Line Dancing with Kids/Teens

Here in Silver Line Studio, besides adults, we really encourage kids-teens to participate more in line dancing.

Dancing has been around since the beginning of time. Before writing was invented people use to tell stories through dance, seek rain through dance, celebrate marriage through dance. Since that time the amount of dances and the reasons for dancing that has evolved is remarkable and difficult for anyone to keep up with, from the Salsa to the Waltz, from the Smurf to the Electric slide, the Mambo and even the Cha-Cha. There are so many it’s enough to make the common person feel overwhelmed and completely out of style.

But the benefits of dancing can be exceptional for your overall health and wellness. By letting your children to dance it can be beneficial in physical health, mental connectivity, and just having the ability to dance when a celebration occurs.

introducing our youngest member, 6 years old Puteri who started to join us today ;)

When your children are younger than elementary age introducing them to dance can be as simple as allowing them to dance free verse. When anyone begins to dance, allowing the rhythm of music to sweep through his or her body is the first step to learning how to dance. Instead of "teaching" the child how to dance and making them fuse about learning, we adapt the game 'follow the leader' instead. When children are playing a game or not thinking they are actually learning something, they will pick up on the instruction so much easier. There’s something about playing a game that gets kids motivated, as opposed to actually learning something.

More importantly, a Line Dance isn't just the Electric Slide, Achy Breaky, or Macarena anymore! Through my experience with Puteri just now, it's ok for us to start with Cupid Shuffle in order to introduce Line Dance to her. From then on, we shall think of adding-up more into these days kids' interest like Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and such... Well that's what Puteri told me when I asked her :)

A Saturday morning with Sue~

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I was so lucky to get the chance to meet Sue and joined her class on Saturday, 12 June 2010. Eventually I already in KL from Thursday night, whereby I went there right after I came back from Sentral Line Dance Jam (crazy, huh(?!!) hehee...) in Taiping Sentral. The main reasons were to attend some events besides sending my kids to my lil' sis' place for them to spend their school holidays.

We were chatting on Facebook the night before. Then Sue invited me to drop-by her class on that Saturday morning. I didn't make any promise yet as I was afraid that I couldn't made it. I thought of surprise her in the first place. But on the other hand, what if I got lost *glurp* So I text her early in the morning. She called back instead when I was in the shower hah! She gave me some directions to go there... Voila!

I reached there in no time at all, with the help of Sue's directions and also some info on Google Map, no GPS, nothing! ;)

The best thingy is that it was the day Sue taught her latest choreography 'Looky Looky' and 'At This Moment'. How lucky I was to get a first hand on the dances from the choreographer herself. So I made sure to learn all the steps from her properly... as concentrations and commitments are important! :)

Looky Looky is a very simple fun dance for Beginner. Its so easy that you will manage to get it in a split second... hiks! Yes, its true! I taught this dance to some of our students last week and they lurve it! Now go and put on the music 对面的女孩看过来 (Dui Mian De Nu Hai Kan Guo Lai) by 阿牛 (Ah Niu) ~

While 'At This Moment' is a slow waltz number to the music At This Moment by Michael Bublé! This is kinda feeling song. I said this cuz I would enjoy dancing it gracefully to the wonderful song, and imagine all the good things in life! Best of all, probably you could imagine that you are a Ballerina! Get more tips on How to Rise and Fall in Waltz? from Sue.

My trip didn't end there. In fact we spend more time together at a restaurant nearby after the class. We had a really good conversations on life, line dancing and many more... Thank you so much Sue for that wonderful morning! Now I know of where/what to expect on a Saturday morning if ever I will be in Klang Valley again; of course with conditions that I do not have anything to do. See ya!

Note:
Luckily I remember Sue's advise to bring my dancing shoes wherever I go! So to all the Line Dancers out there, you too: DO NOT leave your dancing shoes at home, even though you are not going out for any line dance related events. As who knows, that you might bumped in to this same kind of incident too *big grin*

Sentral Line Dance Jam

Today, last week, a group of us Silver Liners joined the Sentral Line Dance Jam at Taiping Setral; organized by Taiping Sentral and Kenny Teh. It was truly an experienced indeed for most of them as its their first at an out-station line dance event. Well maybe one or two of them who have followed Intan and I to some out-station jams before. We hope that you meet our students some day on the dance floor. But, please do not use these events as a money-making, profit in your pocket, business.

