Hi, I’m Brian and I love country dancing! I am a single dad to 4 amazing adult kids and live in Fullerton, California. In 2016 I went through a divorce, and like many going through something like that, I was pretty devastated. In my journey toward recovering and moving on, a recurring theme I heard was that there’s hope! People talked about finding silver linings in things like this. Maybe you’ll do things and discover things you never would have before! Well, in 2017 some friends of mine invited me to go to a country bar where there was dancing. But this wasn’t just any country bar, this was the Ranch in Anaheim California! A very nice premier place for live music and country dancing. I joined them and had a really good time. And over time, even without my friends, I kept going just to sit, have a beer, and hang out. (better than being all alone at home). I wasn’t dancing immediately at all–that terrified me! But what I found was that just sitting and watching people dance was nice, even therapeutic. Something about just watching people dance was very cool. But you can’t be at a place like that too long before you try it out yourself. So began my journey into country dance. At first, it was line dancing, but then after a few lessons, I actually tried the two-step as well. There were some rather terrifying moments to that of course! But now, here 6 years later I have enjoyed many many nights of dancing. In that time I learned the basic Two Step, learned several partner dances, and now know close to 50 line dances and tried out hundreds. It has really become a very fun outlet and activity. A place for meeting new friends and enjoying some great nights of live music and dancing. Looking back, I would never have guessed I'd be so caught up with, of all things, dancing! But here I am, and I'm happy to have found it and all the things and people that surround it. And now to write about the discoveries and hopefully put out some interesting and helpful information about it is a bonus!
California, Arizona & Texas Country Dancing–Summer, 2023!
Summer 2023 Country Dancing in California, Arizona & Texas!
I hope everyone is having a great summer! And especially a great summer of country dancing!
For this month’s email, I am highlighting FOUR new articles on the blog!
This is a long overdue email, but hopefully worth the wait, as I was collecting some new material to write & report about. The main thing I did this summer was a road trip through Texas. I had a great time checking out some of the best places to dance! If you live in Texas or planning to visit I highly recommend you check out these honky-tonks and dancehalls.
Texas Honky-Tonks & Dance Halls
First, my trip to Texas! There are so many great places to country dance in Texas! My blog post recaps my whole trip! From historical honky-tonks to cavernous dance halls, and some special in-between havens for country dance–I saw it all! Check it all out below!
The Maverick – Tucson’s Best Place for Line Dancing!
Next, I'm excited to highlight a great country bar in Tucson, Arizona! I'm from California, so to get to Texas, there was some driving, and I was happy to stop in and sample a great place to dance along the way. It turns out, it was worth a whole blog article! One highlight was the great line dance lessons happening two nights a week!
Best Line Dance Classes–Instructors & Locations of So Cal!
The love of line dancing is often discovered at the local country bar, but what if you aren't inclined to go out to a bar? Line dancing is still accessible often in community centers and from instructors that like to hold classes throughout the week. Here's a round-up of the best So. Cal. classes–the instructors, classes, and locations! Check it out!
Jason LaPorte, A New Line Dance Choreographer for So Cal!
So, what happens if one of your local dancing friends starts to create his own choreographed line dances out of the blue? Well, if you have a blog about dancing you have to tell the story! And that's what recently happened at The Ranch in Anaheim, CA. Jason LaPorte is on fire and coming up with some good dances! Check it out!
Other Country Dancing Happenings
YESSS!! National Dance Convention & Competition
It's late July, so that means the YESSS!! Dance Convention in Scottsdale, AZ is here! The YESSS!! Dance Convention, taking place this weekend, July 27th-30th, is the largest country swing and line dance event in the country! If you can, for sure go to this great weekend of workshops and social dancing! This weekend, July 27th-30th.
I know this is a last-minute mention, but if you still can, join dancers from all over the country! To learn more check out the website at: yesssdanceconvention.com, The Facebook page, or Click here to Register!
