Basic Steps Of Country Line Dance example essay topic

"Reflections on Country Line Dancing" "Don't tell my heart, my achy breaky heart; I just don't think you'd understand". Who knew that the 1993 smash hit, "Achy Breaky Heart", by Billy Ray Cyrus would be the turning point that would cause country line dancing to become a worldwide phenomenon. Despite differing opinions on the exact history, it is evident that country line dancing is an extension of past social dance forms and is representative of the social, economic, and political state of the United States. However, one thing is for sure. Country line dancing is not just a fad, but rather seems to be a mainstay in the culture of the United States, as seen by the thousands of clubs like the Boot Scootin's aloon throughout the country. First, while line dancing at the Boot Scootin's aloon on Saturday, November 7, 1998, I had the opportunity to interview two interesting women, Jill Babinec and Lesley Rafferty.

First, Jill Babinec, a resident of Cleveland, Ohio, became interested in line dancing a few years ago after she began listening to country music by such artists as Billy Ray Cyrus, Garth Brooks, and Shania Twain. Ms. Babinec likes to line dance not only because she loves to dance and finds it fun, but also because she believes it is a good form of cardiovascular exercise. Jill has taught line dancing several times at Broncos and on Thursday nights at the Lockwood United Methodist Church. However, in addition to line dance, Ms. Babinec also participates in other social dances such as clogging, the two-step, and square dance. Jill's favorite form of social dance is clogging because of the fast foot tapping that is involved.

Ms. Babinec's favorite form of country western dance is line dancing because as she states, "Being single, it is nice to know that I can just go out with my friends for an evening of dancing, without worrying about needing a male partner for each dance. I can just have fun". Lastly, Jill Babinec is a dentist who owns her own practice. According to Jill, most of her friends that line dance are professionals in such occupations as medicine, business, and education. Next, Lesley Rafferty, a resident of Boardman, Ohio, became interested in line dancing simply by watching others line dance at such establishments as Broncos, Mustangs, and the Boot Scootin's aloon.

Mrs. Rafferty loves to line dance because she not only finds it good exercise, but also loves country music. Also, Lesley Rafferty likes to line dance because she believes it is a good way to meet new people who share similar interests. In addition to line dancing, Lesley likes contemporary dancing at area nightclubs. However, she prefers line dancing because as Mrs. Rafferty states, "It requires uniformity among the group, but also leaves room for individuality. Every time I perform a new dance, I come away from the dance floor feeling that I have learned something, not just that I did what I wanted to, as in contemporary dance". Next, Lesley has taken dance lessons in the past.

Also, her favorite form of country western dance is fast line dancing, in particular the "barn dance" because of the constant changing of partners. However, she would love to learn to do traditional couple dances if she could just find a partner. Lastly, Lesley Rafferty is an English teacher at Boardman High School. She said her friends' occupations include education, blue-collar jobs, and business.

My interest in learning to line dance stemmed from my desire to improve my overall dancing abilities and self-confidence about them, but also from my growing interest in country music by such artists as Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, and Bryan White. Next, although I enjoy contemporary dance at nightclubs, I like line dance in particular for two reasons. First, the obvious one is that it is simply a very fun and invigorating experience. Secondly, I particularly like it because line dance does not require a male partner to participate. In fact, when Dana, Kelly, and a few of our other female classmates went to the Boot Scootin's aloon on Saturday, November 7, 1998, it was refreshing not to have to worry about being asked to dance, but instead just being a group of women having fun together.

Lastly, at the Boot Scootin's aloon, the only specific dances that we learned that they actually performed were the Line Waltz, Watermelon Crawl, and the Boot Scootin' Boogie. However, my classmates and I fount the other dances easy to learn because all the dances included steps we had already learned such as the kick ball change, heel fan, grapevine, hitch, kicks, shuffles, stomps, and pivots. Also, our trip to the Boot Scootin's aloon broke down my previous stereotypes about the individuals who participate in line dancing and about the environment of the clubs in which line dance is performed. For example, I once rigidly believed that the only people who would attend a place like the Boot Scootin's aloon would be "cowboys". However, upon entering the Boot Scootin's aloon, that stereotype was quickly broken. Although some individuals did wear the typical cowboy and cowgirl apparel of boots, tight blue jeans with a large belt buckle, decorative long sleeve shirts, and cowboy hats, most individuals, particularly the college-aged, wore clothes fitting the current U.S. fashions like regular, flare, cargo, and wide leg jeans, khaki pants, tight black pants, an infinite variety of shirt styles including name brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, and clunky shoes or tennis shoes.

In fact, the two women I interviewed, Jill Babinec and Lesley Rafferty, had different styles of dress. For example, while Lesley Rafferty wore the traditional cowgirl attire of boots, tight blue jeans with a belt buckle, and a Garth Brooks shirt, a far cry from the traditional attire of an English teacher, Jill Babinec wore a white short sleeved blouse with a pair of khaki pants and brown Doc Marten shoes. Next, while the cultural or ethnic ratios of those in attendance were homogeneously white Caucasian, the average ages span from teenage to old age. In fact, one could observe dance trends related to age. For example, the younger, college-aged individuals were the ones line dancing in the center dance floor, while the older couples were dancing country western counter-clockwise around the fast oval lane. In addition, just as the ages were diverse so to were the various socioeconomic statuses which seemed to span lower, middle as with Mrs. Rafferty, the English teacher, and upper class as with Jill Babinec, the dentist.

