National Line Dance Week September 8-13

Yes, there is a week for a passion of mine, Line Dancing. So in honor of next week, I thought it best to do a sort of a repost of an earlier article on Line Dancing and also do a shameless plug for my current activities...

I am currently the resident Instructor at a great family place, Murph’s Country Music Barn in Cedar Hill, TN. This is a great location and right about midway between Nashville and Clarksville.  The Barn has a Saturday Night Dance with live band and Dance class from 6:30 to 7:30 pm then review of the class during the first band break.

Starting September 22, 2014; Austin Peay State University (APSU) will include a beginner class in their Adult Education program open to the community and students. I am fortunate to be a part of this start up program and the plan is to move it through the initial six week program so we can expand to having a beginner and Intermediate program. So spread the word to all you know in the Clarksville, TN area especially those who have said they always wanted to learn how to dance…

I have also started a Line Dance Fitness class for the APSU Recreation Department at their Foy Fitness Center. This class is a low impact, cardio workout class. We have just kicked it off for this semester and we are seeing great interest as we will build upon our dances and making it a full hour of dance. This class is open to students, faculty and those with memberships at the FOY.

You mention Line Dancing and the first thing people say is they don't like Country Western Music or they just don't get into line dancing.  Well, once they see that we dance to everything from Country to Gospel, they tend to think a little differently.

A Line Dance is a choreographed dance with a repeated sequence of steps in which a group of people dance in one or more lines or rows without regard for the gender of the individuals, all facing the same direction, and executing the steps at the same time. Line dancers are not in physical contact with each other. The earliest folk dances in many cultures were line dances, originating before social proprieties allowed men and women to dance together in couple dances. In early forms men and women often danced in separate lines, but the same dances are often done today in mixed lines.

Although line dancing is associated with country-western music and dance, it has similarities to folk dancing. Many folk dances are danced in unison in a single, nonlinear "line", and often with a connection between dancers. The absence of a physical connection between dancers is, however, a distinguishing feature of country western line dance.

Line dances have accompanied many popular music styles since the early 1970s including pop, swing, rock and roll, disco, Latin, gospel, waltz, polka and Jazz just to name a few styles.

Thanks to choreographers, like Bill Bader, Max Perry, Jo Thompson, Scott Blevins and others, that began to use ballroom rhythms and technique to take line dancing to the next level. Today, you can find line dancing groups all over the world and line dance competition and workshops as well.  

This is partly due the great Choreographers/Instructors such as Jamie Marshall, John Robinson, Guyton Mundy, Rachael McEnaney, Rob Fowler, Rona Kaye, Stella Cabeca, Jo Kisner and Ira Weisburd just to name a few of the great people that promote and spread the joy of dancing to the local and world-wide masses.

There are now groups forming that promote line dancing as a way to help decrease cholesterol, high blood pressure as well as weight control. Dancing in any form has far reaching benefits such as strengthening bones and muscles, tone your entire body, improve posture and balance, boost memory, improve flexibility, increase energy, reduce stress and tension and increase mental capacity. Plus dance classes are a great social event to meet new friends.

So you see Line Dancing is not the good ole country steppin you thought it was, there are moves to keep your heart rate up and it’s a great way to meet new friends. Get out there and get those feet and hips moving to the groove.

Keep Dancin’ Larry B

Labor Day 2014

Depending on whether you count from the first Labor Day or from when it became a Federal Holiday. This Labor Day is the 132th or 120^th. It was originally intended that the day would be filled with a street parade to allow the public to appreciate the work of the trade and labor organizations. After the parade, a festival would be held to amuse local workers and their families.

In later years, prominent men and women held speeches. This is less common now, but is sometimes seen in election years. One of the reasons for choosing to celebrate this on the first Monday in September was to add a holiday in the long gap between Independence Day and Thanksgiving.

It is largely a day of rest in modern times. Many people mark Labor Day as the end of the summer season and a last chance to make trips or hold outdoor events. This Labor Day marks the Second Anniversary of moving into what we call our Forever Home. Just three short years ago, we moved from Florida into the little house on the Bluff (condo) then built and moved into this house 11 months later. 

The past three years has been full of ups and downs with making new friends and losing a few as well. We have been blessed with a whole new Tennessee/Kentucky Family. They have been a great addition to our lives and we love them all. 

Larry B., My Line Dance Instructor Persona, is finally a resident instructor at Murph’s Country Music Barn in Cedar Hill, TN.  As of August 27, 2014, I started instructing a Line Dance Fitness Class at Austin Peay State University (APSU). Now starting in September 2014 will be instructing an Absolute Beginner Line Dance Class also at APSU.

Paul continues enjoying the life of a retiree. He has become a great house/personal manager for us.

Also living in the same city with my only blood sister has been an added bonus and blessing. We have gotten closer than ever and support each other in all endeavors. Plus Pop has a one stop place to see both kids and has actually been spending more time in Clarksville when he does visit.

We could not be happier in our home and continue to make additional improvements in back yard to add more living space. We have also added a Garden and fruit trees to complete the back yard.  

Keep Dancin’ Larry B

Line Dance Today

A friend and neighbor got me interested in Line Dancing about 15 years ago and it has become my favorite past time and exercise routine.  So much so that I took over being the volunteer dance instructor at our community Club House in our old neighborhood in Florida.  I thought moving to Middle Tennessee and being so close to Nashville, that it would be an easy process of getting a line dance class established.  That has proven to be more difficult than I anticipated.

