You go to an office party or a wedding or a country bar and everybody is having a high time kicking up their boots and dancing the night away. Everybody except you. You want to learn to country dance, but just don’t have the time and energy to learn all of them. There must be a dozen partner dances, so it’s real easy to confuse West Coast Swing from Cha Cha and East Coast Swing from Pony Swing. It’s confusing enough to take up disco. Just kidding.
Well friend, you’ve come to the right place for help, for in the next 600 to 700 words, I’ll list the five partner dances that’ll allow you to dance to virtually ANY country song.
The criteria I used to select these dances are as follows:
1) It’s done most everywhere in America – not local or regional.
2) The dance is fairly easy to learn with a few lessons.
3) You can dance it to a wide variety of songs.
When you mention country music, most folks think of one dance. I’m referring to Progressive Two-Step, which is the heart and soul of country music. You know, the good old quick, quick, slow, slow. That’s because over 75% of all country songs played by Deejays and bands have a Two Step beat. If the only dance you ever learn is Progressive Two-Step, you’ll still be able to dance to three quarters of the songs.
I wanted to select Rhythm (Arizona) Two-Step, but it’s still a regional dance confined to the southwestern U.S. Ditto for a bar dance called Half-Time, which is a bastardized version of Rhythm Two- Step, and done exclusively in Arizona. In dance camps and other dance contests, the Progressive Two-Step is done almost exclusively throughout the country.
The versatile thing about Progressive Two-Step is you can dance it to a medium or fast tempo, whereas, Rhythm Two-Step can’t be done to a fast tempo and is more suited to a medium or slower beat.
The second most popular beat of music would be Swing, and there are three dances to select. There’s the old time Pony Swing, the energetic East Coast Swing and the sultry and stylish West Coast Swing. Despite infuriating all the West Coast Swingers out there, I chose the East Coast Swing since it meets all three criteria. Unlike WCS, which takes years of doing on a regular basis just to be mediocre, one can be proficient in ECS in a few lessons. Some dancers do WCS almost exclusively in order to master it.
One can do ECS at a medium or fast tempo and it’ll still work, but very few dancers can do WCS faster than 1 40BPM without losing control and the feel and flavor of the dance. I’ve always felt WCS was best done to a slower, sleazier beat instead of running on a treadmill to keep up.
ECS is very versatile and can be done to a variety of music from big band, if you’re In The Mood, to rock, especially if it’s Old Time Rock And Roll (Bob Seger), to ballroom to country western.
I wouldn’t recommend Pony Swing since there aren’t that many songs to dance to that bouncy beat. It’s hell on the calves if not done properly and evokes images of old country back in the ’50s and ’60s with Ferlin Huskey and Jimmy Dean. Most country dancers want to dance to the music they hear on the radio today. Some country stations won’t play songs over two years old.
The third choice for dancers to learn would be from the Latin category. The most popular Latin dancing done in a country setting would be Cha Cha. That’s what I love about country dancing. It encompasses a wide umbrella of music from non-traditional country settings. Several country groups such as Brooks & Dunn, the Bellamy Brothers and Toby Keith have a good number of their songs with a Cha Cha beat. Sammy Kershaw re-did a 1975 rock song by the Amazing Rhythm Aces, and turned it into a Cha Cha hit with Third Rate Romance.
Most dancers can pick up Cha Cha in a few lessons. Let’s face it, folks, ‘rock step cha cha cha’ isn’t exactly rocket science. Even l can ·do Cha Cha fairly well, so how tough can it be?
Cha Cha is a good crossover dance done in country, ballroom or contemporary dance settings. Many line dances have a Cha Cha beat from Elvira to Toby’s Cha Cha to the Cowboy Cha Cha, a couples line dance. Country Cha Cha tends to be more straight forward to a slower beat (Neon Moon-104BPM) while ballroom Cha Cha is done faster with more styling.
Checking in a number four on the list of must learn dances would be the Waltz. Hey, this dance has been around for over 200 years, so I reckon it’s passed the test of time. Since the lady mirrors the man and the steps of long, short, short, aren’t that tough, you can learn enough Waltz in a few lessons to be dangerous on the dance floor.
Waltz can be done at all speeds and it’ll still work. There are slow Waltzes, such as Tracy Lawrence’s I See It Now at 92BPM, to hyper fast Irish Waltzes hitting the speed gun at 140-1 69BPM, to real jumpy Cajun Waltzes.
The Waltz is done everywhere in the U.S. and done frequently in country, ballroom and contemporary settings. The only drawback is the band or Deejay may only play two or three all night, so keep alert and take advantage of it.
Since you’ve been a great audience, I’ll give you my surprise fifth choice which is a newcomer to the dance community, but rapidly gaining popularity. I’m referring, of course, to Night Club Two-Step.
Up until early 1 997, I didn’t want to learn it. I thought, incorrectly, it might be a fad dance and not catch on. But, there are so many opportunities to do NC2 in country, ballroom and contemporary dance settings, I couldn’t turn my back on it any longer.
Night Club Two-Step can be done to any ballad, or as some cowboys refer to it, “buckle-polishing” songs. Songs like Keeper Of The Stars by Tracy Byrd, I Swear by John Michael Montgomery and Texas Tornado by Tracy Lawrence would fit that category. Whenever I go to a singles church dance, they play at least two to four slow songs per hour, especially Lady In Red. When the Deejay, or band, plays a slow ballad, and you don’t have a significant other to grope and fondle and do dental exams on the dance floor, you can do NC2. Deejays and bands know the best way to get people to dance is to play a romantic ballad.
The footwork isn’t that difficult, Quick, quick, slow, quick, quick, slow or 1&2, 3&4 isn’t that overwhelming.
Well, that’s my big five list of must learn dances. What are yours? With those five you can dance to 95% of all the songs played.