Basically we really encouraged our students to go for line dance events once in a while, most importantly to see and get as much skills as possible from other line dancers. From there, at the same time we could learn and get more tips and whats not from them. Besides that of course that's the chance for us to broaden our network in line dancing.

For an example, all this while we have been admiring Nancy (pic above) of Senipadu's dance videos on Youtube. And when Intan told me at the dance floor (yes, we were dancing and talking... I know, thats bad!) that she saw Nancy, I was like, "HAHHH!!! are you sure?". OMG! We were so excited enough that we quickly ran towards her as soon as we completed the dance that we were dancing on to earlier. We had a little bit of chat and of course... camwhore!!!

She also gave me some advised on the way I danced. Tqsm. We admit that both of us are still in the learning stage, even though we have a line dance class. That's why we said that we like to go to line dance events. We shall pick-up good dance moves i.e. body movements, hand styling etc.

We also met Ya'E from Teluk Intan. There were also line dancers from Parit Buntar and of course Taiping itself.

And what's best than capturing all those moments in videos too thanks to our students who brought along their digicams! I don't think my Oly can accommodate all this as its battery has been given me so much problems now hmm... unless if anyone wanna sponsor one, I would be the most happiest gal on earth... woot!

So, enjoy the videos peeps~

And here's my favourite parts of the videos:

• minute 05:37 ~ Kenny walked and saw my hand styling during the song Rio.
• 06:15 ~ He teased me.
• 06:25 ~ Then when he walked through again, this time he danced along me and did his style LOL!
• 12:00 ~ We did Sorry Sorry, while everyone watched.
• 14:41 ~ Earlier Nancy told us that she didn't remember the dance Funky Fire Dance, and that, she would follow us. Unfortunately along the way, I had an accident (mistake) myself hehee... As you could see, that's not a problem at all when you made a mistake in line dancing~ all you have to do is to just continue dancing once you get back the steps... easy-peasy!

Our Sentral Line Dance Jam' online picture album

We will hope to see all of our dancing buddies again at other events in the near future! We also hope that all is well with all of you on and off of the dance floor! Have a very happy, healthy and safe school holiday season...

Congratulations Sue!

Jennifer Choo Sue Chin (or Sue) found a new avenue for dancing when she was introduced to line dancing in 2004. Her initial curiosity soon blossomed into an all-consuming addiction when she discovered that line dancing fulfilled her childhood passion for dancing, provided her a means to keep fit as well as an opportunity to socialise with like-minded enthusiasts and travel to different places.

In 2006, Sue choreographed Fairy Tale. To her delight, Fairy Tale was picked up by a good number of dancers. This motivated Sue to choreograph more dances. To date, Sue has choreographed 16 dances which were danced worldwide; the better known ones include Hare Ram, Cha Cha Conchita, Love Love Me Do and Innuendo. In 2007, Sue took her new passion in life one step further when she started classes of her own. Later she started teaching her line dance choreographies at dance events. Sue is also a favourite guest artiste at various events where she was invited to showcase her talent as a performer. In 2009, Sue’s contribution to the line dance community was recognised worldwide when she was featured in the February edition of the Line Dancer Magazine.

Sue presently resides in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she works as a Senior Academic Manager in an e-learning company. She earned her Masters in Educational Technology in 2004.

hotlinerz.wordpress.com

Excerpts from http://wowlinedance.com

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practicing session with two of our students

Although we have known Sue for quite some time through her great choreography of Love Love Me Do, we started to interact via Facebook only recently. We are of course so proud of her being chosen as one of the Guest Instructors at the WOW Line Dance Spectacular 2010. The event is going to be held in Shanghai, China on September 3 to 5.

Go, Go Sue... Go!

