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Country–western dance encompasses any of the dance forms or styles which are typically danced to country-western music, and which are stylistically associated with American country and/or
western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...
traditions. Many are descended from dances brought to the United States by immigrants from the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...
as early as the 1700s, which became integrated into American popular culture.Dance Across Texas By Betty Casey 1985 University of Texas Press page 6 Country dancing is also known as "kicker dancing" in Texas.


Dances

Western couple dancing is a form of
social dance Social dances are dances that have a social functions and context. Social dances are intended for participation rather than performance. They are often danced merely to socialise and for entertainment, though they may have ceremonial, compe ...
. Many different dances are done to country-western music. These dances include: Two Step,
Waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...
, Cowboy or Traveling Cha Cha, Polka Ten Step (also known as Ten Step Polka),
Schottische The schottische is a partnered country dance that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina (" chotis" ...
, and other
Western promenade dances Western promenade dances are a form of partner dance traditionally danced to country-western music, and which are stylistically associated with American country and/or western traditions. Specific dances are often associated with a specific song ...
, East Coast Swing,
West Coast Swing West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in the Lindy Hop. It is characterized by an elastic look that results from its extension-compression technique of partner connection and is danced primarily in a slotted area on the dance floor. The ...
, and Nightclub Two Step. The Two Step and various Western promenade or pattern couples dances are unique to country western dancing. Western group dances include the following: *
Line dance A line dance is a choreographed dance in which a group of people dance along to a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in one or more lines or rows. These lines usually face all in the same direction, or less commonly face each other.Knight ...
*
Square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...
**
Traditional square dance Traditional square dance is a generic American term for any style of American square dance other than modern western square dance, modern Western. The term can mean (1) any of the American regional styles (broadly, Northeastern, Southeastern, and ...
**
Modern western square dance Modern western square dance (also called western square dance, contemporary western square dance, modern American square dance or modern square dance) is one of two American types of square dancing, along with traditional square dance. As a dan ...
Country dancing is informal. Because of cowboy boots, country western dance is more likely to feature a flat-footed glide with some heel and toe touches rather than a lot of "toe type" dancing. There are many versions of each dance, and many have no one "correct" set of steps. Individual dances may have different names in different areas of the United States. Some dances even have specific names local to particular dance venues. Cowboy, or "country" waltz consists of gliding steps that are consistent with wearing cowboy boots, rather than "on the balls of the feet" quick steps of the classic version. Neither foot is lifted completely from the ground. Steps should be a light footed glide rather than a flat footed shuffle.


Lead and follow

In traditional country–western dance, the man leads the dance by establishing the pace and length of stride, as well as deciding when to change the step. He leads his partner, usually a woman, by assertively yet gently directing her movements. The partner is expected to synchronize with the man, performing her part of the dance at his pace. In cases where the woman knew the routine and the man did not, it was acceptable for her to subtly direct the man, although she would still be the following partner. In frontier days men danced with each other when women were not available. According to an early settler in Texas, "The gentle sex were few in number at the dance... Two men had to dance together to make a set." Another account states that "due to the scarcity of young women, a number of young bachelors who were either smooth shaven or wore polished shoes were designated as ladies." There were also "stag" dances with no women. "Heifer branded" men, those dancing the woman's role, wore handkerchiefs tied around one arm. A photograph from one early "stag" dance shows a "closed" dance position, with the "man's" right arm around the back of the "woman". At other times men dancing the role of the woman wore aprons.