I am currently the resident Instructor at a great family place, Murph’s Country Music Barn in Cedar Hill, TN. This is a great location and right about midway between Nashville and Clarksville.  The Barn has a Saturday Night Dance with live band and Dance class from 6:30 to 7:30 pm then review of the class during the first band break.

I am happy to announce that starting in September; Austin Peay University will include a beginner class in their Adult Education program open to the community and students. I am fortunate to be a part of this start up program as the Instructor and the plan is to move it through the initial six week program so we can expand to having a beginner and Intermediate program.

You mention Line Dancing and the first thing people say is they don't like Country Western Music or they just don't get into line dancing.  Well, once they see that we dance to everything from Country to Gospel, they tend to think a little differently.

A Line Dance is a choreographed dance with a repeated sequence of steps in which a group of people dance in one or more lines or rows without regard for the gender of the individuals, all facing the same direction, and executing the steps at the same time. Line dancers are not in physical contact with each other.  The earliest folk dances in many cultures were line dances, originating before social proprieties allowed men and women to dance together in couple dances. In early forms men and women often danced in separate lines, but the same dances are often done today in mixed lines.

The Balkan countries, among others, have a rich tradition of line dance surviving to the present. These folk line dances are also performed in the International Folk Dance movement. Folk line dances have many forms: pairs of lines in which the dancers face each other, or a line formed into a circle, or the line follows a leader around the dance floor. The dancers may hold hands with their neighbors, or use an arm-on-shoulder hold, or hold their neighbor's belts.

Although line dancing is associated with country-western music and dance, it has similarities to folk dancing. Many folk dances are danced in unison in a single, nonlinear "line", and often with a connection between dancers. The absence of a physical connection between dancers is, however, a distinguishing feature of country western line dance.

Line dances have accompanied many popular music styles since the early 1970s including pop, swing, rock and roll, disco, Latin, gospel, waltz, polka and Jazz just to name a few styles.

Thanks to choreographers, like Bill Bader, Max Perry, Jo Thompson, Scott Blevins and others, that began to use ballroom rhythms and technique to take line dancing to the next level. Today, you can find line dancing groups all over the world and line dance competition and workshops as well.  This is partly due the great Choreographers/Instructors such as Jamie Marshall, John Robinson, Guyton Mundy, Rachael McEnaney, Rob Fowler, Rona Kaye, Stella Cabeca, Jo Kisner and Ira Weisburd just to name a few of the great people that promote and spread the joy of dancing to the local and world-wide masses.

There are now groups forming that promote line dancing as a way to help decrease cholesterol, high blood pressure as well as weight control.  So you see Line Dancing is not the good ole country steppin you thought it was, there are moves to keep your heart rate up and it’s a great way to meet new friends. Get out there and get those feet and hips moving to the groove.

Keep Dancin’ Larry B

 

When You Least Expect it!

As many know I have struggled to establish a Line Dance Class since moving to Tennessee. I was able to do a gig at the Clarksville Athletic Club for a fund raiser for Breast Cancer that ran for four months in 2012.

Then I was blessed to meet Luke Henry, who put in a good word for me with City of Clarksville Parks & Recreation Department. I was contracted for a 6 month gig for them at the Crowe Community Center.

I had decided after Luke passed to get back to dancing. I found the Clarksville Dance Club and started taking classes for myself in September 2013. I put starting my own class on the back burner. I just was not in the right frame of mind to market myself or the leg work to locate an establishment to host classes. I just wanted to dance and take classes for myself.

On October 3, 2013, which was the second month anniversary of Luke's passing, Patricia, my Thursday night Dance Instructor, asked me for my Line Dance Business card. She said she wanted to pass it on to the owners of Murph's Country Music Barn. I had just heard about Murph's through the dance club as a great place to dance.

On October 4, Patricia called and told me that she had passed my information to Murph and his wife. She stated I should expect a call about starting a Line Dance Class. The next day, we gathered and paid honor to our friend Luke at Morton's Outlook in the Smokey Mountains and I updated my friend on things while sitting on his favorite outcropping.

The following Monday, I got a call from Murph and when I returned the call I spoke to his lovely wife, B. We had a great chat and they wanted to meet me to discuss how we could benefit each other. They were looking to bring more people in on their Saturday night dance and would like to offer their facility for a beginner class if we got a good response on Saturday nights.

I met Murph and B on Saturday, October 12 and they are the nicest people you would ever meet. The facility is huge but is warm and welcoming as you enter. This venture is their retirement activity. They hold weddings, special dinners, weekly auctions, and weekly dances. Murph's is a great family place to sit back listen to some good music and dance your night away on Saturday night.

We have agreed that I will start teaching a class at the Saturday night Dance on November 2, 2013. I have gathered information on the songs done at Murph's and working on putting a Dance Lesson together.  Working with Murph and B to bring more clientele to Murph's Country Music Barn is going to be an exciting new adventure and a new avenue for establishing a class.

I could not have asked for a more accommodating couple to work with as Murph and B. I know my new guardian angel is watching over me and ensuring I get back to teaching.

Keep dancin' Larry B.