CHRISMASTIME IS HERE!

In less than 3 weeks, Christmas will be upon us and a week after that, 2007 will ride off into the sunset as we usher in 2008. A whole new year. A full 366 days (yup, 2008 is a leap year) for us to plan our lives and make each day as fulfilling, giving and meaningful as we possibly can.

Meanwhile, I hope to spend some quality time with my children during their school holidays before they head back to another year of burying their noses into their books; especially my eldest who will be sitting for the UPSR next year. As such, I will be taking 3 Mondays off from work: the 17th, 24th and 31st of December. Hopefully, these longer weekends will see my family holidaying somewhere or just spending time together, bonding.

2007 has been a wonderful year for me. I was blessed with a beautiful baby boy at the beginning of this year and he has grown to be a joy to the entire family. Time flies so swiftly when you're having fun and soon he'll be turning ONE!

I take this time to thank my students for making my classes so enjoyable to teach, my friends for being there for me and my family for their support, without whom I wouldn't be able to do what I do and be who I want to be. May you enjoy good Christmas cheer, and at the same time also spread some to the less privileged.

May 2008 bring you good health, happiness and answers to your prayers.

Eat and Be Merry but don't overeat ya! (^<>^)/.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

SAILOR STEP aka SAILOR SHUFFLE

The Sailor Step or Sailor Shuffle is one of the basic components often used in the choreography of many line dances. Line dancers know it and execute it well. Yet I've also had difficulty getting beginners to 'step' it properly. Most times, they end up doing a back rock and a step to the side.

The Sailor Step involves three foot movements. It is usually done as a Triple Step, i.e., 3 steps in 2 beats. The count would usually be 1&2 or 2&3 and so on. Sometimes, it can also be done slow, each step taking one beat each.

The most important part in executing the Sailor Step, I believe, is in the second step, on the & count. For example, if we begin the Sailor Step with the Left foot (which will step behind the Right), the next step should be to move the Right foot to the Right side in order to make a Ball Change from that position. Most times, the dancer does not take the Right foot to the Right side but replaces it in the same position after the Left has crossed behind, making it look like a Back Cross Rock.

Explaining it in words would further confuse the matter. Since 'A picture paints a thousand words', I have put in two short clips which I hope, would clear up what I'm trying to put forward here.

The first clip shows a Ball-change which is required in executing the Sailor Step.

And the second, the Sailor Step itself.

The legs you see and the voice you hear in these clips belong to Jo Thompson; a very popular, highly-respected and well-loved line dance instructor.

I hope you find the clips helpful.

Let's do the Sailor Shuffle!

Cool Find On The Net

While browsing through the net lately, I came across a very interesting site.

Most line dance instructors who have either taught, are currently teaching or are going to teach the dance NOT LIKE THAT by Robbie McGowan Hickie, may find this link informative. At least, it was to me, anyway. It's a site featuring short instructional videos on various belly dance moves and techniques.

Of course, if you're already an expert in belly dancing than perhaps you will find this site elementary. However, to people like me, uninitiated in the finer skills of the art, it's almost a gift. Having no time to pursue this form of dance or whatever other forms of dance that appeal to me (not while my children still require my attention), coming across such sites with instructional videos is a windfall.

Good things ought to be shared, and so I share the link here with you and hope those who view it enjoy it as much as I did.

Link: Sahira : Egyptian Belly Dancing Moves

If it has helped you in anyway or if you found it informative, I hope you will share your comments with me.

Hey! I think I can do the Belly Dance Hip-Drop already! (^<>^)b

Sunday, Monday, Happy Days.....

Line Dance parties abound these days unlike five years ago when I first started line dancing. Then, parties were few and far between. But within this short span of time, it has really gained momentum. Almost every weekend you'd hear of some line dance party being organised. Sometimes, you'd get more than one in a particularly good weekend.

Last Sunday (Nov 11) was no exception. Together with members from True Fitness & Celebrity Fitness, we line danced the afternoon and evening away at Teresa's HAPPY DAYS party organised at The Royal Selangor Club, KL.

The party's theme was 50s, 60s and 70s....and everyone came dressed in some form of fashion from that era. We had puffy sock-hop skirts, capri pants, and ribbon-tied hair representing the 50s; mini-skirts reflecting the 60s; and bell-bottom pants, head-scarves, and psychedelic prints for the 70s.

The dance floor was never, ever short of dancers. In fact, it was always packed to the hilt. More so when a popular line dance was played. If you've ever wondered whether line dancing is good for your health, you'll wonder no more when you see the ladies dancing non-stop to every song (the party was for 6 hours!) and to top that, REMEMBERING every choreography to every dance! Yup, it's confirmed. Line dancing is not just good for your health, it's a great way to keep our brain cells active and Alzheimer's away.

