line dance

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Line dancers from different groups (2009)

Line dance is a choreographed form of dance in which individual dancers dance in rows and lines in front of and next to one another, regardless of gender. The dances are choreographed to match the music, which mostly comes from the categories country and pop .

history

The original form of the dance is - as the development of folk dance in many cultures shows - the group dance. Line dance is conceptually a group dance, even if solos are possible. It is therefore often seen as a modern version of the original group dance. Today's line dance (not to be confused with other historical line dance types) is the counterpart to all traditional and modern forms of couple dance .

According to reliable reports, line dance developed mainly in the USA over the course of the 20th century, partly from show dance. The American television program American Band Stand (1952 to 1989) already had a weekly column in the first year of 1952, in which the latest line dances were presented. The contribution of line dance to the dance culture of the time in clubs and dance halls was a complement to the predominant couple dance. In Europe, due to the post-war order of the Second World War and the widespread opinion that American music in particular was particularly modern, line dance was also publicly practiced in discos from around the 1960s . One of the most famous line dances still danced today, the Electric Slide - also known as Freestyle , was choreographed by Ric Silver in 1976 for the opening of the Vamps disco on Broadway in New York City . Line dance received additional public attention, among other things, through a staged representation in the successful dance film Saturday Night Fever with John Travolta from 1977, which takes up the dance club and disco scene in the New York borough of Brooklyn as a framework.

Finally, line dancing was adopted by the US country industry as a complementary marketing tool. This combined it with their music and thus determined its primary public perception for several decades. This led, among other things, to the assignment of line dance to the country & western dance category . The music title Achy Breaky Heart in the 1992 interpretation of the US musician Billy Ray Cyrus , to whom several very well-known and popular line dances are choreographically and factually assigned through dance practice, is considered a milestone in the final American and worldwide distribution .

In the meantime, line dance has developed into an independent, more than just evening-filling type of dance. The music spectrum used still consists of pop, disco and country pieces, but many other danceable genres have been added, such as rock, classical and the numerous types of regional music, so that in the end there is no real musical limitation possible. Line dance has been recognized as a recreational sport in Germany since 2002. As part of the German Dance Sport Badge (DTSA), there is a separate test for line dance.

choreography

Usually an author has developed a choreography specifically for exactly one interpretation of a music title. Often other, alternative music titles are given for the fixed step sequences. The fixation of choreographies is done by step description (often also English step sheet ). Country music is still used very often, often by modern artists such as Shania Twain or Keith Urban . Choreographies for current pop songs or rock 'n' roll oldies are also written. The tempo of the selected music and thus the available choreographies covers a broad spectrum. It is usually stated which level of knowledge and ability the dancer is aiming at for the respective choreography.

The choreographies have names such as Bread and Butter , Electric Slide or Just a Kiss . While beginners with a repertoire of around 10 to 20 dances can find the right sequence of steps for almost any music, advanced learners can often master a hundred or more dances. The individual dances can be categorized into groups according to their relationship to other dance styles. There are terms such as waltz , cha-cha-cha , rumba , polka and many other classes and names of the couple dance. An allocation to the respective musical styles and rhythms is made by means of generic terms:

In order not to take up too much of the space available at events, a division was developed based on the dance floor's long-standing dance regimes for standard and latin, which also includes line dancing.

construction

The sequence of steps in a choreography is typically repeated after a multiple of 8 steps. Often there are 32, 48 or 64 steps. Other step numbers are possible and are also used. These are often supplemented by intermediate steps (syncopation), which z. B. to & (e.g. Shuffle / Chassé) or to a (see Samba rhythms) in the actual effective length. Depending on the number and sequence of rotations contained in the dance dancers can after the end of the sequence of steps in a different direction (to the wall, English: Wall ) look. One speaks therefore of 1-wall , 2-wall or 4-wall dances. Occasionally the two possible directions of rotation, as achieved by the walls definition, are even noted on the written choreographies - these are "clockwise" (English. Clockwise, CW) and counter-clockwise (English. Counter clockwise, CCW).

