Line Dance

Physical Education 10
 Line Dance
• Is a form of choreographed dance where performers are arranged in a linear position. In a line dance, dancers are
not in physical contact with one another. It may be performed in two or more lines wherein dancers face one
another. Dancers form a circle, and they may hold one another’s hands to keep the circle intact.
• In some performances, the circle may move around. The line may also move away, where everyone has to follow
a leader around the dancing hall.
• One deviation of this dance is wherein dancers join each other by the arm-and-shoulder hold, or they may hold
each other’s belts or waistlines.
• This lasts from 32 to 64 beats or until the music ends. Many folk dancers are performed in lines, such as those
that that originated from Native Americans, those from Pacific Islanders (ex. the hula dance), and some dances
from Europe (ex. The English Morris Dance).
• Folk Dancing could be one of the roots of line dancing, but keep in mind that line dancing is not a form of folk
dancing. It is a recent phenomenon unlike folk dance that has a tradition.
 The History of Line Dance
• The Balkan countries have the tradition of line dancing that survived up to
the present. It has similarities to many folk dances which are dances in
unison – dancers are arranged in rows and connected to the dancers next to
them. Although the rows are described as lines, they may curve, corner, or be
nonlinear.
• Meanwhile, a country Western line dance is identified by the absences of
physical connection between dancers. Line dances have accompanied
popular music since the 1970s, including pop, swing, rock and roll, disco,
Latin (ex. Salsa suelta), and jazz.
 The History of Line Dance (cont.)
• A popular line dance in the late 1950s was Madison.
• The “San Francisco Stomp”, which was introduced in 1961 is an example of a line dance.
• Five line dances associated with country Western music were published in the 1970s, two
of which were dated 1972: “Walkin’ Wazi” and “Cowboy Boogie”. They were released
five years before the release of the movie “Saturday Night Fever” in 1977, which started
the disco craze among teenagers.
• It was the same year when the “Tush Push” was created.
• The “L.A. Hustle”, which began in a small Los Angeles disco in the summer of 1975, hit
the East coast in the spring of 1976 as the “Bus Stop”.
 The History of Line Dance (cont.)
• More than a dozen line dances were created in the 1980s for country
songs. The 1980 film “Urban Cowboy” reflected the blurring of lines
between country music and pop.
• It spurred renewed interest in country culture, Western fashion, music, and
dance. Most line dances, though, were adaptations of disco dances.
• “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” was choreographed by Bill Bader in October 1990
for the original Asleep at the Wheel recording of the song of the same
name.
 The History of Line Dance (cont.)
• Billy Ray Cyrus’ 1992 hit, “Achy Breaky Heart”, helped catapult Western line dancing into the
mainstream public consciousness. In 1994, choreographer Max Perry had a worldwide dance hit with
“Swamp Thang” for the song “Swamp Thing” by The Grid. This was a techno song that fused banjo
in the melody line and helped start a trend of dancing to other forms of music.
• In the mid-1990s, country Western music was influenced by the popularity of line dancing.
• In 1998, the band Steps created further interest outside of the United States with the techno dance
song “5, 6, 7, 8”. In 1999, Gap retailer debuted the “Khaki Country ad during the Academy Awards
ceremony. Line dancers performed to the 1999 version of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by
Dwight Yoakam.
• Today, line dancers perform to most styles of music – country, as well as modern pop, Irish, and
Latin, among others.
 Basic Steps in a Line Dance
• Ball Change
• Kick-Ball Change
• Point-Ball Change
• Basic Charleston
• Shuffle