Forget your grandma’s line dancing. A new generation is heel-toeing its way onto the dance floor in an explosive revival of the genre with a modern twang.
The craze over country line dancing has taken over social media and tapped into a wider array of music and the rise of country fusion.
Hill Country in Manhattan is part of that boom, offering weekly line dancing lessons.
“This summer, we put the tickets up on Monday at 12:30 p.m., and by, like, 12:45 p.m., they’re completely sold out,” events coordinator Skye White said. “It is a quick and hot and heavy demand.”
That was on full display when more than 100 people saddled up for lessons with 25-year-old Julia Wortman and friends Taylor Thayer and Karli Manship.
So, just how do you describe line dancing? “In three words: ‘Boot, Scootin’, Boogie,'" Wortman said. She added that it's “the most individual, community-oriented thing you can do because you’re dancing alone ... and yet, you’re doing it surrounded by sometimes hundreds of people all doing the same thing.”
And because social media platforms like TikTok are so accessible and pique people’s curiosity, so is line dancing, she said.
The number of spots in New York City regularly offering line dancing has more than doubled in the past year, Wortman said.
“It’s popping up on everyone’s algorithm,” Wortman said. “People who would have no exposure to it are suddenly like, ‘Why are these groups of people dancing to Pitbull?’”
Pitbull is Hill Country’s most requested artist, and it’s something he's embraced. He has even reposted line dances to his songs on social media.
Line dancing is resurging as pop stars, including Beyoncé, Chappell Roan and Post Malone, roll out country songs.
Six of Billboard’s Top 10 Songs of the Summer have clear country influences in style or substance.
Sabrina Carpenter is getting in on the fun, too. Her line dance tutorial to “Manchild” has racked up more than 100 million views on TikTok.
Part of the appeal of line dancing is its simplicity.
Wortman said that two years ago the only choreography she knew was “Cotton-Eyed Joe." Today, she knows 170 dances thanks to YouTube and the growing line dancing scene.
The most important rule, she said: “Be nice to yourself."
