Join the Lineup

By Jeanne Lee

Helping people discover their love of dance is a lifelong passion for Mary Beth Hurst, a world-champion competitive line dancer and dance teacher in Columbus, Ohio. That’s why, when choreographing a country line dance to Luke Combs’s “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,” she kept the steps easy enough for anyone to learn and built them around an already-familiar rhythm. 

“I taught it to a group of women engineers of all different ages, and none of them had ever danced,” says Hurst. “What they liked about it is that it’s like the Queen song ‘We Will Rock You.’ It goes stomp, stomp, clap! Stomp, stomp, clap!”  

Hurst is a dancer with considerable swagger, often seen in blue-and-red snakeskin boots, a fringed skirt, dangly earrings, and a white cowboy hat. Her students, especially little girls, love her aura. “When I walk in, they think I’m Barbie,” she says.  

Energy like that is what’s propelling a massive line dancing resurgence around the country, with people of all ages trying the steps and creating new routines that cross musical genres.  

This new-old craze is popping up in bars, clubs, churches, and town centers. In recent years, social media dance challenges and viral videos have introduced it to a new generation of dancers. 

When Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ’Em,” topped the country music charts, it sparked a line dance craze on TikTok, with fans around the world shuffling, rocking, and sailor-stepping to the beat. More recently, pop music fans turned Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” into a viral line dance. Carpenter embraced it so enthusiastically that she began performing it on tour, even teaching steps to audiences in London. 

Today, a younger generation is discovering moves that feel familiar and nostalgic to their parents and grandparents. Perennial favorites like the Electric Slide and Cupid Shuffle have long been staples at weddings and reunions.  

“Some of the old-school funk is coming back, and the kids are dancing to it; it’s so infectious,” says Hurst. When Southern soul artist 803Fresh called out, “Where them fans at?” in “Boots on the Ground,” line dancers answered by snapping their folding fans in a joyful callback to Black church culture. It’s the kind of activity that brings multiple generations together, doing the same steps in the same room. 

“I see it often,” says Hurst. “A daughter loves this dance on TikTok, so now the mom’s got to learn it.” 

Why Your Brain Loves Line Dancing 

Moving to music with other people instinctively feels good. It turns out it’s also remarkably good for you, especially for your brain.  

“Dance hits three of the six pillars of brain health recommended by the AARP,” says Christina Hugenschmidt, an associate professor in gerontology and geriatrics at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. “It can get your heart rate up, challenge your brain by requiring you to learn new steps, and is naturally social.” 

Hugenschmidt holds a doctorate in neuroscience and studies the effects of dance on cognition in older adults. “For some people, it also hits a fourth pillar: reducing stress,” she says. “Dance can also improve balance, including in people with Parkinson’s disease.” 

Madeleine Hackney, an associate professor in geriatrics and gerontology at the Emory University School of Medicine, came to movement science through dance. In her first career, she toured professionally and performed in the musical Evita and the movie Mona Lisa Smile before earning her doctorate. Through her own experiences with dance-related injuries, she became interested in how “thinking about dancing could lead to improved mobility,” she says.  

“The timing, quality, and challenge of different movements in a line-dance choreography can be stimulating to different neural processes,” says Hackney. “Also, one does it with a group, and so it can be really fun and social.” 

Getting Out on the Floor 

Line dancing is social, but it doesn’t require a partner. You can go with a group or on your own, and everyone shares the same dance floor. “We’re a school of fish, all going that way,” says Hurst. “It’s not hard to get included, and it makes you feel successful.”  

Interested in giving line dancing a try? Here are some tips to help you get started. 

• Find a class. Check your local community center, YMCA, or country bar with a dance floor. You can also search Meetup or Eventbrite for beginner classes. 
• Practice at home. You can find step sheets for dances such as the Wobble and “Boots on the Ground” at copperknob.co.uk. A tutorial for the beginner-friendly “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” is on YouTube at @MovinWithMaryBeth.  
• Wear comfortable clothing. Shoes matter most. “You don’t have to have cowboy boots,” says Hurst. “You can buy shoe covers or cut up a sock and stick it over your tennis shoe. The important thing is that the sweet spot—the ball of your foot—needs to be able to slide.”  
• Introduce yourself. “Go early and introduce yourself to the teacher,” Hurst says. “Let them know you’re new. They might put you between a couple of anchors,” meaning experienced dancers who can help you find your footing.  

The good news: Line dances tend to be accessible, since they “can be modified to different tempos and to easier steps that can accommodate various joint impairments,” says Hackney.  

Hackney’s advice? “Get out there and dance!” Just show up and find your place in line. 

Three Moves to Learn First 

Try these basic moves before your first line dancing class. 

1. The grapevine: Step sideways (left or right) for four counts. Step, cross behind, step, touch. 
2. The cha-cha: Three quick steps in a syncopated rhythm. Side, together, side. 
3. The rockin’ horse: Keep your left foot planted “on home plate,” says Hurst. “Step your right foot forward, rock forward. Then step back on your left foot and rock backward, so you get that undercurrent motion.”