Where were you or
what did you see that made you say, "I want to do that!!"
We were having a great time as couple dancers, traveling
with friends and meeting folks in other towns. But we started to
notice a lot of single ladies just sitting around the sidelines
watching. No one was asking them to dance, which couldn’t
have been much fun for them, so we decided to start teaching and
promoting line dancing.
How did you get started with dancing?
As couple dancers we took lessons from Barry Durand, Dave Getty,
Mike Haley, Jeff Bartholomew and other headliners. James was a member
of a well-known dance team in the early ‘90’s called
The Longbranch Dancers (named after a local club we danced in).
It was a big team, with 40 dancers, and they took turns teaching
line dance. James really got the “teaching” bug and
the Longbranch decided to hire us as line dance instructors.
A group of us always sat together when we were at the ‘Branch.
One weekend, at a cookout, the group decided to form a “team”
and the Rhinestone Dancers were born. Mary Beal had been a champion
roller skater and always put rhinestones on all her blouses. The
rest of us girls decided that was what we would do too. We’d
purchase $7 blouses and put about $50 or $60 worth of Austrian crystals
on the blouses. And of course our guys had to have their shirts
stoned! We sparkled and shined! dancing at nursing homes, in parades
and festivals, in rodeo rinks (2 feet deep in soft dirt), on flat
bed trucks (10’ high), in the rain, in the blistering sun
(coming just short of heat stroke), on asphalt, rocks. You name
it, We danced on it and had a blast!
James and I also taught line dance classes in three small towns
within an hour of Raleigh. He would teach (traveling all over the
room) and I would stand up front. People would say to me “I
can hear him, but where is he?” We also taught line dance
in PE programs in NC, SC, GA, FL, VA and WV to PE teachers and received
a certificate of recognition for the work we did in getting dance
recognized as a legitimate curriculum in the NC school system.
The very first UCWDC event we worked was the Atlantic Seashore
in Williamsburg, Va. And over the next many years, we worked very
hard to help bring line dance competition into the UCWDC events.
What made you want to continue?
We were having too much fun dancing and our real jobs started to
get in the way. It was nothing for us to leave after work on Thursday,
and drive 8, 10, 15 hours to get to an event ready to work early
Friday morning, and then drive like bats ….. on Sunday to
get home in time for work on Monday. In ’95, we cashed in
all our savings, deciding to be full time traveling line dance instructors.
That same year, we purchased a new blue conversion van. It had 30
miles on it when we drove it off the lot. We drove all over the
country to so many dance events that the odometer showed 6,600 miles
before we even made the first payment.
We’ve had many years of fun, excitement and meeting wonderful
people along the way, in addition to adventures on the highway.
One year, on our way back from an event in Kentucky, we had two
blowouts, one outside of Lexington and the second just before the
tunnel at Exit 1 in West Virginia. James started walking to get
help, leaving me to wait with the van and trailer. Luckily some
very nice fellows in the tunnel office saw us and came to our rescue.
Another time (on way back from Kentucky again), the transmission
went out, and there we go, 75 miles an hour in 1st gear in the breakdown
lane. James managed to get it to the top of a ramp before it died
completely and, once again, someone came to our rescue.
James has driven through whiteouts and snow two feet deep to get
us to dance events on time. One year it was so cold the wiper motor
froze and we drove the whole way with no wiper blades.
Last year we were in an accident that could have turned out really
bad, but James’ driving skills saved our lives. (My car was
another matter, but we did find out it could fly!) Through the years,
we’ve become seasoned road warriors, getting lost more times
than we can count. BUT, now I am an expert when it comes to reading
a map and figuring out the mileage. We know the locations of the
best rest stops, the cleanest Waffle Houses, the most reasonable
motels and we have learned to never, never forgot to pick up those
motel coupon books that you find at all of the Denny’s, Shoneys,
and Waffle Houses along the way.
What type of dancing/teaching do you
do?
We specialize in teaching Line Dance. If James likes the
dance, he teaches it. He picks fun dances that he sees on his many
travels and has promoted many unknown choreographers through the
years. He also enjoys taking older dances from our archives that
we have collected through the years and matching them with newer
music. (In the early years, we published 7 dance books, each with
120 dances from beginner to advanced and also patterned partner).
