A decade on the dancefloor – Donkeys are keeping in line

More than 50 people joined the party at the Cobo Community Centre at the weekend as the club continues to go from strength to strength.

‘It’s as popular as ever,’ said teacher Roz Harris.

‘We get new people through the door every week, and I know in the UK the TikTok dance crazes are making even more people start.

‘When I started in 2016 it was just about teaching dancing, but now it’s about the community and friendships too.’

She said at its heart, line dancing was exactly what its name described – dancing in lines.

‘You have set routines and sequences you follow,’ she said.

‘If you can walk, you can line dance, it’s just tremendous fun. I started in my twenties and it’s done so much for my confidence.’

Line dancing blends ancient folk traditions with modern American trends. It evolved from European settlers’ dances and took African and native American influences into choreographed routines, all performed in lines of dancers.

It gained massive popularity in the 1970s and exploded globally in the 1990s, moving beyond just country into other musical genres.

Special guest Jamie Barnfield, a prominent British line dance choreographer, was present to lead the dances and the celebrations, although Storm Goretti had done its best to stop him.

The founder of the Boogie Shoes dance club in Gloucestershire, he has received nominations for instructor and choreographer of the year at the Linedancer Crystal Boot Awards.

‘I started back in 1996, on a weekend camping trip I saw a demonstration and was transfixed,’ he said.

‘On events like this I teach my choreography to the clubs and instruct.

‘I’m so glad I managed to get here, it was a close-run thing. I would have missed some phenomenal dancers – they are a party bunch here who really know how to let their hair down.’