Boots 'n' Buckles Dance Club

News Archives Mar 2007 - May 2007

From Boots 'n' Buckles Dance Club


Club News: Mar 2007 - May 2007
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Bonanza Bash 2007 - by Evelyn Wong

Jmighell 14:07, 30 May 2007 (PDT)

SOLD OUT! The 11th Anniversary Bonanza Bash Workshop was held at Anaheim during the Memorial Holiday weekend, and this workshop was sold out weeks before schedule. Doug and Jackie Miranda limited the attendance because of the size of the two ballrooms. They didn’t want the dancers to be too crowded. So each room had fewer dancers and more room to dance. Jackie had to return a lot of applications.

There were so many good dances, from beginners up to advanced. Altogether, 35 dances were taught over the weekend. Lessons began on Friday and the same dances were repeated on Saturday and Sunday. So, if you missed a lesson, you could pick it up on another day (click here for a complete workshop schedule). A dance I saw on the schedule was Cara Mia. I thought I had learned this dance in '06. But, this dance with the same title is a different dance with different music. It was choreographed by Peter Metelnick and Allison Biggs. This dance is very nice and one that I like. Another dance is Desire choreographed by Barry and Dari Anne Amato (step sheet, audio clip). This dance has a very nice smooth West Coast Swing rhythm; the song is by Redd Hot Mamas (formerly Dyers Daughters) from their album My Lucky Stars and Stripes. Peter and Allison choreographed a dance To Love Somebody to the music with the same title sung by Jordin Sparks from American Idol (music video). Guyton Mundy's Angel (step sheet, demo by Guyton, dance video with Guyton, music video) is a beautiful dance; however, it has a lot of arm movements and an arabesque. Hm-m, I’m not too sure of the arabesque. I think this dance is good for someone young and limber, like Elaine and Yuli.

The instructors were fabulous! They were Peter and Allison from the U.K, Guyton Mundy from Florida, Mark Cosenza from Chicago, Joey Warren (just 21), Barry & Dari Anne Amato, our very own Bob and Trish Boesel, and our hosts, Doug and Jackie. Because of the smaller venue, the workshop was very intimate and friendly. We were able to get up close and talk with the instructors.

The evening show was the best I have seen. There was a dance group called Dance Sensation, and they were very good and entertaining. Barry and Dari Anne sang a medley of songs. Both have beautiful voices. There was dancing by the Mod Quad. The Mod Quad are Doug and Jackie, and Barry and Dari Anne. The best part was the Finale. It was a tribute to our Country, to our Veterans, and to our Fallen Heroes. Flag bearers came out on stage waving our American Flag while the dancers and singers danced and sang patriotic songs. That was a beautiful finale and a wonderful way to celebrate Memorial Day.

Dancers who went to Bonanza Bash were Lisa McGuire, Gail Bravo, Connie Silva, Barbara Watts, Beverly Johnson, Victor Ham, Carol Eclavea, Peggy Moffit, Pat and Russ, June and John from Walnut Creek, and Sam and myself.

Needless to say, Sam and I had a wonderful time. We danced from morning til midnight. We met old friends and made some new ones. It was quite an eventful weekend.

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Mexico Line Dance Cruise - by John Bowen & Gina Mello

Jmighell 16:26, 21 May 2007 (PDT)

Over 90 folks sailed and danced with us from San Francisco to Mexico and back aboard the Golden Princess! Our 6th Annual Line Dance Cruise included the ports of Acapulco, Zihuantanejo, Puerto Vallerta and Cabo San Lucas. (For a larger version of the group picture, click here.)

Getting to know our fellow line dancers @ sea was a theme as we renewed old acquaintances and made many new friends. Our early dinner seating gave us the time to share stories about our excursions each day. Then off to early eve dancing, so we'd have time to take in the ship's evening activities.

Before retiring each evening, we'd worked up an appetite, so it was off to our informal evening buffet. It was interesting and fun to see how this habit morphed from 6-10 folks to up to 30-40 by the end of the cruise.

Thanks to Sharon and Harry Emmett who for 3 years have helped to make this event special. We are delighted to welcome Millie Dusha and Ann Beadle who will be filling the void left by Sharon and Harry's retirement.

Our 2008 cruise will be on Celebrity's Millennium in May from San Francisco to Alaska and ending in Vancouver (flyer).

On the cruise, John and Gina taught:

  • Keep Smiling (Terry Hogan). You Only Come Up When I'm Down by Skip Ewing.

