A few years ago, one of our local “fun” dog shows offered a class for “best dancing dog.” I showed my dressage horses successfully in freestyle classes, choreographing rides to music, for many years. One of my horses won every freestyle class we entered. With a background in dance myself, I was drawn to this idea of dancing with my dog. So I got busy teaching Trystan to do some tricks that could serve as his dance moves, and in two weeks, we had a dog dancing routine. Since he is a Welsh corgi, we opted for Celtic music, lively with bagpipes, and our costumes were kilts. Trystan loved the music and watched me closely with anticipation and excitement as we practiced our dance. He jumped over my legs, learned to lift his front feet alternately in time to the music, and spun in circles. Our new favorite game was born!
We danced our way through several “fun” shows in our area, and I connected with a famous woman in the dog freestyle world who dances with corgis. Trystan and I don’t take this too seriously and we don’t compete in official freestyle events.
This year we have introduced a new routine. He and I wear Sherlock Holmes costumes, and solve the crime of who “killed” the mouse. We follow footprints and find “clues” until we handcuff the cat, a stuffy, and add him to our dance steps. Our music is “Secret Agent Man.” Trystan did a great job with the new routine the first time we did it–and then once we added his costume, it was a struggle for him. I made some alterations in the steps and the costume, and finally at our “fun” show this past weekend, Trystan was a star with his new routine.
Even if you just sing along to your favorite top 40 hit while your dogs bark and run around you, everyone should fill a dance card with canine partners!