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Line Dance On Line was founded to provide dance instruction videos that give dancers the kind of information they want and need. Every effort is made to produce clear, complete, understandable videos. Our instructors have many years of combined experience in dance and instruction. We strive to use terminology that is clear and universally understandable.
Our Instructors
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Linus and Cherie
Linus Ellis
Linus is by training a musician, having studied at The Juilliard School and The Catholic University of America. He has played hundreds of keyboard recitals in the United States and Europe, been a choral and orchestral conductor, and is a published composer. He has taught music at every grade level, from kindergarten through graduate school, and held an assistant professorship in college.
Linus has been dancing since he was quite young. As a child he had regular ballroom lessons and won his first competition, a Charleston contest, in his early teens. When he left college, pressures of touring and teaching filled his time and he dropped out of dancing, returning during the Country craze. He soon began competing, winning regional events and an International Grand Championship.
Linus has taught line dance and couples dance throughout the area and at dance events for a number of years. He has coached a line dance team that won an International Grand Championship, and has coached competitors who have won at CWLDA, CDA, and UCWDC competitions. He is a certified Line Dance judge for several organizations. His column, A View From Another Side, ran regularly in Country Calendar magazine until it ceased publication in 1999.
Linus believes that he is 100% responsible for changing the consciousness of music and dance in the world and bases his priorities on this responsibility. He is always looking for co-equal workers.
Linus believes that Music and Dance are the languages of the soul and the each of us needs to learn those languages to better understand ourselves, regardless of what our religious beliefs may or may not be.
There is an old Chinese proverb that says:
I hear and I forget,
I see and I remember,
I do and I understand.
What the soul means to us depends upon we believe. It has different meanings to different people. For believers in religions it is that part of us that lives beyond death, it may come back many times. For the atheist it is the deep unconscious. Regardless of what we believe, the soul is the most real part of our being, and it is what we actually are. Learning to speak languages of the soul will help us learn who we really are, what we really think, how we really feel.
We don't have to be French to speak French, German to speak German, Chinese to speak Chinese? Anyone can learn to speak a new language and thats where our Chinese Proverb comes in. Music or dance can be explained to us but if we never hear music or see dance, we will not learn to speak music or dance and will not even remember them. We can hear someone perform music or see someone dance and we will remember music or dance but not speak it. To speak music or dance, we must do it. We need to learn how to sing, or learn how to play an instrument, or learn how to move to dance. Then we will be able to speak the language of the soul.
To learn more about Linus's activities in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, USA area, go to The Ellis Studio Web Site.
Cherie Harclerode
Born in Arizona, Cherie has always had music and dancing in her blood. Her mother was a Dime-A-Dance dancer in the 40s and danced every chance she got. As a child, Cherie would join her in the living room, dancing to whatever music was playing, letting the music speak to her soul and tell her body what to do. When her mother wasn't available as a dance partner, Cherie would hold on to a doorknob and practice the swing. At 12 she even tried to teach her sister, then 8, how to swing so she could have someone to dance with.
Cherie began her formal dance career at the age of 8 as a tap dancer and performer in San Bernardino, California. She continued her tap dancing, eventually performing with Gotta Dance in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. In her teen years she was organizing dance events and in 1990 she became involved with both line dancing and country couples dancing. Cherie has choreographed many line dances that are popular on the Mainland as well as in Hawaii. She has performed with the UpCountry Dancers in Waimea, Hawaii and was one of the originators of the Kona Western Dancers in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. She choreographed their line and couples routines and performed with them for six years on the Big Island.
Cherie has not limited her dancing to tap and country; she was also a member of the Kona Ballroom Dance Club. She has taught classes and workshops in country couples, line dancing, partner dancing, and ballroom; and has been a member of the National Teachers Association (NTA) since 1993 completing Levels I, II, & III Line Dance Certification. As well as receiving training from visiting instructors in Hawaii, Cherie traveled to the Mainland to take workshops in understanding music, lead and follow, motion and body movement, Night Club Two Step, and West Coast Swing.
Now residing in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with her husband Jim, Cherie has joined forces with Linus Ellis of Williamsburg, Virginia, and continues to do the thing she loves most to do - dance. Linus and Cherie teach and dance in the Hampton Roads area. In addition to being a dancer, she is a published author with a new book due out soon.
Cherie believes that music feeds the soul while dancing feeds the spirit. She is 100% responsible to bring joy and love to the world through dance and music. She believes there is a dancer in each of us just waiting to be expressed. A desire is an opportunity taping on the door of the consciousness. She dares you to open that door, step through, and let the fire ignite, feed your soul with music, feed your spirit, and dance! Fly free on the wings of music and be the dancer you've always wanted to be!
Linus and Cherie have been dance partners since her return to Hampton Roads. They have been active in the eastern Virginia dance community and have been featured performers and instructors at various events and workshops including the Atlantic Seashores Dance Faire, St. Jude's Childrens Hospital Benefit, and the Saltwater Hoedown.
Our Step Descriptions and Terminology
We have compared dance terminology and explanations from various sources and have chosen only those step names that are universal in meaning. They are always explained in the descriptions of the steps on both the sheets and in the videos as well as in the introductions to the videos. Names that have different meanings in different geographic areas or to various groups of dancers are avoided in favor of descriptive names. Every effort is being made to make the instructions clear to everyone who hears the tape or uses the step sheets regardless of their background or experience.
Join our Mailing List
We have a newsletter we send out from time to time to our mailing list. It costs nothing. It includes information about dancing, technical hints to help you dance better, and styling hints to make you look better. To join our mailing list just click newsletter and send us your name and email address.
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