We also had a great time catching up with friends, feasting on good food and loads of laughter with zany antics. The photos say it all ;-)

Keep On Dancing!

Deepavali Fun!

I had so much fun today teaching the Deepavali Holiday class at True Fitness, Jaya 33. On public holidays like today, they put aside regular classes and slot in a holiday schedule instead.

During the class, I taught 2 Indian-influenced line dances: MADE IN INDIA & DHOOM (WITH A BHANGRA GROOVE). The former is choreographed by Elke Weinberger and the latter by Kumari Tugnait (UK-Sept 07). Oh....and a 'bindi' was given to everyone to create the atmosphere.

To ensure maximum fun for everyone attending the class, I modified the steps for MADE IN INDIA to simpler ones and made it one wall as well. Indian-dance-inspired hand styling was added for an enhanced effect.

But it was in the second dance that I truly enjoyed myself. I hope it was the same for the members who participated. With hand styling for almost every move in the dance, and the steps matching the music perfectly, I almost felt I was in the dance segment of a Hindi movie ;-)

Keep On Dancing!

Festival of Lights

To all my Hindu friends and line dancers: HAPPY DEEPAVALI!

And to everyone else: Happy Holiday!

True Fitness Charity Drive

My husband, my two older boys and I took some time out today for charity. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own lives that we forget those less fortunate than us. Thanks to the recent charity drive by True Fitness, my family and I got the opportunity to contribute. And my boys also got a valuable education in appreciation....appreciating the basic things that they take for granted, like toys, education, and most importantly the love and support of a parent when in need.

Over the past 2 months, members of all 3 True Fitness centres in the Klang Valley contributed in kind to children's homes selected by the fitness centre. True Fitness at Jaya33 chose The Agathian Shelter at Section 8, PJ, as the beneficiary of their members' outpouring of generosity.

The Agathians Shelter is a home for boys (currently 30 of them) who are orphaned, from a broken home, abandoned or children of single mothers unable to care for them. The youngest I saw there is just 3 years old.

As with all homes, they survive on the charity of the public. The home is run by a council called Pertubuhan Kebajikan Agathians, Malaysia and the home is located at No. 17, Jalan Tengas 8/8, Section 8. If you wish to contribute, you can contact Mr Sivabalan at 012-296 8014 or 03-7954 1680. They can also be reached by email: agathians_siva@yahoo.com. Or browse their website: http://www.agathians.org/ for more information.

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love. " ~Mother Teresa

Nutritional Nuggets

I believe that as a dancer it is important to keep our body fit and healthy so that we can continue to enjoy what we love doing - Dance! But whether or not we're dancers, we should never take our health for granted. Our body is the only one we've got and hey, whether you like it or not, you're responsible for it. Not your mother, not your father, not your spouse and definitely not your doctor. It's You.

"Every human being is the author of his own health or disease"
-- The Buddha

In view of this, I will, from time to time, post articles pertaining to health and wellbeing as I come across them. These will be filed under the title NUTRITIONAL NUGGETS. I hope you'll find them informative and perhaps, even beneficial. :-)

Yuki Emerges Champion Yet Again!

Those who were at my party recently will remember Yukiko Ohashi (or Yuki), the Line Dance competitive dancer from Japan. She has won many line dance titles since she started dancing competitively in 1999.

She has once again proved herself a champion by winning the recent Japan Challenge Line Dance Competition in the Advanced Open category.

Congratulations Yuki! Well Danced!

New Dances - 25/10/07

The 2 new dances taught last Thursday were:

1. GET ON THE BUS (by Guyton Mundy)
2. BACK IN TOWN (by Judy McDonald)

The stepsheet to these dances can be found from the yipee and stepsheetinmotion Dance Links on the right column.

A little bit about the dances: Dance No. 1 was choreographed in September this year and Guyton's choreography has always been cool and fun to dance. Dance No. 2 is currently being used as a competition dance by the UCWDC for the NEWCOMER category.

Welcome!

Hi there!

This blog was started with the purpose to provide line dancing information to my line dancing friends, students and members.

I'm still new to blogging so it may take a while before this site becomes really useful. If you have any constructive suggestions, please do let me know.

Meanwhile, I'll be posting the names and videos(if available) of the dances I teach at the Thursday evening class (True Fitness, Jaya 33). This is not the only line dance class I conduct but it's the only one where I do not have a set syllabus. The reason for this is so that I can pick the new dances as they come 'hot off the oven'!

Until my next post, HAPPY DANCIN'!