Boots & Shoes for line-dancing

Sh*t-kickers??? It all started about 10 years ago when I started line dancing...

I wasn't into the line-dancin'-country culture. I didn't wear tight wrangler jeans or cowboy boots. I actually used to wear my hippie-chick Birkenstocks. I would take them off to dance in my socks & mid '90s baggy grunge pants. FYI, that's a good way to wear your socks out fast!!! I tried to dance in my Uggs once... I don't recommend that either. I was doing a dance with a spin and my feet slipped right out from under me and I landed on my butt - right on the dance floor. Ah, right, back to the footwear.

I had been line-dancing a year when I finally broke down and bought a pair of cowboy boots. The first time's a learning experience and I learned that fashion boots are cute but they aren't meant for boot-scootin! My snazzy black boots got me used to how cowboy boots look on my feet - but that's about it. I wore the rubber soles down quickly as well as the little plastic pieces on the heels that were supposed to pass for rubber. Yeah, so the heels slid all over the floor while the soles stuck to the floor (it's supposed to be the other way around:: slide-able soles and heels to stop with :) .

Just break down and get a good pair of leather soled boots from the get-go. You can tell if they have leather soles by the stitching on the bottom... Felt ones are good too - but then you have to carry them in a fancy-shmancy boot bag. Boots are pretty comfortable & they are perfect for dancing on a hard-wood floor. They also make great stomping sounds if you dance with a rowdy bunch like we used to!

If you don't have the luxury of a good hardwood dance floor to absorb some of the shock from stomping and sliding and hopping and shuffling... you're outta luck - bound to achy knees. Ha, just kidding. There is one place I go dancing where the floor is tiled. It's not bad but honestly, I'm getting old (or that's what my body is telling me anyway.) After the first couple of weeks of dancing 3 & 4 nights a week, I noticed my knees & back would ache. I dug out my good old dance sneakers I had bought to teach a children's dance class while in college. They really made it easier to spin & dance while absorbing the pressure that would have otherwise gone right to my knees, lower back & hips. I haven't surrendered my good old dancing boots - and don't plan to anytime soon - but my sneaks come in handy from time to time.

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Gonna get my country on tonight in Scullville, and all weekend

Life is good! Line dancing is something that seriously keeps my week moving quickly! There are so many great places to go and it is so much fun that there’s always something to anticipate! The best part is that it allows me the random brownie sundae or scoop of cookie dough… despite the fun, it still counts as exercise. Ohh how I love dessert! How I digress… back to dancing.

Tonight… it’s off to the Scullville Fire Hall for some boot scootin’! Everyone there is so incredibly friendly and welcoming! They take dance requests too!

It is looking like a good weekend ahead... I’m planning

on getting my weekend dance fix at Prospectors on Friday evening. It’s a mini-haul to get up there but the bar food is good and it's a great night out. There was a good crowd last Friday and surprisingly, still plenty of room to boogie.

I'm looking forward to this weekend more than most weekends… (which is mildly strange since I mentioned in my last post that there won't be any dancing in Cape May). I was invited to go see George Strait at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia!!! Holy exhilaration! I've been to so many concerts but I’ve never seen the legendary George! This one should be incredible. He sings loads of absolutely incredible songs. Country shows are the best!

"Let us read and let us dance - two amusements that will never do any harm to the world." -Voltaire-

Another great night of dancing in Cape May

There were quite a few new people from children to twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings and forty-somethings and fifty-somethings and sixty-somethings, okay, you get the picture... it was a great crowd and still plenty of room to dance. Debbie taught the Dutchess Hustle out front for the new dancers and she reviewed Moonlight Salsa from last week out on the floor. There are quite a few new and easy dances that she's been teaching that are pretty fun... Cowgirl Twist, Jukin', Buck Wild Stomp for line dancers & Buckwild Stomp for Couples.
We always do plenty of classics like Trashy Women (Horsin' Around), 38 Step, Watermelon Crawl, and Tush Push. Last night we also did one of my all time favorites, Swamp Thang. I especially like to do that dance in Cape May because there is so much room on the dance floor (lotsa space to add extra spins). And Dizzy... can't forget that one too!
It's going to be a long 3 weeks before the next dance at the Cape May Convention Hall on March 7th... but it won't be too bad because I'll still head out to the Scullville Fire House on Wednesday night & maybe up to Prospector's on Friday night. I think the Dixie Chicks said it best, "Some days you've gotta dance!"

Some country salsa moves

So we learned a new dance in Cape May on Saturday night. It was super easy and pretty fun... plus I liked the song they played with it, "I Don't Know What She Said" by Blaine Larsen... Anyway the dance is called Moonlight Salsa. If you missed the lesson, I'm sure Debbie will teach it again tomorrow night in Scullville. If not... I stumbled on the steps at http://www.pepperdance.com/rhcstepsheets.html .

Moonlight Salsa

Choreographed by: Anneke Stephenson
Description: 32 count 4 wall Beginner line dance
Music: I Said I Love You by Raul Malo

MAMBO FORWARD, MAMBO BACK
1-2  Rock forward on the right, recover on the left
3-4  Right foot back into place and hold
5-6  Rock backwards on the left foot, recover on the right
7-8  Left foot back into place and hold

MAMBO ½ TURN, MAMBO ½ TURN
1-2  Step forward on the right, half pivot turn left
3-4  Step forward on the right, hold
5-6  Step forward on the left, half pivot turn right
7-8  Step forward on the left hold

MAMBO BACK, CHA-CHA-CHA, HOLD
1-2  Step back on the right, recover on the left
3-4  Right foot in place, hold
5-6  Step left in place, right in place
7-8  Left in place, hold

WEAVE WITH ¼ TURN, STEP ½ PIVOT TURN, TOUCH, HOLD
1-2  Cross right over left, step to left with left
3-4  Cross right behind left, turn ¼ left stepping forward on left
5-6  Step forward on right, ½ pivot turn left
7-8  Touch right into place, hold

Start Again

Happy Trails...