How to.. Each week, ET entertainments reporter Duncan Hall tries out a new activity. This week, Duncan tries out:
Line-dancing
WHAT
could be worse than line-dancing for the first time with 50 or more complete
strangers?
Line-dancing on stage in front of 50 or more complete strangers, that's what. And that is precisely what your intrepid reporter did on Sunday at the Peterborough Adult Learning Service's charity line dance.
I was apprehensive before I got to Perkins Sports and Social Club in Oxley Road, but I shouldn't really have worried. After all, as the posters said, "in line-dancing a stranger is a friend you just haven't met yet".
There was a mix of all ages in the hall from all over the city, who were just interested in having a good time rather than staring at a newcomer as he tried not to fall over his own feet.
The strangest thing I found was that as soon as the music started, rather than the dancefloor being yawningly empty, groups of people were getting up and dancing together in perfect synchronicity.
Before I knew it, the first beginners' session started and I was called up on the stage by instructor Bill Jewkes, better known to his students as Dollar Bill.
The dance we were learning to do was called Disco - a simple beginners' dance. Basically, if you know your left from your right and can count to four, you can follow it.
What surprised me was the dance wasn't necessarily designed just for country music, it could be danced to pop tunes such as the Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive and Ottawan's classic D.I.S.C.O. I was glad I hadn't brought my comedy stetson with me.
With his back to the audience so everyone could see what he was doing, Bill explained the basic moves (step forward four steps, three steps, kick and clap, step back three steps, clap and touch your foot on the floor, to the side three steps:well you don't need it all explaining).
Then it was put to a basic beat before we danced the real thing to the proper music. And to be honest it wasn't too bad.
Once I got into the rhythm and didn't make the mistake of starting off on the wrong foot it was quite good fun, and great to see a whole dancefloor of people stretched out in front of me in perfect horizontal lines following the same moves.
And when the time on stage was over, it was fascinating watching the students of several different classes across the city getting together and following longer, more complicated moves.
Speaking to Bill afterwards he explained that all the dances were based on the same sort of principle - being able to count to four and knowing your left from your right was the only prerequisite.
He said: "You don't need a partner, we get people aged from eight to 80 years old, dancing to all different types of music. "You can also have line-dancers in the middle of a dancehall with their partners dancing around the outside. It is great to watch for anyone who doesn't want to join in."
Bill is the chairman of the Country Western Dance Council (CWDC) and has taken part in national, European and world line-dancing championships. On top of that he is a fully qualified instructor and advises anyone wishing to start line-dancing to check their teacher is CWDC accredited. He said: "Often you find if an instructor is not qualified, they're also not insured."
He got into line-dancing through a love of country music. What he would really love to see in Peterborough is a country music venue where people would be able to line-dance in social gatherings or take lessons and hear live country music as well as their favourite records.
He currently leads six classes a week, ranging from beginners to advanced sessions.