However, although there were various socioeconomic statuses represented, the Boot Scootin's aloon was symbolic of the melting pot of the U.S. in which it was very difficult to place any individual into one rigid economic class, but rather appeared to all fit into one giant class. Lastly, I believe the environment of the Boot Scootin's aloon reflected the typical cowboy establishment like Gilley's. For example, the large room consisted of a mosaic of old western building, a mechanical bull, several bars, Bud light Beer signs, lots of empty glass beer bottles, and lots of smoke. As one source states, "If you asked 10 different people with some knowledge of dance when country line dancing began, you'd probably get 10 different answers.

A popular opinion about line dancing is that it is not a fad but a tradition (Lane 2), which includes ties to many forms of social dance. Thus, country line dancing can be seen simply as an extension or progression of social dance as it has developed over the past one thousand years. Despite many different answers, there seems to be somewhat of a consensus that country line dancing has seemed to evolved from the combination of the two forms of social dance, folk dancing (round and square dancing) and disco. First, in the 1800's, round and square dancing was created from the combination of the polka and the waltz, dances which were representative of the culture of European immigrants that traveled to America. In the 1860's and the 1890's, cowboys in the west took these traditional forms and combined them to form country western dance. As one source states, "they are credited with the simple footwork and the country flair reflecting their culture of the time" (Lane 2).

From square dance, country line dance has taken such steps as the grapevine and the chasse and also the idea of line formation (Phillips 2). In the 1970's, with the release of John Travolta's disco movie, Saturday Night Fever, as one source states, .".. for the first time [people] saw what couples dancing together to "Pop" music could be like... they planted the seed not only for couples dancing, but also for line dancing" (Rapoport 2). Then, as the line between country and pop music began to blur, country line dancing continued to evolve as John Travolta in Urban Cowboy again helped to spread this dance craze (Lane 2). However, it was not until Melanie Greenwood developed a line dance that went to Billy Ray Cyrus song, "Achy Breaky Heart", that country line dancing reached its turning point to extreme popularity. Lastly, as one source states, "New line dances are popping up everywhere.

Regional variations of the same dances make the original version questionable, but they are all popular" (Lane 3). Clearly, past social forms have evolved into country line dancing and eventually country line dancing will produce the evolvement of new dances. Lastly, the history of country line dance, as one source states, .".. is very likely to produce an accurate reflection of not only political, economic, and cultural attitudes of the age, but also the sociological subtleties that govern everyday behavior" (Leisner 15). First, in my opinion, I believe from my visit to the Boot Scootin's aloon that country line dancing is representative of the idea of the melting pot of the U.S. For example, the U.S. was formed from immigrants with different backgrounds coming together to form a unified group. This idea is represented of country line dancing in that many people of different ages, political views, socioeconomic statuses, and hometowns have culminated together as a group to perform the basic steps of country line dance. However, despite the unity formed from being a group, there is still room for individuality.

Just as immigrants to the United States have maintained their cultural heritage, the individuality found in country line dancing is seen through turns, hand motions, and cowboy hat tricks, while still maintaining the basic steps of the dance. Also, my opinion is supported by a source who states, "Dance in the U.S. has undergone the same type of change in attitude, and the melting pot that is America has brought together all of the customs, traditions, and styles of dance that the world has to offer, while still remaining individualistic" (Leisner 16). Also, another source states that country line dancing combines. ".. opportunities for individualization with the camaraderie of the community dance hall" (Lane 3). Next, in the United States, it is impossible to construct a single social, political, or economic model to fit the "typical" American because no two Americans are exactly alike, a result of years of melting pot mixing. This idea is also represented in country line dancing, unlike past social dance forms, which only certain economic classes performed, in that "Today line dance is crossing boundaries of income, race, age, and sexual orientation. Singles as well as families see line dancing as a healthy social outlet" (Lane 3).

In fact, country line dancing is being seen in places which have never been associated with country music, gay and lesbian bars, who have created their own versions (Entertainment 1). Lastly, in the United States, despite the increasing technology and hustle and bustle of life, people still feel a need to escape the "hurry-up" syndrome found in the U.S. and revert back to a more relaxed and slow-moving way of life. Thus, we are drawn to country line dancing because as one source states", We are attracted to the simplicity of the American frontier past and both the rugged individualism and close family ties that it represents" (Lane 3). Clearly, country line dancing is a reflection of the economic, political, and social state of the United States. In closing, from not only our country line dancing class, but also from my real life experience at the Boot Scootin's aloon, I have learned that country line dancing is more than just a fun form of exercise. In fact, country line dance can be considered its own dance art form with its own steps and own distinct history which is representative of the social, political, and economic change in the United States.

Country line dance is not just for "cowboys" and "cowgirls", but is rather a dance form that defies any one stereotype. Clearly, country line dance will continue to impact the United States for many years to come.

Bibliography

Entertainment Weekly Online. web Christy. Christy Lane's Complete Book of Line Dancing. Spokane, WA: Human Kinetics, 1995.
Leisner, Tony. The Official Guide to Country Dance Steps. Secaucus, New Jersey: ChartellBooks Inc., 1980.
Phillips, Patricia. Contemporary Square Dance. Dubuque, Iowa: WM.C. Brown Company Publishers, 1968.
Rapoport, Fred. "The History of Country Dance in America". 1996-1997.