There are dances that are referred to as phrased and that are represented by a series of individual sequences. Several passages are combined in such a way that they are largely aligned with the piece of music. Smaller deviations from a standard pattern, on the other hand, are referred to as restart (termination of the sequence with restart) or tag / bridge (special transition with a few cycles); There are also initial and final sequences, all of which can only be meaningfully combined with a special interpretation of the corresponding piece of music.

(Engl. As variations Variations ) extensions are called the basic pattern of an existing choreography. They can come about accidentally, be discovered spontaneously or even be choreographed yourself. It is important (with the exception of solos) that the direction of the dance is maintained and that the freedom of the dance neighbors is not unduly impaired. So it is e.g. B. possible to make a progressive full turn with two steps from two straight steps forward. In particular, the arm movements that are usually not or only very sporadically indicated in simple choreographies allow for a great many variations. It is possible to follow the movements used in the pair dances, as well as the choice of poses for holding steps and the finale. In advanced stages of tournament dance, variations are usually not only allowed, but also a very important additional evaluation element, because this allows the dancer's individual creativity to be evaluated in advance through the selection and the ability to implement it with mind and body. At free dance events to canned or live music, variations can also be found, provided that, in the interests of safety, the distances between the dancers are large enough for the additional movements and, in line with etiquette, no other dancers are constantly disturbed.

Dance floor etiquette

Distribution for standard dancers, line dancers and couple dancers

The dance floor etiquette (also: line dancing etiquette ) controls as a " Knigge of the dance floor" in particular the simultaneous execution of different dance styles on the same dance floor to the same music. Mobile couple dancers move counterclockwise on two circular paths around the not so mobile line dancers and other couple dancers who dance more on the spot. In addition to questions of placement, the dance floor etiquette also records behavior next to the dance floor.

dress

There is no dress code at dance events. If a certain musical style is given, many dancers choose suitable accessories. The clothing guidelines for championships can be found in their regulations.

Competition dancers often choose elaborate dance clothes, as can be found in a similar form in the field of standard and Latin dances . In the tournament category “funky dance”, clothes belonging to hip-hop and related styles are often chosen. Country music often includes boots, belts with decorative buckles, bolo ties and cowboy hats.

internationality

Line dancing allows people who do not know each other and may not speak a common language to dance together. The south and the midwest of the USA are considered to be the basic distribution area. Today there are numerous supporters in local and national organizations in European countries such as Germany, England, the Netherlands and Austria as well as in East Asia.

World records

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Numerical world records are:

  • Redwood City , California, July 4, 1994, Cowgirls Twist with more than 3,700 dancers
  • Tamworth (Australia) , 1997 to 2002, Boot Scootin 'Boogie with up to 6,700 dancers
  • Singapore , May 1, 2002, Singapore Swing with around 12,000 dancers
  • Hong Kong , December 29, 2002, Baby Likes To Rock It , also with around 12,000 dancers

Championships

The larger line dance championships in particular are mostly held in the context of championships for country and western dance. The participants in the various disciplines of line dance often represent the majority of the dancers who compete. Championships are organized by three large international organizations. The UCWDC (United Country Western Dance Council), founded in 1989 in the USA, organizes tournaments in line and couple dance in the USA and Europe. In 2002 the Masters in Line (MIL) were created, which mainly host tournaments and social dance events in Europe, but now also in Africa, North America and Asia. The newest organization is called the World Country Dance Federation (WCDF) and organizes championships in Europe. In addition to local and national tournaments, all three also host world championships. In the national tournaments, national champions are sometimes also chosen for the respective tournament series in the individual rating categories. The German championship is organized by the Federal Association for Country and Western Dance (BfCW) as the responsible professional association with special tasks for the DTV .

Line dance in the film

  • Urban Cowboy, 1980
  • Welcome to the Westerwald, 2008
  • Footloose, 2011
  • Back for Good, 2018
  • Wild Rose, 2018

literature

Textbooks

  • NTA Dance Fundamentals Reference Guide (English, summarizes the fundamentals of dance technique)
  • Astrid Kaeswurm: From Anchor Step to Weave: the manual for line dancers . 3. Edition. Piding, 2016.

Periodicals

Web links

Commons : Linedance  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Origins and History . UCWDC website, August 6, 2006. Retrieved August 5, 2010.