Musical freestyle
The unique and exiting sport of Musical Freestyle combines obedience and dance. It is a dazzling display whereby a handler and dog work together to music in choreographed routines. It may also be done as a team competition with multiple handlers and dogs. It is amazing to watch and lots of fun to participate in. Turn your tricks and obedience work into a dynamite routine. In Canada, Freestyle started as an exhibition at a dog show in 1991. Since then it is gathering followers and becoming more popular.
Mitzi
Musical Freestyle proved to be a perfect expression for Mitzi's
exuberant nature. In keeping with the Havanese heritage, Mitzi's first routine was done to a lively latin beat called Spanish Flea.
It suited her perfectly. A second routine was danced to a tune called
Popcorn. As well, we were part of our school's team routine
choreographed to the big band classic In the Mood; always a crowd
pleaser, especially with seniors. I never expected that dancing with
a dog could be so much fun. Give it a try, you might enjoy it too.
Mitzi's dance moves
- Left and Right Heeling
- Spin in both directions
- Twirl
- Walk backwards
- Jump (over feet, hoops and bars)
- Over/under
- Grapevine
- Circle
- Bow/curtsy
- Stop and freeze
- Speak (a well timed bark)
- Down
- Roll over
- Play dead
- Sit pretty
- High five
- Crawl
- Hi Ho Silver (waving her paws in the air)
- Gotcha - a fancy trick where Mitzi would jump into my arms for the grand finale