Lone Star Invitational
Lone Star Invitational is another country dance workshop opportunity happening, of course, in Texas! This is a fully ACDA (American Country Dance Association) sanctioned country western dance competition happening August, 11-14. Along with the competition are workshops for both partner dancing and line dancing. If you check out my blog post on Texas you'll meet Amy Glass a great line dance instructor who also will be teaching some workshops at the Lone Star Invitational. Along with the competitions and workshops will be social dancing and also some great dance shows. Click on the graphic below to visit the site for more information and to register!
Lastly, have you tried out Fuego Dancing Shoes? I've seen them on the dance floor a little, and they seem to be about to really take off! In fact, Women's Health Magazine just voted them the #1 DANCE SNEAKER! If you need a pair I have a 10% off through my blog click here, or below! Just use code BRIANS10 at purchase.
Special thanks & welcome to the recent subscribers! All 200+ of you! I'll try my best to keep putting out interesting topics on Country Dancing!
And, as a subscriber to my blog please let me know where YOU go dancing! I’d love to know! And if you have a line dance instructor who you love, let me know and I would be glad to highlight them here.
Thanks for reading!
Brian
Note: If you didn’t subscribe and are getting this it's cause you already connected with me and I took the liberty to add you to my list! But let me know if you don’t want to be bugged. I get that! There’s always an unsubscribe option.
Country Dancing Tonight
I love country dancing and all things around it - line dancing two step, county music and a great honky tonk bar or dance hall.
Hi, I’m Brian and I love country dancing! I am a single dad to 4 amazing adult kids and live in Fullerton, California. In 2016 I went through a divorce, and like many going through something like that, I was pretty devastated. In my journey toward recovering and moving on, a recurring theme I heard was that there’s hope! People talked about finding silver linings in things like this. Maybe you’ll do things and discover things you never would have before! Well, in 2017 some friends of mine invited me to go to a country bar where there was dancing. But this wasn’t just any country bar, this was the Ranch in Anaheim California! A very nice premier place for live music and country dancing. I joined them and had a really good time. And over time, even without my friends, I kept going just to sit, have a beer, and hang out. (better than being all alone at home). I wasn’t dancing immediately at all–that terrified me! But what I found was that just sitting and watching people dance was nice, even therapeutic. Something about just watching people dance was very cool. But you can’t be at a place like that too long before you try it out yourself. So began my journey into country dance. At first, it was line dancing, but then after a few lessons, I actually tried the two-step as well. There were some rather terrifying moments to that of course! But now, here 6 years later I have enjoyed many many nights of dancing. In that time I learned the basic Two Step, learned several partner dances, and now know close to 50 line dances and tried out hundreds. It has really become a very fun outlet and activity. A place for meeting new friends and enjoying some great nights of live music and dancing. Looking back, I would never have guessed I'd be so caught up with, of all things, dancing! But here I am, and I'm happy to have found it and all the things and people that surround it. And now to write about the discoveries and hopefully put out some interesting and helpful information about it is a bonus!
Hello Country Dancers! Happy 2024! For the first email of 2024, I have a couple of things for you to check out on the blog! Two new articles on the blog! But also scroll down for some extras! February's Topics: 2024 Talent Search Dance Contest, Full California Round-Up! & Best Country Bars for Dancing in the United States. Dance Contests: Living in Southern California and being a country dancer, the beginning of the year always treats us to the awesome Word In Motion Talent Search Dance...
FALL 2023 Country Dancing NEWS! Howdy Y'all! For this month's email, I have four new articles on the blog and five dance instructor highlights! This email is packed full of great information! It's all about Footwear, Fear & Shivers! But also some news about Vegas Line Dancing as well! Also, and very importantly, a big thanks to all my subscribers, especially to all the new subscribers–all 142 of you! Fuego Dance Shoes: A Line Dance Game Changer? I have been super obsessed with the fairly new...
Hello Country Dancers! And Happy Spring 2023! What a great time for dancers! I love this time of year as the days get longer and warmer! Spring is in full swing and hopefully, so is everyone's dancing! Here's to a great Spring & Summer of country dancing! For this month's email, I wanted to let y'all know that there are two new articles on the blog! First, I have a recap and round-up of last month's EDGE Dance Event in SoCal, and then another post focusing on country music! Read on! The EDGE,...