History


Early history

Country–western dance originated in the dances and music brought to the United States by the people of the British Isles and continental Europe. In particular, there was a fad for French culture in the United States during the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
of 1789–1799, and many French dances were absorbed into American popular culture. The American version of the
Virginia Reel Virginia Reel can refer to any of the following: * Virginia Reel (solitaire), a solitaire card game *Virginia reel (dance), a folk dance *Virginia Reel roller coaster Virginia Reel was an older style of spinning roller coaster characterized by spi ...
, for example, is based on the French dance called "Sir Roger de Coverly". French dancing teachers also brought quadrilles, dances which featured four couples dancing in a square. The
cotillion The cotillion (also cotillon or French country dance) is a social dance, popular in 18th-century Europe and North America. Originally for four couples in square formation, it was a courtly version of an English country dance, the forerunner ...
appears to have originated from a quadrillion. These dances were particularly influential in the development of the
square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ...
. These dances soon developed into less formal dances, particularly the jig. One 1774 account states that "Betwixt the country dances they have what I call everlasting Jigs. A couple gets up and begins to cut a jig (to some Negro tune). Others come and cut them out, and these dances always last as long as the fidler can play." Another author wrote of whites doing "giggs". Southern wrote that "the whites themselves, and especially the younger ones, were apt to move into reels and jigs at their own dances after a few perfunctory bows in the direction of "society sets" such as minuets and cotillions. Popular reels, danced with a partner, included Lady Walpole's Reel, aka Boston Fancy, Lady Washington's Reel and Speed the Plow. In the 1880s the "Devil's Dream", which bore a decided resemblance to the "Old Zip Coon", was a popular dance. In the late 19th century a type of country dance known as "swinging" appeared, which involved couples twirling around the dance floor together at high speed, much to the disapproval of many "etiquette experts". In the early 19th century, large
farmhouses FarmHouse (FH) is a social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 33 active chapters and four associate ch ...
were sometimes built with rooms intended for dancing. In smaller houses, the kitchen was used for this purpose. Town halls were also used for gatherings. House dances were called "junkets" or "heel-burners," and they were casual affairs. These dances would last from mid-afternoon through the next morning. In the early 19th century,
Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...
closed out yearly horse racing with a ball featuring reels, contradances, congos, hornpipes, and jigs. Early solo dancing was composed mostly of extemporaneous jigging done by men. The term "jig" has been used to describe various forms of solo dance steps, as well as music, and has not been well defined. Jigs, clogs, shuffles, leaps, heel clicking,
hornpipe The hornpipe is any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and Ireland and elsewhere from the 16th century until the present day. The earliest references to hornpipes are from England with Hugh Aston's Hornepype of 1522 and others ...
s, and other step dances may have come from various ethnic traditions, or nothing more than an individual improvisation. Other early terms used to describe either solo dancing or steps done as part of a circle or square dance were buck-and-wing, flat-footing, double shuffle, hoedown, and breakdown. Jigging was sometimes referred to as "making the splinters fly", and jig contests were sometimes held as side entertainment at dance parties. A Texan "stag dance" held in 1829 included jigs and hornpipes accompanied by patting juba. Music was often provided by fiddlers, many of whom were black, or with improvised "instruments": clevis and pin, scraping on a cotton hoe with a knife, patting of the foot, blowing on a comb through a thin piece of paper, tapping against drinking glasses, or even blowing on a peach leaf. Military bands and string bands were used in larger towns and/or on special occasions. Dances on the prairie frontier included the scamperdown, double shuffle, western-swing, and half-moon. "Frolics" were community events often associated with communal work such as corn shucking or
house raising House raising (house lifting, house jacking, barn jacking, building jacking) is the process of separating a building from its foundation and temporarily raising it with hydraulic screw jacks. The process is the first step in structure relocati ...
. When the work was complete, the participants celebrated with a feast and dancing. A fiddler, often a black man, was the main source of music for dances at these events. The banjo, too, derived from earlier African instruments, was also important. Reels, square dances, waltzes, polkas and other couple dances were performed with a spirit of freedom and improvisation, which music historian Bill C. Malone describes as "all so mingled that it is a dance without a name". In West Texas, large dance events were a major community function. Those held at ranches were sometimes called "ranch dances". Dances for local people in smaller areas lasted for the evening, and the participants would go home after. Larger dances drew participants from a wider area, some of whom travelled by horseback or car to attend. Because it would be tiring to return the same day, these events could go on all night. While children slept, adults danced and socialized until morning.San Antonio Rose - The Life and Music of Bob Wills. Charles R. Townsend. 1976. University of Illinois. Unusually, the cooking at these events was handled by cowboys rather than women. They would serve a large midnight meal of
barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke ...
and other country foods. When crowds were large, dancers would take turns dancing, paying a fee each time they danced so that the musicians could be paid.


1920s onwards

Commercialization of country music ramped up in the 1920s. Despite that trend, dance parties in private homes were still popular in the
American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, featuring popular music played by fiddlers. Although many of the songs they played, such as " The Sailor's Hornpipe", or "The Virginia Reel" were once associated with specific dances, these associations faded over the years until the songs were completely separated from their original dances. From the late 1930s to the 1950s,
Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which attracted huge crowds to dance ...
was extremely popular at dance venues in the Great Plains. Popular steps for the dance-focused style included foxtrots, waltzes of the "Mexican" and "cowboy" varieties, and even simple one-step and two-steps. The extensive movements of workers and troops within the United States and overseas as a result of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
indirectly caused the spread of country music, as enthusiasts brought their favored music and dances to their new homes. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
neighborhood of
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
teemed with National Guardsmen keeping watch for enemy ships. As a result, Venice developed a bustling
nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
scene of dance halls and lounges that featured country western and swing music. From 1951 to 1961, the largest
barn dance A barn dance is any kind of dance involving traditional or folk music with traditional dancing, occasionally held in a barn, but, these days, much more likely to be in any suitable building. The term “barn dance” is usually associated ...
in California was held in Compton. Broadcast on radio and television as the ''
Town Hall Party ''Town Hall Party'' was an American country music program, firstly broadcast on radio and then television The first radio broadcast was in Autumn 1951 by stations KXLA-AM in Pasadena, California and KFI-AM in Los Angeles, California The televis ...
'', the Town Hall featured popular country and western musicians of the day. During the 1970s and 1980s, the country and western dance club
Gilley's Club Sherwood Cryer (September 2, 1927 – August 13, 2009) was a Pasadena, Texas-based entrepreneur. He was the originally owner and operator of a bar called Sherri's. He then formed a partnership with Mickey Gilley it became the western nightclub & ...
in
Pasadena, Texas Pasadena () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, U.S. census, the city's population was 151,950, making it the List of cities in Texas by population, twentieth most populous city in the ...
was certified by the
Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
as the world's largest nightclub, with a capacity of 6,000 people and a floor space of . One writer, Skippy Blair, noted in 1994 that, "At this writing, Country has become the dance of the decade." Blair lists Two Step, Waltz, East Coast Swing and West Coast Swing as the most popular couple country dances.Dance Terminology Notebook. Skippy Blair. 1994. Altera Publishing. page 20. .


Clogging

Clogging Clogging is a type of folk dance practiced in the United States, in which the dancer's footwear is used percussively by striking the heel, the toe, or both against a floor or each other to create audible rhythms, usually to the downbeat with th ...
is a
step dance Step(s) or STEP may refer to: Common meanings * Steps, making a staircase * Walking * Dance move * Military step, or march ** Marching Arts Films and television * ''Steps'' (TV series), Hong Kong * ''Step'' (film), US, 2017 Literature * ...
which is usually danced in groups to
bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it la ...
. It originates from the Appalachian region and is associated with the predecessor to bluegrass — "old-time" music, which is based on Irish and Scots-Irish fiddle tunes. It could be described as a more animated version of Irish step dance or a country version of
tap dancing Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perf ...
. There are dance competitions for clogging.


See also

* List of basic dance topics * Country dance * United Country Western Dance Council


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Country-Western Dance Social dance Group dances American folk dances