Randy began dancing in 1988 when he enrolled in beginning two step classes at the local Parks & Rec in Los Angeles, California. There he met his future dance partner and wife Rhonda Shotts. Even though they were both beginners, they partnered up and began taking private lessons and competing at UCWDC dance events. They moved quickly through the lower divisions, then on to the Masters Division in 1991. During this time, they were also active in teams competition and spent two years performing with “Sizzlin’ Country”, then another three years with the Worlds 1 and 2 team champions, “The Midnight Cowboys”. Randy became co-director of the Portland Dance Festival in 1998. He served two years as the UCWDC Business Team chairman where he led the movement to put into writing the organization’s policies, procedures, job descriptions, and other internal documents. Randy was the Worlds director from 2011 to 2020, and he was the manager of the Country Two Step Tour from 2012 to 2020.
Blog: Don’t Touch My Hat! And More Stuff You Should Know about Cowboy Hats
That hat you wear on the dance floor? You know that doesn’t make you a Cowboy—right? UCWDC rules require men to wear a traditional Cowboy hat, but traditional Cowboys would give us the side eye over the way we treat a tool of their trade. Cowboy hats easily come in at...Blog: Fright to Flight
You’ve practiced for months, week after week, and with each lesson, you feel more confident and stronger in your abilities. You know your routines, and you’ve drilled technique skills countless times in your head. Unfortunately, time and time again, when competition...All Ways Dance! …monthly musings of a convert to the church of dance
Why Dance? In the summer, even at 8:30, the contrast of the bright Texas sun with the pitch black interior of the dance club was stark enough to instantly blind you. Slowly your eyes adjust and with the help of the flicker of faded neon lights over the bar, a magical...