Contrary to popular belief, Line Dancing is not a Western style original dance. The line formation was first developed by many past cultures. Many folk dances are performer in lines or nonlinear formations.
However, in recent years, it has become a popular dance for many people. Five years before the Disco Craze of 1977 there were at least five Western songs that used the line dance. To of them were the “Walkin Wazzi” and “The Cowboy Boogie”, ” In the 1980’s over a dozen new dances were created for line dancing. Songs like “Boot Scootin Boogie” and “Achy Breaky Heart” became very popular. It’s popularity grew out of the “Disco” type of dance period.
In 1994 “Swamp Thang” was choreographed by Max Perry and became a big hit to dance to. It was a techno song that used banjo’s. In 1998, Perry and Jo Thompson and Scott Blevins started to use ballroom dancing techniques to take line dancing to the next level.
Line dancing is used as a way of dance at many country western bars and clubs across the United States. The best thing about it is that it can take an imbalance of male and female partners and still provide a way to dance. Probably the biggest disadvantage of line dancing is that you have to have a large enough space to accommodate dancers and their way of promenading around the floor.
Two very popular songs that took advantage of the line dance was the “Macarena’ and the “Nutbush City Limits”. Although these aren’t country western songs, they were able to use the line dance. The Chicken Dance” is danced in a circle but is considered a form of line dance also.
The introduction of the line dance has also brought the addition of dance groups as a form of socializing in many communities across the United States. Many bars and clubs were able to capitalize on the new form of dance.
Dancers would dress up similar to the way that Square Dancers did. Cowboy shirts, boots, jeans, fancy vests, and hats would help accent this new style of dancing.
The line dance would put together different types of steps. Standard steps used were the Chasse, weave, three step, lock step, shuffle step, and grapevine. As time and advancement of the dance went by, other steps like the applejack, boot grind, sugarfoot, and rock step would be added.
Competitions would also be set up for clubs and groups alike to compete among each other. Along with this came three governing bodies. They were the “Masters in Line”. “World Country Dance Federation”. and the United Country Western Dance Council”. These three groups would help set up competition at various places.
In the past few years, Line Dancing has sort of leveled off. What at one time was exploding in popularity, has slowed in some areas of the country. Still for many individuals, it is an important part of their social life.
Some Country Western performers have also benefited from line dancing. Performers like “Brooks and Dunn” and “Billy Ray Cyrus” had songs that became number one hits.
People love to dance. Just like the “twist” was in the 60’s, line dancing is just as popular in the present time. It is a part of our American culture.
sources; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_dance
