Have you ever done the Bunny Hop? This fun 1950’s conga line dance is hopping to a wedding near you. Join me as we learn how to dance the 1950’s Bunny hop. History of the Bunny Hop Where do new dance trends come from? Hip kids! Band leader Ray Anthony got wind of a new dance in San Francisco in 1952. He took a trip to Balboa High School to check out the conga line inspired bunny hop the kids were doing. This inspired him to write the song to fit their dance. Bunny Hop on Air Ray Anthony got the world a hoppin by featuring the bunny hop on his show in 1953. This was not the last time it aired ..read more

Do you remember the early American song Yankee Doodle? This song is the rallying song of the rebel forces of early America. I took traditional dance moves and put together a fun Yankee Doodle Line Dance. Yankee Doodle The marching air Yankee Doodle is composed by my favorite composer, anonymous. No one knows for sure where this air came from. The melody can be traced back to a medieval Irish maypole song “all the way to Galway.” It was re-worded as a derisory tune the British sang about the American troops. Yankee Doodle British meaning Song facts states that the Yankee doodle song dates to t ..read more

Reya and the last dragon is a lovely journey into Chinese lore. Sisu the water dragon would be familiar with the qi gong form of swimming dragon. This dance-like meditative martial art is a perfect fit for Reya. I put 5 dragon forms together in a dance sequence for Reya and the Last Dragon Sisu. Dragon Sisu Do you believe all dragons to be devious? In Chinese lore there is a story of the four dragons who disobeyed the emperor to give water to the people. Their penance for disobeying the Jade emperor was to become the four rivers and provide water for the people for eternity. This is one of th ..read more

How did Bunny Hop go from fabulous 50’s to video game rarity? This happy little bunny hop has tripped the light fantastic and hopped over the decades and into your computer screen as an emoji. Learn how to dance the Fortnite bunny hop and read on for more history. Hop, hop, hop History. The bunny hop was invented in the 1950’s by San Francisco highschoolers. From there it was picked up by Finnish youth as an alternative to the schottische. By 2014 It became a popular Arabian wedding dance. Then Fortnite got its paws on it, and kept just the hop, hop, hop. Fortnite Bunny Hop In 2019 Fortnite r ..read more

Groundhog Day is celebrated on the 2nd of February yearly. This tradition has movies and music for it, but no line dance. I took pieces of the Cherokee Indian Groundhog dance and created a seasonal line dance. History of Groundhog Day So how did we come to determine spring based on a large ground squirrel? These marmot-like creatures come out for Imbolc the Celtic holiday marking the beginning of spring between the winter solstice and spring equinox. A newspaper editor in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania pitched this German tradition of checking a badger’s shadow to determine the start of spring to ..read more

Do you want to kick up your heals at Mardi Gras? Great jazz music calls out to be danced to. So for Mardi Gras this year I did a line dance to the signature song “When the Saints go Marching in”, or “The Saints” for short. Brief history of Mardi Gras Mardi Gras dates back in time to the Middle Ages. It originated as the spring and fertility festivals of Saturnalia and Lupercalia. With the advent of the Christian faith, the festival was re-purposed as Carnival (from epiphany to lent), then in America as Mardi Gras (a one day event the Tuesday before lent), in preparation of the abstinence of L ..read more

Did you attend a Sadie Hawkins dance at school? This curiosity led me to dig up this hillbilly Hippie line dance and feature the legendary Sadie Hawkins from Lil Abner with my friend Sadie. Have fun learning this happy line dance. Who is Sadie Hawkins? Sadie Hawkins is the spinster daughter of the Hezekiah Hawkins. He was concerned his 35 yr. old daughter, the “homeliest gal in all them hills,” would never get married. He sponsored a race, first held on November 15, 1937, where the Dogpatch girls could catch their mates. The night before the race the town of Dogpatch held a dance where all t ..read more

How do you celebrate the day of the dead? I love to dance so I looked up this fun line dance to Live Life from the Book of Life movie. Enjoy learning to dance with La Muerte for Day of the Dead the “Live Life” Line Dance. Roots of Day of the Dead This dance is inspired by the Day of the Dead. This is a Mexican holiday with Mesoamerican and Spanish roots. It is a celebration of family who have crossed to the other side. Ancient cultures celebrated the thinning of the veil between worlds in the fall with bonfires and candles. In Mesoamerica the dead were celebrated in August. The Aztecs would ..read more

Drinking and dancing go hand in hand. So, the Beer Barrel polka is the perfect song to dance to when drinking at Oktoberfest. Polka is the traditional dance for this song, but for fun I adapted a line dance to the Beer Barrel Polka for Oktoberfest this year. History of the Polka: Polka is rumored to have been started as a half step dance invented by a Czeck nanny encouraging her young wards to dance.  This Czeck peasant dance knows as the pulka or “half-step’” became the rage by 1835. Once polka was featured at the Odeon Theatre in Paris in 1840, Polkamania spread worldwide. It is popul ..read more

Arrrrr you ready to dance on deck? Pirates had nothing better to do at sea but to sing and dance, like the Ray Stevens song says. So, for my September dances in honor of Talk like a pirate day on September 19th I put together a pirate line dance to the tune of Drunken Sailor with four famous pirate women. History of Piracy: Piracy dates to antiquity. In early Greek writing piracy was an honorable occupation. The word “pirate” comes from the from Greek (peiratēs), “brigand” and the Latin pirata (“pirate, corsair, sea robber”). Vikings raided and pillaged from the 8th to 13t ..read more