Once Upon a December — A Dog Dance Choreography
A relationship-first dog dance experience set to Christy Altomare’s “Once Upon a December”
Welcome to “Once Upon a December”
This choreography is part of Lineage of Love Dog Training's approach to dog dance: relationship-first, assent-led, and built on joy. This page is your home base for the work.
There's no required order, no checklist to complete, and no right version to reach. You're not here to replicate a routine. You're here to make a deal with movement — see what the two of you conjure.
In this programme, dog dance isn't a performance to perfect; it's a wickedly fun little ritual you return to, again and again.
Move slowly. Laugh often. Listen closely.
Take the chance and dance into the dark.
First Choreography?
Finished your Starting Steps?
Choreography
Stepping Onto the Dance Floor
This is where we begin to play with the music together.
The choreography in this programme is organized around musical phrases rather than individual tricks. Each section answers what the music is doing — its rhythm, its mood, the fire in it — and offers more than one way to move together inside that moment.
There is no single correct version of this dance.
You're encouraged to adapt, simplify, skip, repeat, or change anything to suit the dog you have today. A quiet walk, a pause, a moment of stillness — these count as choreography too, when you both choose them.
You don't need every foundation solid before you start. Many teams move back and forth between foundations and choreography, letting each shape the other.
This section is an invitation to explore, to answer, to see what surfaces when you and your dog listen to the same song.
Bring curiosity. Bring patience.
Bring your nerve.
“Once Upon a December” Song Sections
Below you’ll find the choreography divided into five song sections. Each section provides the movement notes with timestamps.
Opening
0:00 – 0:33The waltz step opens this dance. You begin, then invite your dog to join.
Memory
0:34 – 0:57Memory can be a gift, but it can also fill one with longing. You and your dog explore its possibilities together.
Drift
0:58 – 1:32The memories come alive for you both, and you dance into them, bringing them into this world.
Recollection
1:33 – 1:56This part is an echo of what came before, a little more raw because you know you can't hang onto it.
Longing
1:57 – fadeThis is the longest section, but you're also winding down, letting go of the memories and settling into sleep.
“Once Upon a December” Opening
This song is a bit like a dream. Keep your limbs soft and flowy.
| Time | Section | Frame | Movement | Tips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | SectionBefore song starts | FrameSide (L or R) | MovementDog in Stay. Guardian facing them. | TipsHold yourself softly, limbs loose. |
| 0:00–0:10 | SectionOpening music | FrameSide (L or R) | MovementDog in Stay. Guardian performs a Waltz Box Step around the dog in time to the music. | TipsThe Waltz Box Step can be soft and flowy. You can add turns if you like. |
| 0:11–0:15 | Section"Dancing..." | FrameSide (L or R) | MovementSide to Orbit. Dog orbits you, then cospin in the opposite direction. | TipsThis is a fast sequence. Prioritize the easeful feeling of a dance and skip the cospin if it feels too rushed. |
| 0:16–0:21 | Section"Things..." | FrameFront | MovementSide to Front. Call your dog to Front, then walk backwards with your dog in Front frame. | TipsWalk backwards in time to the music, or in a travelling waltz step. |
| 0:22–0:27 | Section"And..." | FrameFront | MovementFront to under leg. Under leg x 2 (one per leg), wrapping back to Front each time. | TipsAgain, if getting two leg passes in feels too fast, go with one. |
| 0:28–0:33 | Section"Once..." | FrameFront | MovementFront to bow. Dog to Front and bow. | TipsGuardians can place one leg forward to bow over if you like that aesthetic better than a bow from the waist. |
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“Once Upon a December” Memory
The knock's answered, and the price comes due. Your hands mark the count — tick, tick — a toll paid one touch at a time. Then the bargain shifts: you're pulled under, swept through fine print neither of you read closely enough. Nothing here is rushed, because the debt doesn't care how fast you pay it. What waits on the other side is another spell entirely.
| Time | Section | Frame | Movement | Tips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0:32–0:45 | Section"Tick tick..." | FrameFront | MovementTouch or Paw. Have your dog target your hand. | TipsAny variety of Touch or Paw works well here; Paw to Foot looks especially good. Don't worry about keeping up with the beats — if you do want to use them with your foot, alternate feet and hold each foot up for a full four-count (four paw-to-foot touches across this phrase). On the fourth, let your leg step forward so it lands ahead of the other. |
| 0:46–0:58 | Section"I'ma dance..." | FrameFront | MovementFront to Straddle: Under Leg. Lure your dog under your front leg, facing the same direction (e.g., left leg forward, dog faces left). Step backward with Straddle Swishes. | TipsBest suited to medium and large dogs whose body fills the space between your legs; for smaller dogs, substitute an orbit around the forward leg for a comparable visual. This phrase gives room for about four Straddle Swishes — aim for roughly one per lyric line, but don't force an exact count if it disrupts your dog's rhythm. If your dog doesn't need a lure for the swishes, bring your hands into the dance. |
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“Once Upon a December” Drift
Your magic is getting out of hand. Everything is looser in this section, a little wilder. Let your body become loose and flowy as you go through this section. Sass highly recommended.