And Sharon and Harry Emmett taught:

  • Romance (Pim Humphrey). Just Another Woman In Love by Anne Murray.
  • Mexico Bound (Bob Bonett). Good To Go To Mexico by Toby Keith.
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Mom and Pop Grocery Store

Jmighell 22:48, 20 May 2007 (PDT)

(Update Monday, May 21, 11:25am: The link below to the step sheet for Mom and Pop Grocery Store has just been fixed.)

Last Friday night at Swiss Park, our club members thoroughly enjoyed doing a new dance choreographed by Sam Wong (pictured at right with Evelyn) called Mom and Pop Grocery Store. The 32-count, beginning intermediate dance has been taught by Evelyn Khinoo, Diana Ward and other instructors on the East Bay.

The music for the dance (right-click here to download the MP3 file) is wonderfully reminiscent of songs by the Beach Boys during the 1960's. The artist is Gary Ng, Evelyn Wong's nephew, who lives in San Diego and goes by the acronym GNG ("easier than trying to learn a last name with no vowels"). Gary wrote the lyrics and melody, and performed the singing, instrumentals and recording - clearly a very talented guy who offers free samples of his work on SoundClick. Check out Gary's home page to learn more, and don't miss his music page to listen to more of his delightful California beach music.

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Local Talent

Jmighell 18:45, 10 May 2007 (PDT)

Belinda Cheng has posted two new videos on YouTube and the Quicksteppers site: Jan Hanway's Gonna Get You (step sheet) and Denny Harris' Doesn't Take Much (step sheet). Belinda is doing great work, showcasing dances from local choreographers; it appears we have local film-making talent as well.

Still other line dance videos are available at Wolfgang's Line Dance Archive, a relatively new site for sharing step sheets, pics and videos. Vivienne Scott, the Mirandas, Kelli Haugen and many others have uploaded videos there. You must register to search the site, but it is free and easy to register.

Don't forget the Second Saturday Dance this weekend, with Evelyn Khinoo and Denny Harris, 7:30pm - 10:30 at the Barrett Community Center, 1835 Belburn Dr. in Belmont.

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Paraguayan Independence Day?

Jmighell 11:19, 7 May 2007 (PDT)

Fran Varaday, fresh from the line dance cruise to Mexico organized by Sharon & Harry Emmet, John Bowen and Gina Mello, was the guest instructor last Friday night. She taught Thanks a Lot, choreographed by Noel Castle from the song by Martina McBride (music video). A very nice dance, that was done also by the Quicksteppers on the following evening, and a great teach. Thanks a lot, Fran, and thanks also to Diana Ward and Tina, our DJ's for the evening.

The Boots 'n' Buckles dance cards are awarded to 50/50 drawing winners, and entitle the holders to choose a dance the following week. Starting next week, the dance cards will have no expiration date, so cardholders can choose a dance on any Friday night. One possible use of these cards is to showcase a new dance that others might see and like, and so next Friday one of the dance cards will be used to pick Last Minute (find links to the step sheet and videos here). Michael Benes also won a dance card last Friday, and he's wondering how much he might get for it on eBay.

BnB club member Belinda Cheng is the webmaster for the Country Quicksteppers, who have one of the best websites around. Belinda recently posted a video she had made of Quicksteppers doing Neil Hale's Hot Tamales. The video clip features a lot of familiar faces and interesting dance styling. BnB club member Anni Wunderlich, one of the dancers who figures rather prominently in the clip, has expressed her ambition to become a pole dancer in a Cabo cantina. Last Friday, while doing Hot Tamales at Swiss Park, our dancers (pictured below) showed their multilingual talents by calling out the counts, starting with Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, ending in English.

Check out some of the other Quickstepper clips Belinda has uploaded to YouTube here. And speaking of Neil Hale, it will be a delight to welcome him as our substitute DJ for the next two dances.

Mike and Joyce Shannon will be holding a Fourth Saturday Dance in May. At one point there had been some uncertainty about their ability to get the hall, but now it is confirmed. To celebrate America's Independence Day, wear read, white and blue and bring munchies to share.

Tonight our Monday Night Crew will be taking on Yvonne Anderson's City Limits, done to Tina Turner's Nutbush City Limits (music video), and Walkin' Wazi - in addition to their review of other favorites listed on this page. But of course there will be no dance review the following Monday, May 14, in observance of Paraguayan Independence Day. On this date in 1811, Paraguay gained independence from Spain. It is undoubtedly just a coincidence that Rob and HongYing will be traveling on that date, visiting friends and relations on the East Coast.

