Coaster Line Dance Steps
October 26, 2009
Week 7 Newsletter
Last week we introduced 2 new moves which everybody seemed to pick up with relative ease and the reason for that is that some of the moves are happening without too much thought, they are becoming natural just as we promised they would, well done.
Some of you may not think you are doing so well because you still feel a little self conscious so it can be difficult for you to gauge your own progress. You can’t see how you as an individual and all of you as group look on the dance floor which is why you’ll be interested to hear that comments from the next class have been made…
We have said many times how good you are all doing, and we really do mean that, but you might just think we are simply hoping to boost your self confidence! We’ve had a lot of comments from the next class, many of whom have been dancing for a longer than they would care to remember and they have said how impressed they were with all of you both as group and individuals, one person even doubted you were beginners… so take it from us you are doing well.
Tonight we are introducing 2 new steps, first new step is a 1&2 step called a “Coaster”, it’s a commonly used step in dances both new and old and quite easy to master once it’s been explained. A Coaster step can start on either foot and can be either forwards or backwards. The second new step is a Scissor step which can go left or right, the instructions for the new steps follow…
COASTER STEP – BACK, TOGETHER, FORWARD
(Count 1 & 2)
To dance a right backward coaster step you start with the weight on your left foot now (1) step backward onto your right foot (&) bring your left foot backward to step next to right (2) step your right foot forward.
SCISSOR CROSS with a HOLD – SIDE, TOGETHER, CROSS, HOLD
(Count 1, 2, 3, 4)
To dance a Scissor Cross step right foot to side, left joins it, right crosses in front of left, Hold
Dolly has “created” a dance to incorporate both a Coaster and a Scissor, tonight we will learn the first 24 steps of this dance, (it hasn’t been named as yet) and next week we will finish it off, take care and have a good week, we look forward to seeing you all for week 8.
Dolly & Tony
New steps for line dance beginners
October 19, 2009
Welcome to week 6, we can hardly believe we are more than half way through our 10 week course, where does the time go? Last week we were please to see a couple of you making mistakes, not because you didn’t know what to do but because you are getting to the stage where you can dance and think about others things at the same time!!! We said it would eventually happen bet you didn’t believe it would, Yeeha!!
Last week we also introduced the 16 step “Lindi Shuffle” to help you master shuffles. We think this went down well so this week we plan on introducing another new dance with new moves. The dances we are teaching at the moment are not complicated they are simply to help you master the basic steps, build your ability to remember step sequences and build confidence. You must be pleased with your progress to date, we are very impressed with you all, well done and keep up the good work.
We also included our simplified dance sheets on the back of last week’s newsletter, hopefully some of you will have found the time to get in some practise between classes?
This week we are adding 2 new moves, the “Rhumba Box” and a “Rocking Chair” all on single count timing in a 2 wall dance we have included on the reverse side.
Here are the new steps:-
RHUMBA BOX – RIGHT TOGETHER, BACK, TAP, LEFT TOGETHER, FORWARD TAP
Count (1,2,3,4)(5,6,7,8)
To dance a Right reverse Rhumba box as in the new dance this week, step to the Right, Left joins it, step back Right, Tap Left, Step Left, Right joins it, Step Forward Left, Tap Right
ROCKING CHAIR – ROCK FORWARD, RECOVER, ROCK BACK, RECOVER
(count 1,2,3,4)
Starting with the weight on your left foot (this foot will now stay in place for the rest of the movement) (1) rock forwards onto your right foot lifting your left foot slightly up off the ground, but keeping it in the same position (2) replace the weight onto your left foot (3) swing your right foot backwards and rock onto it (transferring the weight onto it) (4) rock forwards onto your left foot.
Well that’s all for this week, we hope you enjoy the class this week and look forward to seeing on week 7…
Dolly & Tony
Line Dance Scripts
October 13, 2009
Congratulations, it’s week 5 and by the end of tonight’s class you’ll be halfway through our 10 week introduction course to Line Dancing, if I put it into perspective you’ve only been Line Dancing for four hours to date, just half a day at work!
Last week we introduced 2 new dances and changed the music for the other dances we’ve taught so far, we like to change the music and mix things up to keep it interesting, it makes you think more than you would if it were the same track every week and also stops you getting bored.
You’ll notice change on the back of this week’s newsletter, “The Dance Steps Explained” have been replaced by a simplified version of the dance scripts. A couple of you asked for the scripts but due to past experience we were reluctant to provide them. In our experience new dancers are put off when confronted with a Line Dance script and for some reason soon stop coming to the classes once they have a script in their hands, it’s almost like they lose the will to carry on, strange but true…
What we have come up with is a simplified script format, we hope you find it easier to understand and follow but if you can’t remember exactly how a Grapevine goes, for example, you can refer to the “The Dance Steps Explained” on the back of the first 4 newsletters.
The steps we want to master this week is the shuffle, both forwards and sideways versions and we’ll do this by introducing a new dance. The shuffle is a 3 step move over two counts of the music, 1 & 2, the & is a quickly inserted between the first and last steps which makes the move seem much quicker than it really is. The key to getting on top of this move is to take smaller steps, smaller steps give you more time to complete the move.
Once we have mastered shuffles we will be ready to start learning new moves and dances on a more regular basis…
Dolly & Tony
Line Dance Floor Confidence
October 5, 2009
Can you remember the first Line Dance we taught? It was to Michael Jackson’s “The way you make me feel” Remember how fast it all seemed, barely time to complete one set of steps before the next, sweaty palms, stiff limbs and awkward moves with no time to look round the room yet alone sing along…
Well that was just 3 weeks ago and I would guess most of you are now finding that it is getting much easier and whilst you might not remember the whole dance initially you have no trouble doing it after a one wall walkthrough, there are a couple of reasons for this…
1. You know the steps, you understand grapevines, walking forwards and hip bomps. When we say Grapevine to the right you don’t have to think too much about it because you know what to do, it’s becoming natural. Once you reach that stage you’ll find you are more relaxed and have more time for the move, you can listen to the music, sing along and even look around and smile at your neighbours.
2. Your confidence has increased from when you first started, you are starting to feel more comfortable on the dance floor, like you have a right to be there because now you can Line Dance.
Both your confidence and ability will increase week by week and whilst you’ll have bad weeks your skill level and memory will improve all the time. You will find yourself staying longer at the classes and tackling the harder dances which though they may seem unattainable now I can assure you with time will become easy for you to learn.
It has always been our practice to have walkthroughs, after all most people will only Line Dance once or twice a week, it’s so easy to forget how a dance starts or finishes if you haven’t done it for a week or two. We dance 4 and sometimes 5 days a week and we still go wrong and need the dance sheets as reminders so don’t think it makes you a bad dancer if you need a walkthrough, just ask.
This week we will again consolidate the moves we have learnt so far which we’ll do by introducing a new dance, perhaps two and we’ll be changing the music to mix it up a little. As the weeks go by we will introduce a few more basic moves, new dances and use different music to keep it interesting and before you know it you’ll be taking it all in your stride.
Dolly & Tony