What dances have you choreographed
that you are most proud of (because I know some of you will have
a zillion of them)?
We haven’t choreographed many dances and none in the past
5 years because there are so many really good dances out there by
other choreographers that James wants to teach. However, the following
are ones we’re very proud of and still receive emails from
folks still teaching them or just discovering them. They include:
The McGraw Stroll (pattern partner – b/i), Rockin’ Josie
Jo, jg2 Cha, Do What Boogie, The Fred, Whutt? Heyyyy!, Turbo Twang,
Say Yes!!!, Cranberry Wine, New Country Mixer (pattern partner/i),
Tricky Tricky (with Pedro) and Coyote Sing.
What has been a real thrill for you
related to dancing?
Watching folks realize they don’t have two left feet and become
totally addicted to dancing.
What type of job do you do or dream
of doing (if you would like to share it)?
Our dream came true when we created the Line Dance Marathon 13 years
ago. For 3 years it was a one-day, 3-room workshop held at the Longbranch
Saloon. It grew bigger, so the 4th year it was moved to Ahoskie
NC, 2.5 hours east of Raleigh. The motel was wonderful, with an
atrium and 100 rooms. It was located in the middle of nowhere, a
corn field on one side and a poppy field on the other. There was
a service station in the parking lot that stayed open 24 hours and
had the best greasy sausage biscuits that my friend Speedo (from
Vermont) and I have ever eaten. We stayed in Ahoskie for 2 years
and moved to the Hilton in Raleigh. We outgrew the Hilton the first
year and moved to the Sheraton Imperial which is now our home and
has been for the last 7 years, and the entire staff is amazing!
We so appreciate and are so happy with all the love and support
we get each year from the dancers that travel from all over the
world to come to our dance weekend. The people that come to the
event every year, the instructors, our helpers, etc have become
our extended line dance family.
Where do you consider "home"?
North Carolina. I was born and raised in Durham, about 20 miles
west of Raleigh, moving to Raleigh in 1960 as a new bride. James
grew up in Garner and farmed not far from where we live.
What hobbies and interests do you
have outside of dancing?
James loves to landscape and he recently built our detached two-car
garage. He also put in a lot of sweat equity when we built the addition
to our home. And I love showing off our grandchildren.
Share information about your family
(if you would like to share it).
To our grandbabies, I’m Mema and James is Honey.
My son Michael lives in Raleigh with his wife Linda and daughter
Claire, and 2 dogs (about 30 minutes away) and hopefully in August
we will be adding a new baby girl from China.
My daughter Meredith lives in a small community just north of Durham
(called Bahama) with her husband Gary and three children, Ivy, Stealth
and Paige and a beautiful horse, Heart, 2 dogs Andy and Sophie and
3 cats. My oldest son Stuart passed away in 1990 after a long illness
and we still miss him very much. .
I have 3 sisters Eileen, Gayle and Robin, 3 nephews and 3 nieces.
(Should 3 be my lucky number?) Eileen still lives in Durham (about
40 minutes away) with our mother May, who is almost 93 and has more
energy than anyone could ever hope to have. She has been attending
a Duke Hospital exercise program 3 days a week for the past 25 years
and just recently was interviewed by NBC.
James’ brother Billy and 2 sisters, Dolores and Gail and
their children (2 nieces and 3 nephews and 5 great nieces and 2
great nephews) live within 5 miles of us.
Who have been mentors in your dance
career?
There have been many but the one that stands out the most is Bill
Bradford of Boston, prominent in the New England Dance Educators
Association. From the git go, Bill (who passed away a few years
ago) and his wife Karen became our videographers (Image Makers).
Bill would spend hours with James and me at our dining room table
teaching us how to count, phrase music and distinguish the different
rhythms. (I still have trouble distinguishing between polka and
triple 2.) Bill taught James the cadence he uses when teaching and
stressed that we spoon feed technique to dancers, not shove it down
their throats, and above all make it fun. This education was priceless.
Just give us a general overview of
you as a person and a dancer.
We have never regretted our decision to make line dancing a career.
We were lucky to get involved when it was first starting out and
have been watching it grow and change every year. Meeting so many
wonderful people through our travels has made it all worthwhile. |
