http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.dustngrace.com en-us Fri, 16 Oct 2026 16:53:48 +1300 Rocketspark http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/post/171465/drink-it-away-when-you-know-you-know/ Another song caught my ear, and this time it's Drink It Away by New Zealand Kiwi musician The WesternGuide.I enjoyed the challenge of building a dance around this track and working with a structure that includes a tag. The dance is a two-wall improver, with a 32-count sequence repeated three times before the tag, followed by another three rounds and the final tags and outro.I like that choreography gives me the opportunity to work with different structures and levels. Each song brings its own r... Sun, 11 Oct 2026 18:53:32 +1300 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/#post171465 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/post/171464/try-to-think-about-elvis-a-little-rock-n-roll-flair/ I was listening to a 90s country playlist when I Try to Think About Elvis by Patty Loveless came on, and it immediately caught my attention. I loved it, and before long I was thinking about how I could turn it into a line dance.This one was a fun change of pace. The music called for a bit of personality, so I worked in some Elvis-style pointing and those classic Elvis knees. It was a chance to have a little fun with the character of the song rather than just putting steps together.I enjoy how di... Sat, 03 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/#post171464 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/post/171466/dive-bar-sometimes-less-is-more/ I started working on Dive Bar back in July, originally making it, probably more complicated than it needed to be, with the Rhythm n Rawhide Choreography Competition in mind.It's easy to get carried away when you're creating a dance. You start playing with steps, adding ideas and seeing how much you can fit into the music. But more isn't always better!As I worked on Dive Bar, again in October I decided to strip it back and simplify the choreography. I wanted to make it easier to te... Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/#post171466 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/post/171441/say-la-v-spontaneous-road-trips-creative-detours/ September was a relatively quiet month, with plenty of work going on behind the scenes for the choreography competition in Hamilton later in the month. Unfortunately, I didn't end up at to the competition, as I had to make an impromptu trip to Wellington for pre-departure meetings ahead of leaving New Zealand for Rarotonga.A massive shout-out to our awesome Clive Bootscootin' dancers who competed in the choreography competition! I’m super-duper proud of everyone and their results:🤠 Nathan B... Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/#post171441 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/post/171462/girl-from-louisiana-the-rocking-chair-and-a-trip-down-memory-lane/ Sometimes a song pops up on your playlist and you just know you want to do something with it. That's exactly what happened with Girl From Louisiana by Dylan Scott. I loved the song and it gave me the opportunity to try creating a more advanced dance.The famous rocking chair step made its way into the choreography, and that took me straight back about two years to when Bex and I decided we were going to make how-to videos explaining line dance steps.What could possibly go wrong?Let's just say I h... Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/#post171462 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/post/171463/say-la-v-a-song-on-country-radio-and-a-dance-in-my-head/ Sometimes inspiration arrives when you least expect it. With Say La V, all it took was hearing the music on the radio.I loved the song and started imagining how it might work as a line dance. Before long, I was putting the steps together and turning that idea into a 32-count, four-wall absolute beginner dance.There's something special about that moment when a song sparks an idea. You start playing around with steps, trying different combinations and working out how to make everything fit. It's o... Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/#post171463 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/post/169665/competition-highs-choreography--what-comes-next/ The first couple of weeks in August were a blur of practice for our competition. Having seen the value of practising without mirrors, we found ourselves in carparks all around Napier, Hastings and Clive, practising at all hours to make it work for the team. Wherever we could find a space, we danced!And Christchurch didn't disappoint. It was another amazing experience.One of the highlights for me was catching up with so many people from around New Zealand that we'd met at the Dunedin Gala, as wel... Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/#post169665 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/post/171461/whats-your-story-a-dance-for-the-absolute-beginners/ One of the best things about teaching line dancing is seeing people go from wondering whether they have two left feet to confidently moving around the floor.I wanted to create another dance that would work for absolute beginners, and What's Your Story? by Morgan Wallen caught my attention. The dance came together in about 15 minutes, which felt pretty good!Of course, getting the choreography down is only part of the process. You also need to try it out, see how it feels and make sure the steps w... Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/#post171461 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/post/169664/wild-west-new-dances--taking-the-floor/ July started with a bang, with our first Friday party of the month taking on a Wild West theme. This time, Clive Bootscootin dancers were invited to showcase a dance (or two!) they’d learnt with a friend or group, and it gave the party such a different vibe, in a fantastic way. It was great doing something different and, most importantly, cheering each other on.Pinkie and I debuted a brand new dance, Turn This Town, choreographed by Maddison Glover and Jo Thompson Szymanski. It had only just b... Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/#post169664 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/post/171460/hands-up-turning-up-the-energy/ When a song has a title like Hands Up, it feels like an invitation to have a bit of fun with the choreography!This dance is set to Jelly Roll's Hands Up and was created as a beginner-level, 32-count dance. I enjoy exploring how the music can shape the movements and how to create a dance that feels enjoyable from the first step to the last.By this stage in my choreography journey, I was becoming more comfortable with taking a song and trying out ideas. Not every step works straight away, and some... Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.dustngrace.com/blog/#post171460