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Last Minute and More

Jmighell 10:57, 4 May 2007 (PDT)

Some new (and newly revived) dances:

Last night Elaine particularly wanted to be at Evelyn's class on time, in order to learn Last Minute; and some other dancers who are not often there attended the class for the same reason. It's a beautiful intermediate/advanced dance, with sweeping turns and a nightclub two-step flavor, done to Stay with Me by Danity Kane. The girl group Danity Kane (pictured above) was formed during a talent search that was televised as Making the Band 3. Here's a video of their hit song Show Stopper, and a dance video made by the group.

Soul Energy is a fun dance that starts off with some hand motions that have been liken to dribbling a basketball. It's done to a great R&B song by Ike Turner, from his album Risin' with the Blues (audio clips here), which won the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. I didn't think that highly of the dance when first I saw the demo, but liked it a lot after learning it.

Engine Engine #9 is a beginner/intermediate dance done to a lively tune (it was a hit for Roger Miller in 1965). Doris Volz, Diana Ward and the Shannons have taught it, and I enjoyed following along when they danced it last week at the Fourth Saturday Dance. The Woman in my Life is an intermediate waltz, choreographed to a nice country song by Phil Vassar. Rachel McEnaney's Mack the Knife is an old favorite first introduced in about 2001. The song was originally from The Threepenny Opera, and was a big hit for Bobby Darin in 1960.

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A Great Crowd

Jmighell 00:10, 26 April 2007 (PDT)

A wonderful crowd of about 95 dancers arrived at Swiss Park last Friday to learn a new dance from Debbie Kachalkin, visit with Alice Wong, and dance to the music of substitute DJ Clint Qualls. Debbie's teach of A Place to Run (see links here) was very well-received; the dancers attending Monday Nights at Swiss Park benefited from a review she conducted there; and Evelyn Khinoo taught the dance this week to her Tuesday night class.

Alice Wong was as gracious as always, her visit a great pleasure to all her many friends in the dance community. And Clint did a marvelous job of choosing just the right music to keep the floor filled with energetic and enthusiastic dancers (see the playlist here). A great crowd and a great night.

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Upcoming Summer Fun

Jmighell 21:23, 22 April 2007 (PDT)

Mark your calendars for some of the upcoming dances and workshops in the area:

  • April 28 - The Country Hustler dance next Saturday has been cancelled, but everyone is welcome to join Mike and Joyce Shannon for their Fourth Saturday Dance (flyer) in Cupertino. These dances are always a lot of fun. Question: does any one else think the Dancing Shamrock leprechaun (right) bears an uncanny resemblance to Mike Shannon?
  • May 5 - The Quicksteppers are holding their annual Black & White Ball on Cinco de Mayo at Barrett. Wear black & white clothing, and bring hors d'oeuvres to share. (The food is always exceptionally good at these Quickstepper dances.) Evelyn Khinoo & Denny Harris will be the DJs.
  • May 6 - Diana Ward will be hosting her First Sunday Dance in San Bruno (1:00pm - 4:00 at 1555 Crystal Springs Rd, San Bruno). Diana always has a wonderful mix of newer dances and old favorites. Here's the playlist for last month's dance.
  • May 12 - Don't miss the Second Saturday Dance with Evelyn Khinoo and Denny Harris, 7:30pm - 10:30 at the Barrett Community Center, 1835 Belburn Dr in Belmont. These dances are far too infrequent, held only every other month. Here's the playlist from the March dance.
  • May 19 - Then on Saturday of the following week, there will be the Cactus Corner All Club Dance (registration form). This year's theme is 'Beach Party' and Gary Clayton will be the DJ. Registration deadline is May 12.
  • June 2 - Our own Boots 'n' Buckles Workshop will be a Retro Western Hoedown (registration form) featuring instructors 'Fast Gun' Henry Costa, 'Outlaw' Evelyn Khinoo & 'Deputy' Denny Harris, the 'Dancing Cowboy' Clint Qualls, and 'Shamrock Sheriff' Mike Shannon with 'sidekick' Joyce Shannon. The registration deadline for dinner reservations is May 25.
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Learn 'A Place to Run' at Swiss Park Tonight

Jmighell 18:18, 20 April 2007 (PDT)

Tonight (April 20) we're delighted to be having Debbie Kachalkin as our guest instructor, joining Clint Qualls and Kelly, our substitute DJ's for the evening. Doris Volz reports that Debbie will be teaching Robbie McGowen Hickie's latest hit dance A Place to Run. Below, all the links for this and some of the other new(ish) dances:

Carol Eclavea will be running through Show Me Wot You Got at Swiss Park next Monday night. It's a lively dance done to a pop-country tune by the Swedish singer Jill Johnson in her 2006 gold album 'The Woman I've Become'. Here's a great video of Jill singing Redneck Woman.

