Sunday, April 20, 2008
Life, Health + Fitness
Get in line
Line dancing is as country as fried green tomatoes and sweet tea—but will it keep your butt lookin’ good in a pair of Wranglers? I head to Nashville to find out
CREDIT: Lori Sparkia
Is shakin’ it country-western style the way to getting fit?
WHAT: Line dancing at Wildhorse Saloon
WHERE: 120 2nd Ave. North Nashville, TN 37201
HOW MUCH? Free
CONTACT INFO: 615-902-8200. www.wildhorsesaloon.com.
FITNESS FACTOR: 1 ½ stars
FUN FACTOR: 3 stars
By Colleen Oakley
I don’t wear shoulder pads, tease my hair, or own a pair of cowboy boots. Therefore, at Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, Tenn., I stuck out like Nicole Richie at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.
I was there to take one of their free line-dancing lessons that they offer every Friday and Saturday night at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. The Saloon itself is a huge tourist attraction, so I thought I would be one of many fumbling over the two-step or boot-scoot or whatever it was we would be learning. I was wrong.
When a woman holding a microphone stepped onto the dance floor and asked for all newbie line dancers to join her for the lesson, a few people trickled to the center of the room. Now keep in mind that the Saloon is also a restaurant, and on this particular night, hundreds of beer-swilling, burger-noshing patrons turned their attention to the dance floor that my friend and I were currently walking across to join the seven other line-dancing virgins.
I couldn’t hear the name of the dance when the teacher spoke it, as my humiliation drowned out most other sounds, but the moves themselves were quite simple. It was a lot like the electric slide with some boot-stompin’ and lasso-ing added in for effect. She broke down the steps, and we went through it four or five times before she cued the music from the DJ booth.
As the song played, I began counting the steps out through my head and praying for it to end soon so that I could fade back into the crowd of the restaurant. I was also a bit mortified that a four-year-old in front of me was better at her booty-shake than I was. My friend leaned over to me, “Child Protective Services should call her mother.” I agreed.
The lesson finally ended, and the teacher thanked us all for joining her. I was happy that the torture of learning a new craft in front of hundreds of judgmental eyes was over, but I was disappointed that I had hardly broken a sweat. I know the lessons are free, but couldn’t they have taught us at least one other dance so that when the lights turn down around 9 or 10 (and I’ve had a few more Coors Lights), I could really get my boot-scoot on?
I’m sure that line dancing (like most other dances) is something that could provide a really good workout once you know what you’re doing, but if I were ever to take a lesson again, it would be for fun, not fitness (and I would make sure there were a lot less spectators involved). SP
Colleen Oakley is a freelance writer in Atlanta and the former editor of Women’s Health & Fitness magazine. Got a fitness challenge for her? E-mail her at colleen@sundaypaper.com.