One of the joys of line dancing is - it's not just an exercise class. If you find you like country music - there's so much more fun to be had! Did you know, there are local country music clubs, which host live music and dancing, once a month, in local halls? Our local club is called Sundown in Nashville and it's on a Saturday night in Whitminster village hall - just off M5 Junction 13. It's run by Carol and Colin Spiers. I took the picture above last time I was there, j

As you progress from “absolute beginner “ week-one dances, you’ll notice I will start to include different rhythms in your dancing. So I thought you’d appreciate an overview of the four main line dance rhythms - so you will recognise them when you encounter them!   “One-step”. This is where we start, there’s one step to one beat. A grapevine is a good example: “vine, 2, 3, touch”. Nice and steady. “Two-step” is similar, but the timing is “slow, slow, quick-quick slow.” Ribbon

I'm always happy to hear requests from my dancers - and that's lucky, because I get a lot of them! This week, for instance, I've had nine different requests across all my classes, either in person or through some other means (and I always ask for them in a written form, because they will have fallen out of my brain within moments.) Requests are valuable to me because they tell me what you like - the level, style, music that you are enjoying and want more of. And I do try t

Safety is important, right? And I am sure you know I do risk assessments, know where the first aid kit is, and so on - you will have heard me do the "if there's ever a fire, the fire exits are HERE and HERE and the gathering place is in the car park..." Keeping us safe on the dance floor is also why I wrote our Line Dance Etiquette page (if you haven't read that one yet, hop over there as soon as you've read this post, please. It's really important!) But there's one rule I

Probably the most common question I'm asked: What shoes should I wear? To start line dancing, you don't need special shoes, but I do have some Do's and Don'ts to advise you. Do wear something low and sensible, that supports your foot . Do make sure you can move comfortably in your shoes. Try standing with your weight on the balls of your feet and swivel your heels - your feet should move easily. If they feel "stuck" to the floor, try to find a different pair of shoes. If yo

Years ago, teachers would bring paper copies of dance scripts to class, sometimes photocopied from Line Dancer (paper) magazine. If you wanted to hear the music, you had to buy the CD (“Line Dance Fever” was a popular series!) It’s so different now, the wonders of the internet make life so much easier! And yet… there are so many sites out there… where to start? Dancers, here are my top tips for you: Join our mailing list . I normally email you once a week and there's usuall

So, you've taken the plunge and come to your first line dance class. You are loving the relaxed feel and you've mastered your first grapevine (Yesssss! Well done!) But you sometimes find you've "got onto the wrong foot" and you can't seem to ... "get it". Hmmm! What's going on? I see this so often with beginner dancers - and this is my advice: Think about where your weight is! You'll hear me say things like, "Weight's on left" as I'm teaching you the steps, and you'll al

Hello dancers! My name is Sarah and I've been teaching Line Dancing since 2007 - and I love it just as much now as I did then. I thought I would write a weekly blog for you, with some thoughts about line dance classes - answering some questions I'm sometimes asked, or just giving you some information about what goes on behind the scenes. First up: Five thoughts to help new beginners. Congratulations! You've done the hard part already - you've found the class, booked in, fou