long And The Short Of It that she so-choregraphed with fellow Scot Pete Harkness to a Keith Urban song.

My thoughts go to her family and in particular her husband Roger, (they’d just celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary the day before,) and her daughter Bev.  Liz will be sadly missed.