“Fire and Flame” is the name of the line dance department within the Haslach sports club. And that really says it all. Whether you’re a long-standing member, a newcomer or a bystander: this type of dance is captivating, encourages you to join in and quickly shows that you don’t have to be a John Travolta or a Karen Lynn Gorney to have the “fever in your veins”.
Line dancing is an independent form of dance that developed in the USA in the 1950s. There are now line dancers all over the world. And in Haslach, where Kirsten Netzer heads the sports program that was introduced in 2015a core group of around 50 people belongs to the two training groups on Thursday.
Each song with its own choreography
People dance in lines next to and behind each other, without a dance partner, but together with others. The fact that people dance to all kinds of music was something that could be seen and heard last Thursday at the dance evening on the dance floor of the State Garden Show. DJ Michael, who had a program sheet with a total of 46 songs and two workshop contributions in front of him for the evening, explains: “Every song has its own choreography. Since new dances are added every day around the world, you can assume that there are at least 30,000 line dances.”
When Kirsten Netzer hears this, she is quick to calm things down. “We know and practice around 200 choreographies here,” she says, and explains when asked how long it takes to learn line dancing: “After about nine months, you already have the feeling that you can line dance. If you keep at it, you can go to a pub or a dance stage somewhere and join in.”
More women than men
The key word is to join in. When “Surfin’ USA” by the Beach Boys starts playing, it’s time to get started. About half of the estimated 110 dancers present (the women are far in the majority) can no longer stay in their seats. But all the other “liners” and the large number of spectators are also clapping and singing along: “Sexy Lady”, “Under the Sun” and above all “Westerland” by the Ärzte.
While Karin and Werner from Stuttgart are fascinated by what is on offer but would prefer to remain spectators, Doris from Stuttgart wants to join the dancing group and says: “The music simply encourages you to move – and that alone.” Sylvia, who regularly attends training in Haslach and who has obviously internalized the rhythm of the music so much that she seems to dance all day long, is also enthusiastic about this.
Walls and waves
“Turn the music up a bit, Michael!” calls Kerstin Netzer, who has asked everyone to practice a new dance with “Let your hips swing”: a mambo. As you can hear, 32 counts are needed to be able to properly express Bette Midler’s “Mambo Italiano”. There is talk of “waves”, “walls” and the step sequence “cross, back, turn, slide” – or something like that. “Very good!” praises the choreographer and continues: “Shakin’ – The Wave – Side Rock – Cha-Cha-Cha!”
It is now clear that line dancing is a workout for the whole body and the mind. That dancing improves concentration, coordination and also fitness. Uschi and Ruth, who are part of the “Crazy Liners” group and guests at the garden show, have an additional motivation to learn 24 new dances every year since 2014: “You can forget about everyday life, clear your head and it’s incredibly fun!”
The next dance evening
The “days like these” are coming to an end, as Kirsten Netzer invites you to the next “dance evening for everyone”. On September 12th, between 5.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m., the motto will be “Just Dance!”. While on August 15th, the theme was more South Seas, the motto will be “dirndl and lederhosen”. In any case, you should bring shoes with smooth soles and a drink. Registration is not required.
