Line Dancing

Line dance is a dance where a group of people all perform the same steps without any physical contact. The dance is usually choreographed ahead of time, and the steps are common knowledge and easy to perform, so that anyone can learn it on the dance floor and catch on. It’s meant to be a participatory activity for the crowd and open to anyone who wants to dance.

According to Christy Lane*, it is possible to have perform line dance to different types of music. In today’s culture, The Cupid Shuffle is a well known song among young adolescents that people can perform line dancing to. The lyrics dictate the movements of the dance, and the repetition makes it easy to follow along.

I think that the significance of this type of dancing is that it’s a democracy for the dance floor. Anyone and everyone can participate. You don’t need a special skill or training to join this type of dancing. It’s inclusive and opens the activity for everyone to enjoy, and it builds community through its lack of exclusion.

*Christy Lane’s Complete Book of Line Dancing. Christy Lane. 2000, 1995. Human Kinetics. pages 3, 4.