All about Urban Line Dance

I started Line Dancing with my husband John at Ray’s Monday class in 2012 at Ranvilles Community Centre. I went on to help Ray on the door the following year when he started the Fareham Academy class and then when he started the Thursday Class in Stubbington. In March 2017 I completed and passed the instructors course with BWDA2000. In April 2017 I took over the Wednesday Beginner Class at Fareham Academy and the First part (Beginners) of the Thursday class in Stubbington. In 2018 Ray decided to step down completely from the classes and I took over all 3 of them.

I was a qualified Ballet teacher before I had my children and taught Ballet to children from 3 years old up to teenagers and the occasional adult who wanted to learn. While living in Cyprus for five and a half years I taught ballet again and really enjoyed it.

My working life has been varied. I began in the Civil Service but had to resign when John and I moved to Hong Kong for a couple of years. When we got back from there, with our two children, I was a stay at home mum until they went to school, then I did all sorts of temporary work, fitting around school hours. Then we were in Cyprus and when we came back I worked for an Estate Agent for 16 years.

Line dancing came next and I really enjoy it. The classes are great and are filled with wonderful people who make every session a joy.

I discovered line dancing in 2015 when I first went to Ray’s Wednesday evening class with my, then 14-year-old, daughter and was immediately hooked. Attending one class a week soon led to two, then three, then four, then ……!!!

I completed my instructor training and became a fully qualified BWDA2000 instructor in July 2023.

I work part time for a local authority and, in addition to Urban Line Dance classes, I also attend other local classes, and run sessions for Brendoncare and BeActive Hampshire.

I love line dancing – the dances, the music, the people and just want to share the enjoyment it brings with anyone that wants to share it with me.

Qualifications & Insurance

Brenda & Jackie are both qualified Best Western Dance Academy 2000 Instructors. They have insurance and a Public Performance License (PPL) through BWDA also.

Jackie also holds an Enhanced DBS certificate and a Level 3 Award in Emergency First Aid at work.

We have a team of helpers that help us to run the classes smoothly and we are very grateful to them. We have Lesley, Lorraine, Di, Susan and Amanda.

Lesley welcomes you in on Tuesdays and Thursdays and walks through some of the dances on Tuesdays, for which she is insured. Di and Lorraine organise the tea breaks on Tuesdays and Thursdays with help from Susan. Susan arrives early on Tuesdays and Thursday and gets the hall ready with chairs etc and takes over in the kitchen when necessary. Amanda is responsible for our website.

Urban Line dance has been in Fareham since 2012 when its founder, Ray Hodson, started an Absolute Beginner class on Monday evenings at Ranvilles Community Centre. Ray came up with the name Urban Line Dance as he wanted to differentiate that this wasn’t just line dancing to Country music but included many different genres, including modern music.

The following year Ray’s Beginner class was born on Wednesday evenings at Fareham Academy, then, in 2014, the Thursday Morning class was started at Stubbington Methodist Church Hall. Ray then moved the Monday class from Ranvilles Community Centre to Fareham Academy, and it became an Improver/Intermediate class. Ray ran all the classes until 2017 when Brenda took over the Wednesday Beginner class and the Beginner session of the Thursday class.

In 2018 when Ray decided to step down completely, Brenda took over all the classes and with the classes in high demand for beginners, decided to start the Monday Class one hour earlier to cover all levels. Ray still pops in on a couple of the classes.

Normal classes were interrupted during each Covid lockdown, but with the help of Zoom many of us kept going. Brenda really enjoyed hosting those sessions but it was not the same as dancing in lines with others around. Hopefully we won’t have to do that again, but if we do, the option is always there. Long live Zoom!!

When restrictions were lifted slightly and in person classes were able to restart, the Thursday class was split into two sessions to ensure social distancing rules were followed. Even then there was not enough room for everyone so Brenda started a “temporary” overflow class on Tuesday mornings at our Stubbington venue. That class grew and grew and is no longer temporary. With more brand new dancers wanting to join, Brenda started class an hour earlier on Tuesday mornings to add in an Absolute Beginner class. The Absolute Beginner class began with just a few members but has grown since we started and keeps on growing. The Thursday class is no longer split and covers all levels starting with Beginners and finishing with Intermediates.

At the end of 2022 Brenda became ill and was diagnosed with Lymphoma (blood cancer). 2023 began with 6 months of chemotherapy and during this time Jackie took all the classes with help from Ray and Lesley. In 2024, Brenda returned to teaching classes and we decided that we would teach the classes between us, with Brenda teaching on Tuesday, Jackie teaching on Wednesday and both of us doing Monday and Thursday.

Since 2026, we have decided to have a bit of a change around. Jackie is taking the Monday and Wednesday classes, and Brenda is taking the Tuesday and Thursday classes. Jackie also hosts our Monthly Social and organises most of our dancing weekends away.

The increased popularity of Country Music in this country has led to an increase in the number of people wanting to learn to Line Dance. Our classes are larger now and the number of Beginners has increased but all the sessions are friendly and welcoming and that is down to the members.

We continue to enjoy all the classes and thank class members for making each session a time to remember. Hopefully we’ll be line-dancing in Fareham for many years and enjoying the fun and friendships for a long time to come.

Best wishes to you all, and we look forward to seeing you in class!

Brenda & Jackie xx