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A Silver Lining At this time when we are all without our favorite activities, it's more important than ever to keep moving and keep our minds active. Dance routines do both. You might even find a little fun while staying at home. The Village Line Dancer's website has some instructional videos. For beginners there is the Electric Slide — it's just five moves to remember, which you will need to know for all the parties, weddings, and celebrations once we are on the other side of this pandemic. Here's an entry in one of our journals which shows the power of music and movement. Pandemic Lockdown Journal: Day 10 "Day three of rain. Another Monday without my Line Dancing Class. Super "down" and tired… again! And still in my pajamas at 1 pm. Today, it sunk in. Uggh, I'm part of the "older generation" that the world is trying to protect. When did I go from protector to 'protectee"? How can I ever thank all those people who are keeping the world going while I'm sitting here in my pajamas? Then I saw an email that turned my mood around. My line dance club's routines and instruction are online! One click on of the upbeat songs Down to the Honky Tonk and IMMEDIATELY my feet started moving. I got my five pounds heavier bottom out of the chair and was dancing in my slippers and it felt great. One of our songs we dance to in our class is Silver Lining, I clicked on that one next. The lyrics made me hopeful. "If you're ever gonna find a silver lining It's gotta be a cloudy day If you wanna fill your bottle up with lightning Your gonna have to stand in the rain..." Whoever thought this transplanted NY girl would find inspiration in a country western song — yes, the world is upside down but I'm going to dance a little each day to get through this. The dances and step by step instructions are on the videos. Log on to: 1. OceanHillsCountryClub.com 2. Log in 3. Recreation 4. Quick Links/Social Clubs 5. Village Line Dancing 6. "PRACTICE AT HOME" or "VIDEOS" Have fun getting to know these dances and stay safe! ~ Valdene Ramrus, Carol Ann Ferrol, Mary McGee, Lynn Murphy, Board of Directors, Village Line Dancers With dates for the dance troupe's performance uncertain (originally scheduled for mid June 2020), let's focus on what is positive. Our dance troupe is a group of tap, jazz, belly, and Hawaiian dancers that are in all stages of learning. In fact the dancers for tap and jazz have so many members that there are two groups for each including the Diamonds who are the more experienced and advanced dancers, and the Rubies who are beginning and improving dancers. Despite the difference in talent and experience, there are two dances (one tap dance and one jazz dance) where the Diamonds and Rubies will perform together. This is a huge effort orchestrated by our teacher Yvonne Jessen. We have had a monthly group practice to blend the two groups of dancers together. The Diamonds work together with the newer dancers, and they provide feedback and suggestions. This is teamwork at its best. There are many benefits to participating in the dance troupe. Friendships are developed, and learning the steps and routines is good exercise for our bodies, brains and souls. Currently our dance practices and classes are on hold while we practice social distancing and living with a strict set of rules to keep us safe and healthy. This is a good time to remember to appreciate all that we have to look forward to again at Ocean Hills when we can return to socializing and attending our much missed activities. In the meantime, please remember to keep active with other activities whether you dance in your home or garage, take a walk, garden, do puzzles or board games, etc. in order to find something and every day. 16 | OHCC LIVING | MAY 2020 | Ocean Hills Dance Troupe Village Line Dancers Beginners - Thursday 2:30 to 3:30 pm • Intermediate - Monday 12:30 to 2 pm • Advanced - Tuesday 10:30 am to noon Check the OHCC weekly calendar for changes Just in case: Check with your club contact to confirm meeting place, date, and time.

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