Outline
In the words of Beyoncé, ‘This ain’t Texas’, but here in the UK, line dancing is having a moment. Maybe it’s because country songs have topped the UK chart for more than half of this year.
Or because our very own cover star, country queen Shania Twain, played the Legends slot at Glastonbury last weekend. Whatever, there are now 208 million posts tagged ‘line dancing’ on TikTok, and UK searches for classes are up 25 per cent this year.
Slimline
This is not just a fun hobby. An hour of weaving, scooting and two-stepping burns up to 400 calories, about the same as 60 minutes of swimming or cycling. Line dancing improves coordination, too, and is great low-impact, low-intensity cardio for newbies to the gym, lowering your risk of heart disease without getting you too breathless.
Hot-stepping, cowboy style, in Footloose
Start line
Check out London fitness space Gymbox’s new Hoedown Showdown class: 45 minutes of Western-inspired moves to the latest country bangers (day pass from £20).
There are cowboy hats and bandanas on hand to get you in the mood (our instructor was clad in booty shorts and patterned knee-high boots). As we entered the studio, ‘Life is a Highway’ from the Pixar film Cars was blaring out. By the end of the class, we’d listened to it on a loop 11 times.
Plotline
To start, the instructor teaches you a few basic moves: kicks, the grapevine (a sideways leg-crossing step) and the gallop (a side shuffle with a little jump). The most frequent was scooting around in a circle, lassoing and shouting ‘Yeehaw’.
We eventually progressed to putting the four steps together and finished with an attempt at four-wall dancing, where you rotate 90 degrees after you’ve performed each set of steps.
Laughter line
Strictly professionals need not fear for their jobs – during our class we just about got to grips with a simple 30-second sequence. However, I was laughing so much at all the ‘Yeehawing’ that I didn’t even notice I was sweating. I woke up the next day with enough of a burn in my legs to know I hadn’t spent the evening on the sofa.
Down the line
Nailed the basics? Head to everythinglinedance.com, where a quick search will bring up improver and intermediate classes near you. If you live close to Potters Bar in Hertfordshire you’ve lucked out: the town’s Dance Factory UK studio is home to instructor Alison Metelnick, a Hall of Fame inductee at the Crystal Boot Awards 2023 (it’s like an Oscars nomination for line dancers).
YOU’s Scarlett and Charlotte get hoedown showdown ready
Bass line
If you want to show off what you’ve learnt outside the classroom, try one of Buck N’ Bull Saloon’s pop-ups. They host Southern Saturdays at nightclubs across the UK, with live bands and a country DJ set providing the soundtrack for line-dancing sessions. There are also free-flowing Old Fashioned cocktails and a mechanical bull for later, so prepare for a sore head and body the next day.
Online
Prefer two-stepping alone? Head to YouTube, home to thousands of free online line-dancing tutorials. A good place to start is Dirt Road Dancing’s channel, which posts fun routines for all abilities. When you’ve nailed the beginner playlist, simply proceed to intermediate and advanced.
Clothes line
Loose-fitting kit is best, but the moves work barefoot, so you don’t even need trainers. If you’re set on boots, don’t buy them from the high street – as I learned, you need them specially soled for slick spins on the dancefloor. A quick google of ‘boots for line dancing’ will bring up plenty of options, with a decent pair setting you back around £120.
Next week Topline Travel: Crete with a teenager