Country Line Dancing

Country line dancing is a popular form of dancing you’ll often see in clubs and bars. There are social clubs geared just toward line dancing and people from all walks of life catch on and dance along to the simple dance steps that are fun to learn.

A textbook definition of this type of dancing is strictly a choreographed dance style with a repetitive pattern of steps. It always involves large groups of people, and unlike other social dances with mixed genders, there are no distinct partners and division of gender. Everyone dances the steps in sync, forming large “lines” or coordinated rows.

Even though country line dancing is associated with the West with cowboy hats and country music, it actually has roots reaching much further back than the Wild West era. In fact, line dancing originates in folk dances during a time when it was not acceptable for men and women to touch physically in historical couple dances. This is how the separate lines were formed, and many of those early dances have survived today. Other regions of the world, such as the Balkans, have a significant amount of line dancing in their modern culture. They are used as both social interaction and performance at local festivals and events.

Back in the United States, line dancing began in the 1970s, accompanied by not only country music but swing, disco, latin, jazz and even good old rock and roll.

In the 1980s, a large handful of country line dances were choreographed to match popular country songs. One song in particular, called the Boot Scootin’ Boogie, became a huge hit after it was recorded by the popular band Brooks and Dunn. The next big line dancing hit was found in Billy Ray Cyrus’ Achy Breaky Heart – which debuted in the early 1990s.

Today, line dancing is done to many different songs in social clubs and ballrooms, and the response from a crowd is always enthusiastic. It takes away the tension of typical dance hall scenes where everyone is expected to have a partner. The laid back atmosphere where everyone dances solo and yet together is popular, especially with younger crowds.

If you would like to learn how to line dance, it is quite simple. Many clubs and bars have special nights where they specialize in line dancing, and many of these have some sort of dance lesson before the night gets lively. Sometimes these are free, but oftentimes you have to pay a reasonable fee – either way, you get a crash course in line dancing and are usually ready to party it up and jump in with the boogy-ing crowd.

You can also learn these basic terms:

• Chassé – this means to move your foot to the side and then place the other foot up against it in a gliding motion, much like a horse galloping sideways
• Grapevine – This is when one foot steps out, and then the other foot steps behind. Then, the original foot steps out again and then the opposing foot touches next to it. This repeats either completely across the room, or alternates from side to side.
• Weave – This is like a grapevine, only after the foot crosses behind, it steps out and then crosses over the front. This repeats like the grapevine, either in one direction or back and forth.

When line dancing, you can wear whatever you want, although most people opt for jeans, boots and either a casual or dressy shirt. Dress as you would for a typical night at a club, but keep in mind that you won’t want to be in formal shoes if you plan on doing a lot of dancing.

Line dancing is fun, carefree and a great way to meet new people. Consider it next time you’re looking for something to do on a Saturday night.

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