| Time | Section | Frame | Movement | Tips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0:59–1:01 | SectionMusical Interlude | FrameStraddle | MovementStraddle to Front. Lure your dog out of Straddle to Front, facing you. | TipsThis is a quick transition moment. |
| 1:02–1:11 | Section"Can I have..." | FrameFront | MovementFront to Back. Spin to face away from your dog and walk forward in Back heel. | TipsCommit to the spin — a full, decisive turn reads as confident rather than fussy. Keep your Back heel walk steady and unhurried; this is the calm before Straddle Stay locks the dog in place. |
| 1:12–1:14 | Section"Just wait 'til I get there down below" | FrameBack | MovementBack to Straddle. Lure your dog from Back into Straddle frame. | TipsEmphasize the lure movement with a pointed finger facing downward. |
| 1:15–1:17 | Section"Knock..." | FrameStraddle | MovementStraddle Stay. Dog holds Stay in Straddle while you "knock" on the imaginary gates. | TipsThis echoes the guardian's knock from the song's opening. Let the gesture land with the same weight: sharp, deliberate, not rushed. |
| 1:18–1:21 | Section"Guess who's..." | FrameStraddle | MovementStraddle Stay. Dog holds Stay in Straddle while you run your hands down your sides, flicking out on "spell." | TipsThe hand-flick on "spell" is the payoff — hold everything else still so that one motion reads clearly against a static dog and guardian. |
| 1:22–1:28 | Section"Satan always gets his way" | FrameStraddle | MovementStraddle Stay. Dog holds Stay in Straddle while you move forward of your dog, walk around with hands behind your back, and stop in Side frame. | TipsAim for lots of attitude here. |
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This is the longest section. The music falters, and you falter with it. Droop as it fades, come back as it returns, because you were never really holding the reins to begin with. The spins that follow aren't about precision anymore; let the song make you floppy. You’re choosing to enjoy the fall and the chaos it promises.
“Once Upon a December” Recollection
| Time | Section | Frame | Movement | Tips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1:29–1:42 | Section"I'ma dance..." | FrameFront | MovementFront to Straddle: Under Leg. Lure your dog under your front leg, facing the same direction (e.g., left leg forward, dog faces left). Step backward with Straddle Swishes. | TipsBest suited to medium and large dogs whose body fills the space between your legs; for smaller dogs, substitute an orbit around the forward leg for a comparable visual. This phrase gives room for about four Straddle Swishes — aim for roughly one per lyric line, but don't force an exact count if it disrupts your dog's rhythm. If your dog doesn't need a lure for the swishes, bring your hands into the dance. |
| 1:41–1:54 | Section"Ooh, ooh..." | FrameStraddle | MovementStraddle to Side. Invite your dog out of Straddle and begin a sequence of spins. | TipsFor this section, your dog can orbit you, you can orbit your dog, you can spin together (co-spin), or you can circle each other. This is the moment the dance starts to spiral out of your control, like your spell's gotten out of hand. |
| 1:55–2:08 | SectionMusical Interlude (fades, distorts, returns) | FrameSide | MovementSpin (choice). As the music fades, slow your movement and start to droop; as it increases in volume and coherency, invite your dog back into Straddle. | TipsBehave as though everything's slipped from your control, and you're going to roll with it. The more you lean into the drooping as the volume fades, the better your coming back to life will read. |
| 2:09–2:22 | Section"I'ma dance, dance, dance into the dark, I hear my" | FrameStraddle | MovementStraddle Spins. Spin with your dog in Straddle frame, at a pace comfortable for your dog. | TipsReversing direction will help keep you both from getting dizzy. |
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“Once Upon a December” Longing
Your finale is here. You’ve been to Hell and back again and would do it all over again if you needed to. Magic spent and gates behind you, you’re ready to collapse into rest.
| Time | Section | Frame | Movement | Tips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:21–2:30 | Section"Ooh..." | FrameStraddle | MovementStraddle to Front. Walk backward with your dog in Front. | TipsYou may also reverse direction here and walk toward your dog, with the dog walking backward. Let your body go loose here, as though the song has gotten to you and made you floppy. |
| 2:30–2:33 | Section"Ooh, ooh..." | FrameFront | MovementFront to Straddle. Invite your dog to Straddle. | TipsMake the invitation loose. If you have a small dog, you can go to your knees on the floor instead; keep your descent loose and flowy. |
| 2:32–fade | Section"When it comes to love I'm going straight to Hell" | FrameStraddle | MovementStraddle Stay. Dog holds Stay in Straddle while you skim your hand over your heart and lift it. On "straight," let your hand drift down; on "Hell," your upper body drops like a deadweight, as though someone has cut your strings. | TipsIf working with a smaller dog, Straddle can be done while you kneel — same hand gesture. On "Hell," fold over as though your strings have been cut; be careful not to squish or scare your dog. |
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The Dance Floor Is Open
Where to next? You've completed your James Bond mission together. Everything else in the membership is yours to explore from here: pick up new moves, start building your own routine, or bring your dance to Take the Floor.
The Dog Dance Membership Dance Card
1Starting Steps
Dancing begins here
2Choreography Library
Ready-made routines
2Tricks Library
Build your vocabulary
3Build Your Own Routine
Read what your dog offers
4Take the Floor
Optional video coaching
5Forum
Talk with other members
1Starting Steps
Start here
2Choreography Library
Ready-made routines
2Tricks Library
Build your vocabulary
3Build Your Own Routine
Read what your dog offers
4Take the Floor
Optional video coaching
5Forum
Talk with other members
Go as slow as you need for your dog to succeed.
Questions, or need help finding something? Reach out anytime.