In line dancing, people stand in rows and repeat a choreography — counted in ‘walls’ — without partners. Classics such as the Electric Slide, the Tush Push and Copperhead Road are danced in honky-tonks, weddings and community halls all over the country.
Line dancing grew in the 1970s disco era — the Electric Slide (1976) was made for the song ‘Electric Boogie’ — and exploded in country bars in the early 1990s with ‘Achy Breaky Heart’. Each dance has a ‘step sheet’ written by a choreographer, with a name, a count and a number of walls. Today line dancing is having a new boom with young dancers, viral TikTok choreographies and huge honky-tonks in Nashville and Texas that teach free lessons. It is one of the easiest ways for a visitor to join American dance: no partner needed, just count to eight.
