*
BW: Well, both states have beautiful weather and wonderful things to experience. As I find out more about you, I know there are a lot of people that are very happy that you chose Florida and The Villages for your home. BTW for the sake of those not familiar - The Villages area is just under 90 miles SW of Palm Coast. It is NW of Orlando between the cities of Summerfield and Leesburg on Florida state highway 25/27. Would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself and how you eventually ended up in Florida??
LM: My husband Peter grew up in New Orleans, and we moved there in 1988 from Washington D.C., where we had met after he retired from the Navy. We loved being in the city, but after several years, we bought a country property where we went on weekends. When we realized we liked being there more, we built our dream house (which I designed using a home CAD program) and moved to Mississippi full time. We imagined living there forever. Then in August 2005, Katrina changed our plans. We were inland and much luckier than many, but a tornado spawned by the storm caused massive destruction on our 30 acre property. After spending weeks of back-breaking labor and gobs of money trying to clean up and make repairs, we realized that the landscape had changed so drastically that it wouldn't recover in our lifetimes--it was time to move again. We picked Austin, Texas, where Peter has family and rented an apartment there. I even started going to line dance classes and made many friends. But before we got there permanently, we met dancers from The Villages when we attended the Southern Nationals at Mobile. Their description of "line dance heaven" was intriguing. We rented a house for a month to see for ourselves, but a week was all it took. We subdivided our property in Mississippi, and were fortunate to find a buyer for one parcel. We bought a house in The Villages in June, 2010, moved in July, and by August I was teaching two 3.5-hour mixed classes a week.
BW: Wow - You are a talented lady. When I come to visit perhaps you can show me pictures of the home you designed. That is remarkable! I am hoping that the damage caused by the spinoff of Katrina was not to your home. Its bad enough to try to clean up your property. We lost 20 trees on our 1 acre property in NC in the aftermath of Fran coming through. That was a mess. I can’t even imagine what 30 acres of damage would be like. Heartbreaking. I am totally envious of your location now - when you say “line dance heaven”…. ah, but I digress. You mentioned that you started right out teaching when you moved to The Villages. What was your previous line dance experience?
LM: When we lived in Mississippi I saw an ad for line dance classes at the local senior center. One morning I was in town shopping when I realized it was the right day and time for a class, so I popped in. I was wearing flip-flops, which I kicked off after five minutes (and got blisters on my toes from dancing barefoot!). But it was love at first vine and I never looked back. Soon I was seeking other classes and driving out of state once a week to dance, and even joined a team and competed in the Senior Olympics (bronze). When one of the instructors had surgery, I volunteered to lead the classes because nobody else wanted to take over and I didn't want to stop dancing. Eventually I started two other classes at local churches, with proceeds going toward their ministries. My first line dance event in 2004 was as life-changing as Katrina would be the following year. Meeting Michael Barr and Michele Burton at that point was a huge positive influence, and inspired me to be a better dancer and teacher. I joined the NTA, tested and passed, and have maintained my teaching certification ever since.
BW: Every time you answer a question, contributing to our conversation, you add a new high to my admiration of you! Love at first vine. I really like that. I will use it on the random quotes page. It was very brave of you to step up and begin teaching - it takes a lot of concentration, memory, awareness of the dancers behavior, thinking outside the box - and last but not least - confidence! You are all of that and more. It shows in the videos I have seen of you and of your class in dance demos. In fact, you have had 2 dances in the top 100 recently on Copperknob - “Warm Feet” and “Hot Feet” - different level dances for the song : Fire Under My Feet by Leona Lewis. Both are great dances with cute moves - with special finishes that adds nicely to the performance. oh, and the graphics at the beginning - thats cool! I mean hot. Flames and all! Very creative. I am envious of your students and also just your location! I believe I could dance 6-7 days a week - twice on weekends… Your area is really an active one for line dancing. What can you tell me about teaching line dance classes at The Villlages?
LM: Teaching in The Villages is . . . interesting. I'm one of about 17 instructors, all within 5.5 square miles. Some people outside our community may not know that we're all volunteers--we don't get paid for the hours we spend preparing for and teaching our classes here. In addition, all of our classes are open to everyone who lives here any time, so we have newbies in every single class. It's difficult to accommodate them, while keeping the regulars happy. I've devised one method for my big weekly beginner class: I start the first week each month teaching the basics and gradually add more steps and dances. If students go to class for a month, they will have a good exposure to basic steps and rhythms. Then the following month, I start over. That beginner class is followed by one for improvers, so students can stay longer or come later as they gain confidence and experience. As happens throughout Florida during "the season" from January-April, the population increases dramatically. Fire laws require that I limit attendance to 200 in the regional rec centers, and 85 in the smaller rooms, but the rest of the year my classes are comfortably smaller--I average about 100 and 40, respectively, in five classes a week. Although regular classes are open to residents only, we can have guests any time with a little preparation to get passes for them. In addition, classes sponsored by the Lifelong Learning College require a fee, but are open to non-residents.
