By day they’re secretaries, contractors or classical violinists. By night they’re kickers-line dancing cowboys and cowgirls in twirly skirts, blue jeans, cowboy hats and boots.
Line dancing enthusiasts regularly rustle up hoedowns at country western clubs, doing dances with names like the Electric Slide, Boot Scootin’ Boogie, Cotton-Eyed Joe and Tush Push.
Recently line dancing has galloped out to the suburbs, with about a half-dozen country western clubs now in Du Page County and many more throughout the Chicago area. Finding lessons has gotten easier, too, through park districts, adult education programs, community colleges and country western clubs.
“Line dancing has really taken off with all age groups,” said Pat Borowicz, editor of the Country Connection magazine, a regional monthly devoted to local country music bands, dancing and fans. “I think that in large part this growth is because you can dance to country music and you can’t dance to rock.”
Line dancing is just that. The dancers congregate on the dance floor in several lines, following the choregraphed steps of the dance, then repeating them to the four corners of the room. Borowicz explained that at most clubs the line dancers remain in the center of the dance floor, while the outside of the floor is reserved for couples doing a pattern dance or two-step.
Area line dance teachers estimate that there are about 50 popular line dances, most of which are quite easy to learn. No partner is necessary, one reason for its appeal to singles, enthusiasts say.
It’s also a very reasonably priced pastime. Admission fees range from $3 to $5 at most country western clubs and usually include line dancing lessons and sometimes even a free drink or free return admission. As far as wearing western garb, it isn’t mandatory but does add to the fun.
Jeanne Frank of Hanover Park is a certified line dance judge with the Country Western Line Dance Association, headquartered in Fremont, Calif.
“Line dancing without partners was popular in Texas as far back as 1830,” Frank said. “For example, the Virginia Reel is actually a line dance. This type of dancing has been practiced in nearly every culture and time period. Now line dancing to country music has exploded in popularity.” Though no group keeps statistics on line dancing, Ganean DeLaGrange, founder and president of the Country Western Line Dance Association, says the number of country music clubs she sees on her frequent travels across the U.S. has tripled or quadrupled in recent years.
Susan Shields, a Downers Grove resident, is not only a classical violionist but also a line dancing teacher, something that took her by surprise.
“For years I didn’t even like country western music,” she admitted. “I was taking ballroom dance lessons a few years ago, when my teacher suggested that we go out country western dancing. She actually had to drag me there, but I liked it so much she could hardly drag me away.”
Shields has been teaching line dancing for more than a year now, with class numbers averaging about 80. She charges $20 for four weeks and teaches beginners eight dances.
She noted that all ages, from teens to seniors, are taking her classes, which she offers year-round through the Grand Avenue Community School in Western Springs, College of Du Page, the Downers Grove Park District and adult education at Lyons Township High School in LaGrange. She also teaches school and church groups, corporations and private parties.
“Line dancing is very easy to learn,” she said. “There’s really only four basic steps: the grapevine, jazz square, the shuffle and turns.”
At her recent Sunday afternoon class in Western Springs, Shields was non-stop energy. Patiently she repeated the dance steps as she taught the routines, stopping and starting the music on her portable cassette player, watching students carefully or falling into step alongside them and placing her hands on their shoulders to guide their turns.
One of Shields’ students is Ron Holous, 59, of Downers Grove. “This is a great pastime,” he said. “Because you don’t need a partner, you can go out without having to feel like a fifth wheel.”
Shields takes her students out on what she calls field trips to the local clubs so they can practice their new-found skills. It also gives them an opportunity to learn more dances from the club’s teacher.
Tuesday nights is country western night at the High Five in Westmont. On a recent Tuesday, Wyland Road, a four-piece country western band, supplied the music, and Carol Jerkovic, 47, of Burbank was the line dance instructor.
Although its dance floor is relatively small, kickers of all ages, their fringe flying, were shimmying across the sawdusted floor, with partners or alone. Colorful lights illuminated the stage and dance floor, and the obligatory mirrored ball suspended from the ceiling sent darts of light into darkened corners.
Sally Williams of Westmont goes out dancing five nights a week and can be found at High Five every Tuesday. By day she runs Sally’s Nail Care Salon in Westmont, but she’s definitely a kicker by night, dressed in cowboy boots and a fringed blouse with a denim skirt.
“I became a country western fan two years ago,” she said. “The dances are easy to learn, and now I go out with girlfriends all the time. I probably know about 30 dances. Before I discovered line dancing, I was boring.”
Jerkovic traces the genesis of line dancing back to the 1979 John Travolta movie “Urban Cowboy.” “That movie, with its mechanical bull and country music, is what got the ball rolling nationwide,” she said. “It showed everyone what a country western bar and lifestyle was all about.”
Chris Peterson, 46, of Westmont, who works at Eastman Kodak in Oak Brook, credits line dancing with dramatically changing her life.
“I’m no longer a vidiot,” she said proudly with a sheepish smile on her face. “Now I’m a dance freak, and a whole new world has opened up to me. In the 1 1/2 years I’ve been line dancing, I’ve met a lot of other people and made many new friends. It changed my life for the better.”
All four women said they feel comfortable at the country western clubs, seeing the same faces as they make the dance club rounds and finding the men to be very polite.
“I’ve never had a bad experience,” Shields said. “The men have always been perfect gentlemen, and I’ve never seen a fight.”
Many men enjoy line dancing, too, and are just as graceful as the women. In fact, the men in their tall cowboy hats add a certain charm to the dance floor.
Ed Chiz, a retired west suburban police officer, has been line dancing for 15 years. “It’s the greatest thing in the world,” he said during the band’s break at the High Five. “It’s fantastic, addictive and a good form of exercise. Over the years, it has helped me make a lot of good friends.”
Ted Reynolds, 55, of Downers Grove is a close friend of Chiz’s and has been line dancing for the past seven years.
“In seven years, I’ve never seen a ruckus from anyone country dancing,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun because it’s not like going to an old-fashioned dance where a man is stuck with the same girl all evening. You don’t need a partner with line dancing, at all.”
Shields said that in recent years country western music has changed, de-emphasizing its twangy sound and becoming easier to dance to. Jerkovic agreed, adding that such popular artists as Randy Travis, Clint Black and Garth Brooks broadened its appeal to audiences with their more sophisticated sound.
Shields said wearing western clothing is not necessary and shouldn’t keep people from going to country western clubs.
“You can dance just as well in sneakers or moccasins,” she said. “The only time boots come in handy is if you really want to stomp your feet. But anything goes when it comes to clothes. Jeans and T-shirts are perfectly acceptable. You don’t need a big budget to enjoy line dancing. Just come on out and have a good time.”
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For information about the Country Western Line Dance Association, contact Jeanne Frank at 708-837-8544. Instructor Susan Shields can be reached at 708-964-5233.
