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!
Dance Footwear, Fear & Shivers...and Vegas Baby!
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 dance shoe Fuegos! I finally got some and tried them out! Check out my deep dive into the shoes and my findings! Blog post: Are Fuego Dance Shoes Good for Line Dancing?
Afraid of Dancing? I once was very afraid! But what if there was a secret to breaking free of a fear of dancing? Well, I found it!
Yes, here's my deep dive into chorophobia–the fear of dancing, and how to break free! Blog post: A Fun Way to Overcome Your FEAR of Dancing.
The Most Popular Line Dance? Who doesn't think it's Gives Me Shivers?
I've been thinking about this for a while, so I finally dove deep to get to the bottom of it. Check out my findings! Article: Is Gives Me Shivers The Most Popular Line Dance?
Vegas Dance Explosion: Line Dancers' Heaven!
As I send this email out, I'm also feverishly packing and getting ready to drive out to Las Vegas for the annual Vegas Dance Explosion. If you aren't aware of this circuit line dance event, maybe it is too late to come out (or not?), but check out my recap from last year to get an idea of what this amazing event is like, and mark your calendar for next year. I am excited to see what the HOT new line dances are that the likes of Roy Verdonk, Darren Bailey, Jo Thompson Szymanski, etc. etc. will be teaching and will take over the bar scene in 2024! Last year's round-up: Vegas Dance Explosion, 2022 – New Line Dances and All-Night Dance Parties!
Copperknob: Top 10 & Top 99!
I've done a couple of these round-ups now on my blog, and hope to do more. This was my "capture" of a moment of the most popular line dances on Copperknob from back in the Spring of this year. I'm very curious how this list will look after this week in Vegas and how it will shake out! Something to keep your eye on! The Springtime article: Top 10 & Top 99 Line Dances on Copperknob, Spring 2023!
LINE DANCE INSTRUCTOR SPOTLIGHTS!
Also, have you tried Fuego Dancing Shoes? I'm curious to know what the experience line dancers are having with them. To be noted is that 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 142 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 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
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...
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...
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,...