Originally, sending an athlete to join a line dancing class at the YMCA did not seem as if anyone would be out of a comfort zone. Dancing is just body movement - left, right, left, right. How difficult could it be?
Personally, sports are what I am about, but when it comes to musical rhythm, I am pretty bad. However, I decided to give country line dancing my best shot.
As I walked into the Bloomsburg YMCA, I signed in and asked the woman at the front desk: “What is country line dancing?” She explained that I would have fun and that the instructor would go over the movement of the dance several times.
Proceeding to the gymnasium, I noticed a large group of people waiting to begin, all looking at me with uncertainty and the “is this kid serious” stares. To my surprise, I was warmly greeted and began to engage in conversation with the fellow dancers.
I introduced myself to instructor Dennis Starr, who was glad I chose to give it a try. He promised me that he was going to do everything in his power to make sure I was successful. As it grew closer to 7:00, everyone began to line up in rows according to skill level. The front meant you had the least experience and that you had never attempted this before. Starr then proceeded to show us the first dance, along with the steps we would use.
The first dance was actually easy, mostly just a shuffle and taps with my feet. To my surprise, country line dancing was beginning to be similar to basketball. The movements were side to side, just like the defensive drills we would do in practice.
He put on some music in the background, and before long, I was dancing a basic two step. The music helped with rhythm and made the dance very successful. After the music ended, Starr wanted to add more to the original dance and suddenly, left and right became as complicated as zone defenses.
With the choreography becoming more difficult, I struggled to remember each step and when and where to step on each foot. All around me, guys not much older than me were hitting each step while throwing in a few steps of their own. Me? “Left, right, slide, tap” were in my head, but my body was letting me down.
When we were divided into partners and before the music started, I received great hints from my partner that really helped me get ahead of the game, and I was much more successful.
Finally, 8:00 arrived. I thanked my instructor for the opportunity and said my final goodbye. I never thought country line dancing would be that difficult. I was certainly proved wrong. Left, right.