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Before we run into another year we have decided to close the Sequence Dance Mag. It has been our pleasure to build up this information base for you all.  

We  will leave the blog intact for a little while and then close down altogether. Please feel free to copy anything you might be useful.

A huge thank you to you all for your support, your letters and your contributions, the mag could not have achieved its popularity without you.

A Very Happy Christmas and we hope you all enjoy good health and happiness.

Keep Dancing

From the Sequence Dance Mag team.

This is an e-magazine produced by Community Dance, click in and see the opportunities available @  http://www.communitydance.org.uk/metadot/index.pl?=31975&isa=Category&op=show  

I was speaking to a friend today about my G and his  recovery. In May G had to have a Stent fitted into an Artery and  diagnosed as having Severe Heart Failure, or as the heart was severely damaged it was having major problems getting blood around the body. There were major fears of him taking a heart attact or a stroke.

That was all six months ago. Recently he had to go back to the hospital for a check up. On examination his specialist  decided he needed to do an echo test because  the heart murmur was no longer apparent, and it was the mumer that caused all the alarm in the first place. We all prayed that things were well ( was he  actually still alive)

Told that exercise was the best thing for him, George has never stopped dancing.

For the first time in his life he is taking  enough tablets to make him rattle but, the tablets and the dancing have resulted in the hole that was causing the heart murmur actually closing and mending itself. Severe heart failure hs been downgraded to between low and moderate and his BP is perfect.

We both agree he was very lucky to be diagnosed before any disabilitating effects of stroke or aheart attack struck.  The early diagnosis and prompt treatment saved him for which we are extremely thankful. He is not out of the woods yet but the doctors all agree that the dancing has been a major part of his recovery. So Keep Dancing.

We are now considering opening a class for Wheelchair Sequence Dancing and I will let you know more about it later. 

For those who have supported us through recent months, a huge thank you.

If YES, then join Community Moves now!

The aims of Community Moves is to:

• Enhance communication and networking amongst out of school dance providers

• Provide training opportunities for out of school dance providers

• Facilitate a flow of information between out of school dance providers, the Youth Dance Strategy Team North East and Youth Dance England

• Distribute activity funds to add value to the work of out of school providers

Who is Community Moves For?

Community Moves is open to all out of school dance providers across based and working in the North East of England.

How can I get involved?

Attached to this email you will find a guidance sheet which contains information on how to join Community Moves and what training opportunities you will be offered as part of Community Moves. If you are interested go to www.youthdancenortheast.co.uk/youthdanceproviders  to find out more or contact me on 0191 2695591 or by email emma.yde@dancecity.co.uk

Best Wishes,

Emma

Emma McGurrell

Youth Dance Strategy Team

Dance City , National Dance Agency

dd: 01912695591  emma.yde@dancecity.co.uk

Because of the number of people interested in our pages about picking out the basic steps in our  Sequence Dance scripts so learning the dances is made easier, we thought we would begin to talk about some of the older sequence dances, and their scripts, which  we enjoyed when we were relatively new to Sequence Dancing. Here are some of our favourite dances from that time.

There was the Quality Quickstep arranged by Ted and Sue Burrows. We loved this dance and it filled our floors for months after it won at the NATD in Sept 92.  Perhaps your dance leaders may give it a try for you.

The Zig Zag, Back Lock and Running Finish into Natural, is one of the  amalgamations  highlighted in this dance and has become a firm favourite with our level 2 dancers.

Then there was Hannah’s Waltz arranged by Edwin and Margaret Halliday, winner at Slough in December 1995. Two superb competitors who always brought good dances to the floor. This was a favourite dance with  dancers for many, many years. Indeed it was only a couple of years ago that friends of ours were struggling to remember the combination of figures that made up the routine to dance it.

This dance has 1-2-3 of a Natural Turn followed by a turning lock which is something that I have not  noticed in many of the newer dances, perhaps because the arrangers feel we are all getting too old to try that one now.

Then there was the Tango Debonaire arranged by Ken and Barbara Street for ISTD in 1990, a Modern Tango you could  get your teeth into. We are putting this on our list to teach. It contains many of the basic movements of  Modern Tango and some not so basic. You could draw a great freestyle tango routine from this script.

Finally, for this time, there is the Tempro Foxtrot. Again this dance was arranged my Edwin and Margaret Halliday winning at NCDTA in 1992. I remember the day very well and the dance was a worthy winner, and still  danced today. 

I have never been a great lover of zig zags in Foxtrot but, placed as it was after a feather finish and prior to a reverse turn, the zig zag fitted well here. This dance inspired some work we were doing with beginners in quickstep today.

For our Modern Freestyle Quickstep teach in we chose the chasse, the zig zag and the lock step:

We took the basic framework we teach for Quickstep until we reached 123 of a Natural Turn. The man stepping back on the Left foot to dance a chasse to the right. From here he could dance the chasse reverse  out or

Dance the Chasse to the Right, stepping forward into four steps of a Zig Zag,  we counted the four  steps of the Zig Zag as slow and then added a chasse reverse out.

Or if you have a lot of space to play with, dance 123 natural turn, stepping back into a chasse to the right, then four slows of a Zig Zag, finishing with two forward lock steps to Diag. centre and a chasse reverse out.

The chasse reverse being the end figure in our basic Quickstep framework.

You may choose the double lock to diag centre straight after the chasse to the right , the choice is yours. All we are doing is playing with basic Quickstep figures so  each couple can decide what to include in their routine and what they don’t like and want to exclude. You can make it as easy or as hard as you like.

We had a great class,  and we hope you give them all a go. All of the scripts are available from the script sellers listed in our blog roll.