Dancing with the Ranch (Radio Ranch)

Another good night with 30+ dancers on the floor for the lessons! We started off with a review of “MEAN” and the taught “Love is Better”, a new dance from Dan Albro (Mishnock Barn) to the song “Better Than That” by American Idols own Scotty McCreery. A LOT of good feedback on this one. It’s a fast but fun dance to a great song, there's no tags, and no restarts. ( and we’ll know it when we go to Mishnock. Yeah! ) For the couples lessons we taught the classic “Sweetheart Stroll” to the number one song on the Media Base Music Chart, “I Don't Want This Night To End by Luke Bryan” Another great song, gives this dance a nice feel. Click on the songs and take a listen!

To entertain us, our good friends Radio Ranch were back in Chicopee laying down those great dancing beats to keep us going till closing! What a great band! We missed Jim but it was good to see Penny & Kristen out and about and didja notice Kristen learned some couples dances? She got to do one with her Grandfather, how cool was that to see?

It was great to have our new dancers back and see how quickly they’re picking up the dances, nice people and great additions to the group! Good to have Diane and Kathleen out on the floor again this week  (Great Dancers) and you had to see Jennifer at the  end of the night throw off her coat and run to the floor when one of her favorite dances came on. (One More Dance Syndrome in action), yup she’s one of us!  Nice to have, John & Sue, Roger & Sophie and our other new couples back.

We were really happy to get to see Janet out dancing one last time before Knee surgery. Good Luck, get better and get back..  ;) We didn’t get to see our house leprechaun and good luck charm Sheila last night (Normally stands to my left during the lessons) but she wanted me to tell everyone she couldn’t be there last night because of a family commitment but will see everyone next week.  See ya’ll on the 10^th. Have a great week!

A Night to Remember!

Last Friday we had the pleasure of welcoming back one of the finest modern country bands in New England, TRUE WEST!! What a fun night it was!! The floor was packed for the lessons and we did a whirl wind of reviews, walk-throughs and new teaches to songs that we know the band plays to ensure everyone could get up and dance. 

They started out with a strong uptempo beat and kept it going all night long with songs like, Down in Mississippi -  It Happens - Stuck Like Glue - Mean - Jambalaya - You Belong with Me - Cowboy Casanova - Suds in a Bucket - Act Naturally - Drink in My Hand.....etc, etc, etc... To say they were good would be an understatement, they were outstanding! Excellent artists, musicians and great stand-up people. We're glad to be able to count them as friends... 

TRUE WEST... BACK AT THE AMVETS!!!

This Friday, January the 27th John, Tommy, Jim, Laura, & Allyn will be making the trek West to keep you up and dancing to your favorite country Hits ALL NIGHT LONG!! Yes indeed TRUE WEST will be back in town after a much too long absence, playing your favorite country dance tunes. If you have never seen True West you're in  for a treat! If you have, you know what a great time we have every time these guys come to town!

*   Down in Mississippi and Up to No Good - Up to No Good 
*  It Happens - Sugar Kane
*  Mean - Mean
*  Jackson - Jambalaya
*  Perfect Love - Heads or Tails
*  You Belong with Me - You Belong with Me
*  Cowboy Casanova - Cowboy Casanova
*  Suds in a Bucket - Suds in a Bucket
*  Act Naturally - Love Trick
*  Drink in My Hand - Drink in My Hand.....

Just to name a few....   In order to maximize the fun we'll be teaching beginners line & Partner dances to songs they Play.   See Ya there!!

Bi-Weekly OEP Update!!! (... I been goofing off )

New Dancers & Whiskey Hill  1/20/12 

Whiskey Hill was back at the AMVETS last Friday, mixing it up with a combination of Classic & Contemporary Country with a litter R&R mixed in. There was a good sized crowd overall and we had a full floor for the lessons. BTW we  HAVE NEVER had this many beginners at one time for the lessons!! (Again with the HOW COOL IS THAT!) Good dancers (Picked up quick) and nice people. Great additions to the dance crew! We kept the teaches mostly beginners reviewing Heads or Tails &  Let it Roll let it Ride then taught Little Squirt and the intermediate Partner Dance  Six Pack Summer for the couples who showed up in force as well.

OEP Country Night 1/13/12!!    YEAH!!

We kicked off the 1st OEP Country Dance night of the year on January 14th!. Another fun night of all request dancing all night long at Chicopee AMVETS. These nights really give us the  time needed to teach an extra dance or two or spend a little more time reviewing the more difficult dances. We started the new lessons with a dance to a song that's currently topping the charts"Drink in My Hand" and taught the "Wichita Waltz" for the couples dance. Speaking of couples we're getting more and more couples showing up every week for the lessons. How cool is that?? It's great to see the floor with with couples EVERY SINGLE week.  Next OEP Night is March 9th so mark your calendars.

What a Great Way to Start 2012!!

RADIO RANCH 

We really kicked off 2012 in style at the AMVETS, packing the place for the one and only RADIO RANCH!  Joe, Justin, Matt, Jim and Art started the night out strong with a good upbeat tempo and kept us all up and dancing till closing! We had 30+ people on the floor for the line dance lessons and at some points of the night we had so many Partner dancers on the floor that people had to start a second circle in the middle. (How cool is that, Right?) It was a Outstanding night with High Energy and of course our regular "Party Crowders" and friends we don't get to see every week, Dave & Shelly, Gert & Guy, Rita & Ron, Denise, Diane from Canada, Kristen .....etc etc etc.. forgive me for not mentioning everybody! 

For the lessons we reviewed  the intermediate Line Dance that we taught on 12/30  "Don't Drink the Water" by Rachel McEnaney to the song by the same name by Brad Paisley and Blake Shelton. Got a lot of nice feedback on this one. We also reviewed the  "Argentine Cha Cha" "As a partner dance, not a mixer" to "Trying to get to New Orleans" by the Tractors. (What a Cool Song!) Since we knew we were going to have a few more beginners join us for the lessons, we taught two beginner dances "Let it Roll, Let it Ride" and "Heads or Tails" which they did a great job of picking up. (This was evident by the smiles on their faces as they were able to dance them during the band break.) Good dancers and very nice people. We also taught the partner dance Jambalaya which goes EXCELLENT to Radio Ranch's version of "Hey Good Looking". Radio Ranch will be back on Feb 3rd so mark your calendars!

What a Great Night!!

Everyone was in a festive mood last Friday for our last get together before Christmas and we  had a great time as always  with Radio Ranch!  We didn't charge for the lessons as a Christmas Thank You for everyone supporting the club throughout the year. We Retaught "Footloose Again" and Dan Albro's partner dance "Jackson Strait" and for the 2nd week in a row the floor was absolutely filled for the partner lessons. Nice to see so many couples out dancing. We also got to celebrate Doreen's birthday! Thanks to all who came and make it one she wouldn't forget. Thanks also to everyone that brought in something for our Vets at the Soldiers home.  You guys rock! Remember No Lessons on the 23rd, our next date is December 30th so we'll see you there. Have a Very Merry Christmas!

They're back.........

Radio Ranch. 

That's Right, RADIO RANCH 

is back at the Chicopee AMVETS this Friday December 16th! Join us at 6:30 for a review of last weeks lessons and then all request dancing until 8 PM when we get to Dance   to   the   Ranch! 



This is our last date before Christmas so lets celebrate. Speaking of Christmas,  Please consider taking a second to remember our Vets in the Soldiers home and bring some thing in off the Soldiers Home Wish List so they know they aren't forgotten.  If you're interested in helping , this Friday is the last day to donate.