Dancing starts in a line

Published 5:29 pm Thursday, January 21, 2016

It’s a popular form of dance, one that gives dance enthusiasts a chance to show off their moves. It’s popular at weddings and similar social engagements and offers people to chance to learn how to dance along with their peers.

“More and more at weddings and get-togethers, people will break out into a line dance,” said Catherine Good. “(The shag club) recently did “Tush Push” at halftime at an East Carolina University basketball game to “Timber” by Pitbull and Kesha — an old dance we did to a current song. And really, it was just a lot of fun, and people were like, ‘Oh that looks fun.’”

Good is a dance enthusiast who coordinates line-dancing workshops and is also a member of the Eastern North Carolina Shag Club. Good is holding an upcoming line-dancing workshop for beginners. Called Line 2 Dance, it offers four instructors’ unique perspectives on line dancing, including a mixture of music from genres such as country, R&B, pop, beach music and oldies, ministering to all ages and styles.

The workshop is meant to target beginners, although anyone is welcome to attend, Good said.

Line dancing can also be considered step one for those who aspiring to learn ballroom dancing. Some dance instructors say it is a good idea to learn how to line dance before taking on other dancing endeavors, Good said.

“Really, it’s a good idea to learn to line dance before you do any ballroom dancing,” Good said. “It teaches you to step and line dancing is a good basis for all types of dancing because it gets you moving according to a song or beat.”

The workshop is slated for Jan. 30, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Washington Civic Center. The cost for attending the workshop is $20.

“It’s fun. It’s a good beginning step to get into (dancing). If you’ve never really danced before, it’s a good entry level,” Good said.