BW: Nice class sizes - even in the summer! In our area the classes are any where from 5-40 depending on the day, time, etc. Most of our venues won’t accommodate more than 30 or so without crowding. So we have some great “full” & “no room on the dance floor” classes that actually have just 30 dancers. I can’t imagine what its like to try to anticipate the needs of so many! You have a good system for your classes. As far as pay - our area is very much the same. Any money collected is essentially for the use of whatever hall is allowed to us - from private clubs - vets, religious, etc. Air conditioning, bathroom facilities, electricity, wear and tear - it all adds up! You have a generous spirit to want to share your love of dancing with others. Another common thread amongst the line dance community!
What kind of expectations do you have for the future?
LM: We wake up every morning thinking "Oh boy, what's on the schedule today?" Peter plays golf regularly, and also dances in all of my classes. Peter recently submitted a proposal to teach a line dance class (for pay!) at one of the new independent/assisted living facilities nearby, so he may be embarking on his own teaching career--but he'll have to buy his own sound system. We travel to line dance events that are within a day's drive, and we're thrilled to be exactly where we are, doing exactly what we're doing.
BW: Awesome - and I know that hundreds of dancers at The Villages appreciate this also! And, as I see here, you offer more than just dance lessons and opportunities - you also have a great resource for them in the form of a website. If you don’t mind, I would like you to tell us a little bit about your website?
LM: I spend a lot of time on my website. We started it originally as a marketing tool to sell our property in Mississippi. When it finally sold (it took 6 years to sell the remaining parcels), Peter suggested I convert to line dancing. Take a look - of course most is of interest to my area and students, but there is general information that some more experienced dancers may find of interest or value. The site is: www.peterlisamcc.com.
BW: Thank you - I’m hoping some of our PC dancers will check it out and perhaps take a day trip to your area for some line dancing.
LM: Road Trip! Y'all are welcome--if we plan properly, we can include lunch and shopping, and maybe free entertainment and dancing on the square afterward.
BW: This sounds awesome - an invitation I intend to take you up on - soon! Thank you again!
Lisa's site -- www.peterlisamcc.com Click --> Lisa's Profile Page on Copperknob There are many wonderful dances
that she has choreographed, some you may have danced already!
Lisa includes these at the bottom of all of her emails:
The inertia of habit is a powerful force . --Arno Peters
What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof. --Christopher Hitchens
LM: My husband Peter grew up in New Orleans, and we moved there in 1988 from Washington D.C., where we had met after he retired from the Navy. We loved being in the city, but after several years, we bought a country property where we went on weekends. When we realized we liked being there more, we built our dream house (which I designed using a home CAD program) and moved to Mississippi full time. We imagined living there forever. Then in August 2005, Katrina changed our plans. We were inland and much luckier than many, but a tornado spawned by the storm caused massive destruction on our 30 acre property. After spending weeks of back-breaking labor and gobs of money trying to clean up and make repairs, we realized that the landscape had changed so drastically that it wouldn't recover in our lifetimes--it was time to move again. We picked Austin, Texas, where Peter has family and rented an apartment there. I even started going to line dance classes and made many friends. But before we got there permanently, we met dancers from The Villages when we attended the Southern Nationals at Mobile. Their description of "line dance heaven" was intriguing. We rented a house for a month to see for ourselves, but a week was all it took. We subdivided our property in Mississippi, and were fortunate to find a buyer for one parcel. We bought a house in The Villages in June, 2010, moved in July, and by August I was teaching two 3.5-hour mixed classes a week.
BW: Wow - You are a talented lady. When I come to visit perhaps you can show me pictures of the home you designed. That is remarkable! I am hoping that the damage caused by the spinoff of Katrina was not to your home. Its bad enough to try to clean up your property. We lost 20 trees on our 1 acre property in NC in the aftermath of Fran coming through. That was a mess. I can’t even imagine what 30 acres of damage would be like. Heartbreaking. I am totally envious of your location now - when you say “line dance heaven”…. ah, but I digress. You mentioned that you started right out teaching when you moved to The Villages. What was your previous line dance experience?
LM: When we lived in Mississippi I saw an ad for line dance classes at the local senior center. One morning I was in town shopping when I realized it was the right day and time for a class, so I popped in. I was wearing flip-flops, which I kicked off after five minutes (and got blisters on my toes from dancing barefoot!). But it was love at first vine and I never looked back. Soon I was seeking other classes and driving out of state once a week to dance, and even joined a team and competed in the Senior Olympics (bronze). When one of the instructors had surgery, I volunteered to lead the classes because nobody else wanted to take over and I didn't want to stop dancing. Eventually I started two other classes at local churches, with proceeds going toward their ministries. My first line dance event in 2004 was as life-changing as Katrina would be the following year. Meeting Michael Barr and Michele Burton at that point was a huge positive influence, and inspired me to be a better dancer and teacher. I joined the NTA, tested and passed, and have maintained my teaching certification ever since.
