New dances are those that I've learnt within the past year. What makes a great dance? The music is prolly the most important thing - the music makes or breaks a dance. A great track will make up for average or even poor choreography, but a song I dislike will turn even a brilliantly choreographed dance into something I'll walk off the floor for (and I speak for all dancers there!). Another must - the dance has to fit the music. Not necessesarily phrasing but the feel & emphasis in the music. Then there's the choreography. A good dance is one where the dance flows, there're no awkward turns or weight changes and the steps seem to flow naturally given your centre of mass, feet position, body momentum and how ya have yer weight distributed on ya feet. A quick look at the dances that have hung around for more than a few months and still get the numbers on the floor show they almost all have great songs (with a good beat & not too long or short) and tidy choreography. And despite the deluge of pop, hip hop, latin and who knows what else, dances done to good country tracks are the ones that hang around forever.