DeAnna Lee's Final Performance

On Friday when I got to Bourbon Jacks, I noticed a lot of "my" dancers were there.  I refer to them as mine, because I helped hand picked them at try outs, then I trained them, coached them, and pushed them to become the best dancers they could be over the last year.  This dance team and our chapter together will always be one of my fondest memories!

  

The dance team were all there for a reason... to surprise me! 

Last August after concert season was over, I had this idea to have the BST perform at the Hometown Holiday concert.  I choreographed a special performance routine, and I began to push my dancers harder.  I am a professional partner-style dance instructor too, and I decided to teach them east coast swing and jitterbug incorporating some fun swing elements into the routine.  We rehearsed for the next three months straight, and I was ALMOST done teaching them the entire routine.  We were gonna wow everyone at Hometown Holiday!  

But November 1st came, and the lives of "my" dancers and the big moment we had all been working so hard towards was changed forever.  The team was left to keep going without me.  

BST showed up on Friday night to remind me that with them my legacy is alive and dancing.  They told me how much they miss my coaching and expertise, and they will all be thinking of me when they perform my routine on Monday.

  
They also surprised me with a Christmas present filled with all kinds of goodies including a 2013 BST Scrapbook! 

I love the line in this scrapbook, "We put our hats on, boots up, and dance our hearts out"!  

I cried like a baby!  They were tears of joy knowing that someone else may have taken away my ability to coach this team through their big performance and this particular chapter, but they can never take away the bond and impression we all left on one another's hearts and boots!  

We all still dance with see each other at Bourbon Jacks. Friends that dance together STAY together!  

We had so much fun this past year! 

To "my" dancers:   

Y'all are the most spirited dancers I've ever had the honor of coaching!  Ever country calorie we burned together is etched into my memory and will always be there.  Your "Boot-A-Bility" is amazing, and I know y'all won't be "itchin' or twitchin'" ;)-.  You'll be turnin' those Boots Loose!  Get out there and show them what you can do!  You are going to nail it, and everyone is going to love it!  

To those of you going to Hometown Holiday, make sure you get there in time to see them perform.  If you DO get to see them do their boot thang', will you hoot and holler for me PLEASE?  I'm not attending, but oh how I wish I could see this performance!  Maybe take some video or a picture or two and post it to my Facebook page?  Pretty please?  

DeAnna Lee's Facebook Page

God bless you dancers!  And Merry Merry Christmas!