Line Dancing Classes

Line Dancing Class Description & Info

Join and learn some fun Line Dances or just come for the great exercise. Our Line Dance classes are not just "Country Line Dances". We just call it "Line Dancing" for a reason. We play Great Music of all the Genres like Ballroom, Country, Top 40, Hip Hop, Blues, Funky, Latin, Irish, Swing and probably more. You never need a partner but you can bring all your friends and have a lot of fun and good exercise without knowing it.

A study at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y., found dancing to be the only regular physical activity associated with a significant drop in the incidence of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. Other studies have shown Line Dancing in particular to be a great help in areas of memory, balance, cardiovascular and vertigo. And at the same time you get to have lots of fun!

Everyone learns at a different pace so we recommend you start with the Introductory and Beginner levels for a while. You can stay and watch the Intermediate/Advanced dancers. After you have taken the Beginner level classes and feel ready you can join the experienced class for more of a challenge.

Ways we classify the Line Dances:

• 1 Wall, 2 Wall or 4 Wall dances
  
• 32 Count, 48 Count, 64 Count etc.
  
• Level (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced)
  
• Phrased Dances (Tags, Restarts, Bridges, A,B,C)
  
• Rhythm (Waltz, Mambo, etc.)

Line Dancing Etiquette

Most of the following tips apply to any kind of dancing, but it's worth mentioning them:

• Never come onto the dance floor carrying drinks, glasses, or cans.
• Never stay on the floor to talk – if the music has started, go off the dance floor to chat.
• When dancing near beginners – be mindful and courteous and don't show off!
• Don't start a different dance, unless there is plenty of room and you sense it is acceptable.
• Remember the floor is for everyone. Try to leave the outside lane clear for couple dancers.
• Those dancing around the outside lane have the right of way. Don't block their progress.
• If the floor is crowded, take small steps, enjoy the company, but watch for collisions.
• If you should bump into someone, it is customary to apologise whether it is your fault or not.
• If possible start another line rather than join one which will block the outside lanes.
• Don't be tempted to stop dancing to teach, especially if there is no room.
• Never walk through a line of dancers to cross the floor – always walk round the floor or wait.
• Remember everyone was once a beginner; if you can already dance do try to be helpful to newcomers.
• When starting off the dance, go to the front so that others can fall in behind you.
• And finally, keep your head up, keep smiling and enjoy yourselves.

*Please Note: Line dancing can be vigorous. Take it easy at first if you are overweight or unfit.

Introduction~

Shaira (third from left) and Intan (far right) with some of their students.

Line dancing is a formation dance that has origins reaching back into traditional folk dancing. Since the latter part of the 20th century, line dancing has been more closely identified with country and western music, although there are examples of the group dance found with pop music as well. Many country music clubs today regularly hold line dances for their customers, with all patrons invited to participate.

The basics of line dancing are very simple. Participants stand in either a single line or a succession of parallel lines if the number of people and the amount of floor space require this arrangement. While the dancers will move without touching one another, they will execute the same moves at the same time. This gives line dancing a strong sense of cohesiveness, even though there is no physical interaction between the participants.

With line dancing, the movement that takes place is normally queued off what is known as the count. Generally, one count is equal to one musical beat. Movements take place at each beat. While the basics of line dancing address movements of the feet and legs, more complicated dance routines will also include hand movements and even facial expressions as part of the overall effect.

Often a staple with folk music and dancing around the world, the concept of line dancing began to take hold in other genres during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Country music was the first to embrace line dancing, and remains the foundation for many of the more popular line dances today. However, pop music also has made use of line dancing from time to time. While many musicologists identify line dancing with the disco era of the late 1970’s and the early 1980’s, others note that line dances such as the Hustle were popular as early as 1974.

A Christmas Line Dance party that we attended in Ipoh on 11 December 2009

Today, many different musical genres are compatible with the art of line dancing. Along with folk, country, and pop music, line dancing can also be employed with Swing, Big Band, and Celtic music. The symmetry and graceful movements that are often a part of basic line dancing make it possible for just about anyone to enjoy this form of dancing.

Go here and here to know more about line dancing.