The dances "every line dancer knows..."

You'll hear me mention that there's a list of dances that "every line dancer knows" - and I try to teach them to you, as you progress with learning new steps, mixed in with more modern dances. But what are these dances, and why do I teach them to you?

Line dancing has always been popular, but it had a big heyday in the 1990s; back then, there were fewer dances and choreographers, no internet to speak of, and some dances seemed to just "take off". These tend to be the ones that seem to fit lots of different music, or are fun to do, or are just the "icon" in their field. For example, for many dancers, the first beginner waltz they learn is called "Rita's Waltz", written by Jo Thompson Szymanski, for her mother. And that's a dance that "every line dancer knows."

Why is this important? Well, if you ever want to go out to a live music venue, with line dancing happening on the dance floor, if you know the dance you can get up and join the dancers - and let me tell you, that's SO MUCH FUN! You can be with people you've never met before, sharing a dance floor and having the time of your life. I wrote about this in last week's blog, and it's a real "unique selling point" for line dancing.

So, is there an actual written list? There used to be - there's a rough group of line dance clubs (not an actual organisation) called Tradline, (Traditional Line Dancing; we get together once a year at a weekend away). However the Tradline website is no more. It was the brainchild of the very lovely Val Myers, who has a website which features lists of basic dances and video links to learn the basic steps.

(I really wish I could give Val a medal for the work he put in, to make traditional line dancing better for everyone. He was a kind mentor to me and many other line dance teachers - and I am very sorry to tell you that we lost Val earlier in February 2026. The image below is Val with me at last year's Tradline weekend away in Street. He will be very sorely missed.)

Tradline means traditional line dancing, dances which are mostly classics, mostly country, and generally easier rather than harder. Now, I like to teach a mixture of tradline dances and more modern choreography, and I include some pop and golden oldies, (particularly for my beginners; it's easier to dance to music you already know). I aim for "something for everyone", while introducing new steps in a planned way, so that you learn "to line dance" and not just "some line dances" - if you see the difference?

And if you don't know country music, I hope to have you loving it very soon. By the time you're in my improver class, you'll find most of the tracks are country - but the "that was fun!" flavour, and the mix of styles, will be the same.

So if I can get you to go out one evening to support a country music club, and get up to dance one of the classics, and just have a great time - I will be very happy!

To finish, my own list of dances you'll see danced "out" - so you'll spot them when I teach them for you:

Ribbon of Highway (often danced first, to "Just to see you smile" by Tim McGraw")

Cowboy Charleston

Electric Slide / The Freeze

Black Coffee

Strollalong Cha Cha

Rock Around The Clock

Easy Come, Easy Go

Lamtarra Rumba

The Dance

Simply Mambo

Simply Nightclub

Blue Night Cha

The Lemon Tree

Places

Rita's Waltz

Vertical Expressions

Waltz across Texas

Cruising

Coastin' (aka "the Irish one!)

Flyin' Sparx

Things

Little Rumba

One Step Forward

Por Ti Sere

Smokey Places

You may have mastered some of these already, but if not, stick with me!

Which dances would you add to my list? Please do comment below!