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A Picture of Danielle

Jmighell 19:50, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

This is the little line dancer-to-be who caused so much concern and consternation over the past two months. Her name is Danielle Nicole Jelich, and she's Diana Ward's granddaughter. There was a bit of distress on her arrival, worries about her small size, but the good news is that she's grown into a beautiful, healthy baby. Tomorrow, April 20, she'll be two months old.

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Celebrate Alice's Birthday at SP on April 20

Jmighell 20:42, 15 April 2007 (PDT)

The thinking was that if Alice couldn't come to the BnB dances, they would take the dances to Alice. So a group of line dancers went out to Alice Gardens on Alice Way to see Alice Wong. They danced Grace Kelly and Tush Push, and were served a delicious strawberry pie. Below, a picture of the invading horde surrounding their hostess: Victor, Gary & John - Dorthy, Alice, Helen, Lisa & Lee - Gina & Yvonne.

Alice's birthday is April 21, and Alice Wong's son Donald will be bringing her to the Boots 'n' Buckles dance on April 20 to share the birthday cake and to see her line dancing friends.

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Good Rockin' Tonight

Jmighell 10:44, 5 April 2007 (PDT)

A goodly number of new dances being taught, or about to be taught, in Bay Area classes:

Max Factor is done to Solomon Burke's rendition of the classic R&B hit song Good Rockin' Tonight. The song, written and originally performed by Roy Brown, was popularized by Elvis Presley in 1954 (audio clip), and has been done by a number of other singers over the years (see music videos by Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, and Jerry Lee Lewis). Solomon Burke (pictured at left) is also the artist singing Cry to Me (music video), another dance currently popular in the Bay Area.

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Gonna Get You

Jmighell 09:27, 4 April 2007 (PDT)

BnB club member Jan Hanway has choreographed a new dance. It's called Gonna Get You, done to the 1978 song One Way or Another by Blondie (audio clip, music video). It's a 64 count, 4 wall, intermediate dance. Diana Ward has been teaching it to some of her students and says "we are having a blast with the dance and the music."

Those of a certain age will recall Deborah Harry, the lead singer of Blondie, who also sang Call Me (music video) from American Gigolo, the 1980 movie staring Richard Gere (movie trailer).

Jan will be teaching Gonna Get You at Diana Ward's class this Thursday night, April 5, 7:30 - 9:30pm, at Mission Blue Community Center (475 Mission Blue Drive in Brisbane). Email Diana at didi8854@aol.com for more details.

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March Madness

Jmighell 08:53, 2 April 2007 (PDT)

A couple of new(ish) dances that have been seen recently on the floor at Swiss Park:

Nightclub Italiano is done to an Italian rendition of 'Speak Softly, Love', the theme from the 1972 movie The Godfather. Here's a video from the movie trilogy, and a music video. Lucia has provided us a translation of the Italian lyrics here.

Tonight (April 2), by special request, the Monday Night Crew will be reviewing:

Hold Your Horses is a lively, exuberant dance first introduced in Line Dancer Magazine in 2001. The choreographers say it should be started facing the 3 o'clock wall, but others suggest it is sometimes started facing 35 degrees East of Magnetic North, and

"if you are having trouble coming to an agreement with your neighboring dancers during the intro, please return to your chair, collect your belongings, access the egress, employ cartage to your abode, consume a Valium, apply a cool compress to your ocular region, and assume a horizontal position in a darkened sanctum. Your angst level is WAAAY too high."

Considerable angst has been felt by many club members during the past two weeks, waiting impatiently for Evelyn Khinoo's dance classes to resume. Glenda Castain has given the condition a name: Evelyn Withdrawal. Fortunately, classes start again this week, and cosmic harmony will be restored.

Below, a picture of our March birthday celebrants Joanne Costantino, Gary Davidson and Marie Parrish.

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Boogie Even After the Cows Come Home

Jmighell 15:01, 1 April 2007 (PDT)

Everyone who attended the Boogie Event came back to say what a fabulous time they had. Michael and Michele's annual workshop in Corning has become an institution in our community, a wonderful tradition of dancing, fun and entertainment. The dances taught this year:

Our Monday Night Crew enjoyed Rock This Party and Freeze Frame so much they've brought them into their repertoire of dances reviewed and played on Monday Nights at Swiss Park, and nowadays we're splitting the floor between Framed and Freeze Frame when playing the song.