BW: Every time you answer a question, contributing to our conversation, you add a new high to my admiration of you! Love at first vine. I really like that. I will use it on the random quotes page. It was very brave of you to step up and begin teaching - it takes a lot of concentration, memory, awareness of the dancers behavior, thinking outside the box - and last but not least - confidence! You are all of that and more. It shows in the videos I have seen of you and of your class in dance demos. In fact, you have had 2 dances in the top 100 recently on Copperknob - “Warm Feet” and “Hot Feet” - different level dances for the song : Fire Under My Feet by Leona Lewis. Both are great dances with cute moves - with special finishes that adds nicely to the performance. oh, and the graphics at the beginning - thats cool! I mean hot. Flames and all! Very creative. I am envious of your students and also just your location! I believe I could dance 6-7 days a week - twice on weekends… Your area is really an active one for line dancing. What can you tell me about teaching line dance classes at The Villlages?
LM: Teaching in The Villages is . . . interesting. I'm one of about 17 instructors, all within 5.5 square miles. Some people outside our community may not know that we're all volunteers--we don't get paid for the hours we spend preparing for and teaching our classes here. In addition, all of our classes are open to everyone who lives here any time, so we have newbies in every single class. It's difficult to accommodate them, while keeping the regulars happy. I've devised one method for my big weekly beginner class: I start the first week each month teaching the basics and gradually add more steps and dances. If students go to class for a month, they will have a good exposure to basic steps and rhythms. Then the following month, I start over. That beginner class is followed by one for improvers, so students can stay longer or come later as they gain confidence and experience. As happens throughout Florida during "the season" from January-April, the population increases dramatically. Fire laws require that I limit attendance to 200 in the regional rec centers, and 85 in the smaller rooms, but the rest of the year my classes are comfortably smaller--I average about 100 and 40, respectively, in five classes a week. Although regular classes are open to residents only, we can have guests any time with a little preparation to get passes for them. In addition, classes sponsored by the Lifelong Learning College require a fee, but are open to non-residents.
BW: Nice class sizes - even in the summer! In our area the classes are any where from 5-40 depending on the day, time, etc. Most of our venues won’t accommodate more than 30 or so without crowding. So we have some great “full” & “no room on the dance floor” classes that actually have just 30 dancers. I can’t imagine what its like to try to anticipate the needs of so many! You have a good system for your classes. As far as pay - our area is very much the same. Any money collected is essentially for the use of whatever hall is allowed to us - from private clubs - vets, religious, etc. Air conditioning, bathroom facilities, electricity, wear and tear - it all adds up! You have a generous spirit to want to share your love of dancing with others. Another common thread amongst the line dance community!
What kind of expectations do you have for the future?
LM: We wake up every morning thinking "Oh boy, what's on the schedule today?" Peter plays golf regularly, and also dances in all of my classes. Peter recently submitted a proposal to teach a line dance class (for pay!) at one of the new independent/assisted living facilities nearby, so he may be embarking on his own teaching career--but he'll have to buy his own sound system. We travel to line dance events that are within a day's drive, and we're thrilled to be exactly where we are, doing exactly what we're doing.
BW: Awesome - and I know that hundreds of dancers at The Villages appreciate this also! And, as I see here, you offer more than just dance lessons and opportunities - you also have a great resource for them in the form of a website. If you don’t mind, I would like you to tell us a little bit about your website?
LM: I spend a lot of time on my website. We started it originally as a marketing tool to sell our property in Mississippi. When it finally sold (it took 6 years to sell the remaining parcels), Peter suggested I convert to line dancing. Take a look - of course most is of interest to my area and students, but there is general information that some more experienced dancers may find of interest or value. The site is: www.peterlisamcc.com.
BW: Thank you - I’m hoping some of our PC dancers will check it out and perhaps take a day trip to your area for some line dancing.
LM: Road Trip! Y'all are welcome--if we plan properly, we can include lunch and shopping, and maybe free entertainment and dancing on the square afterward.
BW: This sounds awesome - an invitation I intend to take you up on - soon! Thank you again!
Lisa's site -- www.peterlisamcc.com Click --> Lisa's Profile Page on Copperknob There are many wonderful dances
that she has choreographed, some you may have danced already!
Lisa includes these at the bottom of all of her emails:
The inertia of habit is a powerful force . --Arno Peters
What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof. --Christopher Hitchens
Lisa was one of the Line Dance Instructors
at the well-attended, fun dance event "Space Coast Blast 2015" She is shown here with fellow instructors: left to right: Larry B, Ferrel M, Dennis H, Lisa M and Trevor T |
Lisa is a busy, busy lady! She still finds time and
ways to fit in charitable work... Pictured here on stage is Lisa at their pajama party - Dancers' attire: pajamas Dancers' contributions? why, pajamas of course! The pajamas were collected for shelter kids. |

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CONGRATULATIONS LISA!!
Lisa won 2nd place for her dance "All the Right Junk".
Shown with her at the podium is her husband Peter.
All the Right Junk is a Phrased Intermediate Dance
to the song All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor.
Pretty cool - especially as she was pitted against
professional choreographers! You go, girl!
UCWDC World Championships were held this
year in Orlando