Line Dancing Puzzle

Event: FALL LINE DANCE "Request Nite"

When: Friday, September 26, 2008 from 6 to 9 p.m.

Where: Central Citrus Community Center, 2804 W. Marc Knighton Ct., Room 114, Lecanto, FL

Admission: $5.00 - proceeds will benefit Citrus County Meals Programs

Hosts: Sara Bendel, local line dance instructor to lead the dances & Carl Raff, D.J.

I don't remember which one of us first came up with the idea that line dancing is a great form of exercise, but we both agreed. Besides, most of these days is too hot to go for a walk after dinner so we were really desperate for an alternative activity.

On top of that, Linda had an additional reason, "I'm going to my son's wedding in August and I want to get in shape!"

As for me - I just love dancing, so I'm in as long as there's music...

That was it! I made a phone call, found out about the place and time and a few hours later we were there - early.

In short - we jumped in, never checked how deep the water is (or the water temperature for that matter) and at that time we really didn't know how to swim.

I'm not even going to tell you what kind of shoes we were wearing. Just look at the photos below and make your own judgement about which one of the two of us was more inappropriate.

If you're laughing out loud by now... there's more!

Neither of us knew anything about the Electric Slide and our instructor - to put it mildly - kind of had "a look on her face."

I better admit it - I was pretty bad, although I'm quite descent in certain kinds of dances and had danced with a performing folklore group for nine years.

Every now and then I managed to catch up with other dancers and the music, and enjoyed a couple of correctly performed sets of steps. Unfortunately, that was more often the exception than the rule.

For the most part I'd guess we were pretty entertaining to the unusual number of people in the hall. To me, it felt like they all gathered today just to enjoy the clumsiness of two greenhorn line dancers.

Although, I'm not completely sure. Because I wouldn't dare to look at anybody's face...

Well, there was more. The Electric Slide hasn't been the only set of steps we were supposed to learn today but it is definitely the one that I'd tell anyone to look into - before going to the first line dancing class.

I hope the video below helps.

And now I really have to go... to practice the Electric Slide some more.

TO BE CONTINUED... :)

First, here's an official definition I found on the web:

A line dance is a formation dance in which a group of people dance in one or more lines (British English, "rows"), executing the same movements. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line dance

Quick Facts about Line Dancing:

* line dancers don't usually have physical contact with each other

* beginners line dancing simply repeats the same set of steps throughout an entire song

* hand gestures and other body movements all add to the complexity

* more advanced line dancing require from dancers to be more conscious of the music instead of simply repeating the same sequence of steps

* Older versions of line dancing can have lines in which the dancers face each other. Or they dance in a circle. Or all dancers, holding hands, in the "line" follow a leader around the dance floor.

* Although it is frequently thought that line dancing originates from the Wild West, the truth is that many variations of line dances can be found in almost any culture around the world. What distinguishes western line dance from others is dancing on western country music and no physical contact between the dancers.

* Since 1970s line dances accompany not only country music but also many popular music styles of non country music.

Line dancing for the second time was so much fun! This time our friend Joann joined us, too. But unlike us, for beginner, she wasn't bad at all.

Our instructor, Kathy, seemed a little bit surprised that we actually had guts to come back. I guess she shared our opinion that we were one of the hopeless cases... Surprisingly, though, after a while she told us that we improved 100%.

With the help of our patient instructor we practiced the turn in Electric Slide for a little while. And... guess what! We became ready and able to dance throughout the whole song and that was so much better than just practicing steps without music!

Beyond pretty much mastering the easiest coreography, we did fine on some other, new ones as well. It's funny how things get easier with 'every step you take' and 'every move you make'...

I'm still wondering about the shoes, though. If you own a pair of western boots, then you're all set. If not, then a pair of shoes that's comfy and slides nicely should do. Sneakers might not be your best choice especially if they stick to the floor which makes turns and some other elements quite difficult to perform.

Did you join the line dancers yet?

I believe there are clubs with understanding instructors that teach beginners of all ages all over the country. For $2 or $3 per lesson you can have a lot of fun, great company and get some healthy exercise. Check out your local community centers, VFWs and other clubs.

See you at the dance floor! :)

How to dance DISCO
Uploaded by zkgroove