Madhouse to the Max is becoming popular as well, reaching number one on the Carol Craven dance survey of March 25. Check out the demo video of Jackie to see why. This might not be the sort of dance that will appeal to all guys, except that they will thoroughly enjoy watching the gals perfom it.

Diana Ward's students recently learned That Cat is High. Diana describes it as "a high beginner dance, cute, good for a social", and it was on the play list at the First Sunday Dance in San Bruno.

But of course, at least half the fun at these Boogie events is the entertainment. This year's theme was 'Express Yourself', offering all kinds of opportunities for participants to display their... talents. I've been assured that BnB club members conducted themselves with all decorum appropriate to the circumstances, that none exposed themselves... to the slightest possibility of reproof, while their exhibition excited the delight and admiration of the audience. And it sounds like a great time was had by all!

Check out the wonderful pictures on Michael and Michele's site, and on LineDanceFun, and look for more event coverage in our upcoming newsletter. Below, artists Jane Torres, Joanie Mack, Donna Chandler, Norma Borgeson, Peter Iversen, and Helen and Gary Davidson.

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Boots 'n' Blarney

Jmighell 10:27, 16 March 2007 (PDT)

The Country Quickstepper dance tomorrow night (March 17) will be at Twin Pines Senior & Community Center (rather than Barrett Community Center, as originally advertised). Neil Hale will be wearing green all weekend, DJing the St. Patrick's Day dances at BnB tonight and the CQS on Saturday

Our March Roundup is now available online, and editor Doris Volz has included some details about the club's upcoming workshop on June 2 at Swiss Park. It will be a Retro Western Hoedown, with 'Fast Gun' Henry Costa, 'Outlaw' Evelyn Khinoo and 'Deputy' Denny Harris, 'Cowboy' Clint Qualls, and 'Shamrock Sheriff' Mike Shannon.

If you're going to the Boogie Event this weekend, take plenty of pictures and jot down some notes, then email them to the webmaster, and we'll try to publish them on our web site and newsletter.

And now for the really important news: there's a rumor floating about that dance cards might be used at Swiss Park tonight to request Cry to Me and Grace Kelly (see links to dance videos below). Don't forget to wear green and bring treats to share.

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Catching Up with the Monday Night Crew

Jmighell 09:01, 16 March 2007 (PDT)

Our Monday Night Crew has been busy, teaching and reviewing a slew of old and new dances:

  • Nickajack (Iain & Lyn Booth, Marian Culpan, Rosalie Mackay, Kate Moore, Mark Simpkin & Carl Sullivan). Nickajack by River Road. (Audio clip on this page.)

On March 5 guest crew member Clint Qualls did the teach for Darlin' and reviewed West Texas Waltz, an old favorite that was played last Friday night. It will surprise no one who knows him that Rob took the lead in reviewing Nickajack. (The song is 156 beats per minute, and there's a good bit of syncopation in the dance, so it moves almost faster than a man can think; but it would come hard to admit that Rob can do a dance that I can't.) Leslie guided us through Chill Factor last Monday. And next Monday, we'll tackle Yvonne Anderson's new dance Would You Go with Me; this is a slower dance to a great country song. I haven't found a video for the dance yet, but here's Josh Turner's music video.

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Where is Alice?

Jmighell 12:37, 14 March 2007 (PDT)

Helen Davidson reports that Alice Wong continues to improve, and will be moving today (March 14) to a nursing home in Union City. Cards and letters should be addressed as follows:

Alice Wong
Alice Gardens
4531 Alice Way
Union City, CA 94587

There is speculation that the nursing home was chosen just because of the name and address.

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Some Great New Ones

Jmighell 06:22, 13 March 2007 (PDT)

You turn your attention away for just a short while, and there's a lot of catching up to do. Just in the past few weeks we've seen a good number of great new dances at Swiss Park:

Cry to Me (like Feel the Magic) is from the soundtrack of the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing, starring Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. Here's a video from the movie. The demo by Paul McAdam (pictured at right with Rachel McEnaney) is getting a good bit of attention because of his 'cuban hips' styling. I haven't quite figured out how to do this yet, but here is an instruction page, with a good demo video of how it should be done. We're warned that we should consult a physician before trying it out.

More advice on how to achieve cuban styling can be found at this salsa forum thread, which references a great YouTube video of a Chinese man and Cuban woman doing a casino-style salsa.

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