Friday dancers
Shirley Miller
Our usual festive Christmas party with food, drinks and dancing was downsized to just dance, dance, dance. On Dec. 23, the level three dancers, dressed in their holiday attire, line danced to a playlist created by Terri Gage. The Christmas classics included “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Swinging with the King,” “White Christmas,” “A Marshmallow World,” “Blue Christmas,” and the list goes on.
Following the program, the Dance Committee met to plan future entertainment and fun because we need it! Dancing is not like an exercise class where you do the same workout day after day, week after week. Sure, you learn that routine quickly and it is fun … for a while. But we need more to stimulate our body and our brain.
Our SaddleBrooke Line Dance Committee (SBLDC) provides much more. Every day is different—different dances and different music and different leaders. We have a unique group of ladies who explore the internet, travel locally to Tucson and Phoenix, occasionally to Las Vegas and elsewhere to find new, exciting, and fun dances to bring to the club. These ladies have formed a Line Dance Committee that meets regularly to test experimental dances and evaluate their possible reception by club members. A vote is taken to determine whether the dance will be introduced to the lineup. The Committee is currently working on three new dances.
Now it is time to practice, practice, practice. The leader, who introduces the dance, must determine the best way to “call the dance,” the best cues. That’s how the cue sheets are designed (thank you, Charli Jackson). This practice also enables a number of dancers to serve as row captains when the dance is brought forward. It certainly helps to have someone to observe near you who knows the dance when the leader is not in front of you. New wall, new dance!
So, who are these amazing ladies? They are always there to lead you forward, including Dorothy Wood and Krisse Arthur (committee heads), Terri Gage, Claudia Rigg, Charli Jackson, Diana Carbone, Donna DePesa, and Shirley Miller. You might want to thank them for their dedicated contributions.
Special note: As you can imagine, we are very happy to be on the dance floor under our current safe and healthy conditions. We are all wearing face masks and keeping our social distance. This has translated into fewer and smaller group dance sessions. We look forward to the day we can again welcome new members—when we have more space and more time in which we can provide an appropriate level of instruction. In the interim, if you are interested in the SBLDC, check out our website at www.sbldc.weebly.com or contact Diana Carbone at [email protected].