Another favorite. I had never heard this song before, and fell in love with it.
I find the dance named both Ooh Aah and Ooh Ahh. I’m not sure which is correct (two a’s or two h’s?). I’m trying to connect with Ms. Bernette, the choreographer to find out. Also, maybe she has step sheets! 🙂 UPDATE: I connected with Ms. Bernette and she confirmed that the dance is spelled with two h’s “Ooh Ahh”. Also, no step sheets.
Two parts that especially stand out for me in this line dance. First was the set of steps “right left right left right” where you do sort of a stomp. In the instructional video above, you can see it at 20 seconds in.
The next set of steps that confounded me, which I finally got and totally love, is the sailor step in which we do a 1/2 turn. This part is taught at 2:16 in the video above.
This is one of the dances that I could do every week and never get tired of it. A lot of the dances are like this for me.
The video below is a good one for practicing Ooh Ahh. The video is produced by The Soul Steppers.
Instructional above is from Steph’s Line Dancing in San Antonio, Texas
Dance: Floatin’
Wall: 2
Level: Low Intermediate
Choreographer: Unknown
Song: Floatin’ (Available free with Amazon PRIME)
Artist: Charlie Wilson with Justin Timberlake & will.i.am
Step Sheets: None
This dance has been the source of a lot of laughter. Our instructor taught us this dance the typical way first, the way that Steph and her class are dancing in the video above. It is supposed to be danced in two lines. Things went crazy when our class formed two lines. 🙂 Some of us were facing the wrong direction, some of us were stepping backwards into the person behind us, who was stepping backwards toward that person. We were all busting up laughing. It was the first time I had seen the ladies in my class mess up so it was an eye opening moment for me, to see that they weren’t perfect like I thought they were. 🙂
It was even funnier that the side our instructor was in, that line was on track. It made me (several of us) realize how dependent we are on following our instructor’s feet! It was the first time I recognized that.
But we eventually got it. I like the challenge of this dance, and I like the song a lot as well. I decided to call it low intermediate because it does take some extra practice and brain power to master.
The video below is a nice representation of how the dance is done with two lines formed. Thank you to the Elusive Ladies from Houston Texas.
Dance: Player Line Dance
Choreographer: Terrance TJ Estell
Song: Hey Lover
Artist: Charlie Wilson
The instructional above is by Linda Simms “The Who Dat Teacher” from Let’s Mess It Up Line Dancing. Use the instructional to learn the steps, and then use the video at the bottom of this post to practice along with the group.
I have now learned another aspect of line dancing. When to start the steps! I wondered how does my instructor know when to start the dance? He always verbalizes a count down of 5, 6, 7, 8 and then we start, but it never occurred to me that he was counting prior to that! Some of our class members had mentioned that it was hard to know when to start the dance at another place they go to dance, and he has now started to teach us how to count the beats to know when to start the dance steps.
Player is another of my favorites, and I just love the song. I do recall that this dance was hard for me to get. That might have had something to do with the fact that my brain was still learning how to catch onto dance steps because after five months of weekly classes I am finding that I am picking up the steps much quicker, and am able to remember a series of steps. Seriously, in the beginning our instructor would show us three sets of steps and then “Let’s start over from the top” and I’d be “What were the first steps?!” But I can clearly the first steps I was able to learn for Player, it was the very simple first three steps and putting up my arms and going “Whoo!”
I can’t find step sheets for Player and I wish I could somehow cram all the steps into my head immediately so that I wouldn’t have to study so hard to figure the step sheets out because I would like to write the steps and share them as I publish each blog post. The biggest issue is the time that it takes. And it is like doing homework, which kind of takes the fun out of posting about the dances. I realize it is a learning curve and with time I will recognize the steps more easily and can transcribe them quickly, but in the meantime, there is that “time” issue again. 🙂 I want to share the dances with you, but at the same time, would I rather spend my time sorting out step sheets, or practicing line dancing? The latter!
The last part of this dance I am actually still trying to get into my head. For one thing, I am still confused about which way we are heading when we do the vine, but I see from closely watching the videos that we are going counter clockwise. And the vine, then feet together, then apart, then start over. It’s very fast footwork, at least for my feet, but I love the challenge.
At a recent line dance party we did this dance and I was one of the few who knew it (for the most part), and could dance along while others stood by watching. I am always so thrilled with my accomplishments, especially since in the beginning I was not sure if I was going to be able to get it!
Dance: Mr. Sexy Man
Count: 32 count
Wall: 4
Level: Beginner
Choreographer: Sir James (James Mobley)
Song: Mr. Sexy Man
Artist: Nellie Tiger Travis
Step Sheet: Kick It
The instructional above is by Linda Simms “The Who Dat Teacher” from Let’s Mess It Up Line Dancing.
Okay, Mr. Sexy Man. Love the song, although I’d not heard it before learning the line dance. This dance is another of my favorites. To tell you the truth, there aren’t too many line dances I’ve learned, that I don’t like, but there are a few.
Tip: Ideally you are attending a weekly class and learning new dances each week. Practice those new dances every day, if possible. Refresh your memory by watching the instructional video above, then follow along with the class in the video below. If you can’t manage every day, then try to practice for an hour each weekend day. It will help you learn the dances faster, PLUS it’s great exercise! The more you practice, the better you will get. What I like to do is play the class video (like the one below) and repeat the dance two or three times in a row. It’s super easy to get 12 to 15 minutes of exercise in when you repeat the dances. I also find sometimes I am slow at getting started with the steps, but after a couple of rotations I am in sync. Repetition really helps to anchor the steps in my brain.
The video below is Linda Simms’ class.
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The instructional above is from Linda Simms “The Who Dat Teacher” from Let’s Mess It Up Line Dancing.
Dance: Backyard Party 4 Wall, 32 Count
Choreographer: John Woodhouse
Song: Backyard Party (Clean)
Artist: R. Kelly
Step Sheets: None
This is another favorite. Our instructor does warn to be sure to get the “clean” version of the song.
Even though I’ve danced Backyard Party many times, I cannot complete the full turn. I get dizzy, and become disorientated. During the turn, I can’t remember which way I should end up. I will keep practicing full turns, but in the meantime I’m going to use the modification which is to step in place after the half turn. Eventually I should be able to make the full turn, and stay orientated to which way I should end up.
About 9 rotations into the dance, Backyard party has one extra set of steps, where you step forward four times. There is a marked change in the music, and if you watch the video enough times, you will figure out where to put it. And in addition, you will be stepping forward while facing the front of the room.
Tip: Watch the dance on YouTube. Your brain will grasp where the steps should be according to the music, and it can help you learn the dance.
One way I feel like I’ve gotten better at line dancing is to watch the dance. I love this song, Backyard Party, but don’t recall having heard it before. I have probably watched this video at least 30 times.
Line Dance Passion is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON.COM. Line Dance Passion is an affiliate for several companies and may be compensated through advertising and marketing channels. Therefore, this post may contain affiliate links.