It's morning and the up-tempo sounds of a Miranda Lambert song backed by electric guitar and harmonica fill Sandy's Dance Studio off of Kinsman Road…
It’s morning and the up-tempo sounds of a Miranda Lambert song backed by electric guitar and harmonica fill Sandy’s Dance Studio off of Kinsman Road in Newbury Township.
Cowboy boots aren’t required, but a look around the hardwood-floored room said jeans, sensible shoes and hip bumps may be.
“There is something in line dancing for everyone. There are easy and hard dances, country and pop music, and you can choose to dance the dances you like and sit out the ones you don’t,” said Amy Martin-Madeley, a pre-kindergarten teacher. “I like that you don’t need a partner and that it is easy to pick up dances. I have met so many new friends line dancing.”
All eyes followed the energetic instructor dressed in black, leading the group through a series of walks forward, hitchs and walks backward.
Sandy Goodman is the owner of her namesake studio — which opened last month — teaching both country and non-country line dances with classes ranging from beginner and improver to intermediate and advanced, to all genres of music six days a week at her studio.
Most classes are geared to the beginner/improver and some, easy/intermediate.
Line dance is a choreographed dance with a repeated sequence of steps in which a group of people dance in one or more lines or rows with no physical contact with each other.
“Line dances repeat the same sequence of steps, so once you know one wall of a dance, you can dance the whole song,” Martin-Madeley added.
Memories captured in photos adorn the walls of more than 25 years of line dance instruction.
“My husband and I have owned the building for years and have rented it out to various businesses while we were both working full time,” Goodman said. “Since I retired a couple of years ago, and the people that were renting the building moved out, we decided to turn part of the building into a dance studio so that I wouldn’t have to keep trying to find different locations to teach.”
Goodman said she is trying to build her classes to add a couples class or two to the schedule, then swing lessons and two step lessons.
“Line dancing has become a bit more sophisticated than it was years ago when it first started,” Goodman said. “We still do a lot of the older dances and you can still find these being done at bars and some restaurants, plus there are new dances that come out on a regular basis to the more current songs as well.”
From wedding reception favorite “The Chicken Dance,” or the 90s sounds of “Achy Breaky Heart” to “The Macarena,” line dancing continues to evolve.
“As line dancing evolved over the years, you can find soul line dancing, urban line dancing, ballroom line dancing yes, the list goes on,” said Mentor’s Tina Foster, also an instructor. “I like to dance to all genres of music. If it is a good song with a good beat, we probably dance to it. Again, it is my passion in life.”
Dancers sauntered to the sidelines to take sips of water as Lambert’s song ended with “I’m giving up on love, hey, love’s given up on me.”
“What makes line dancing so special is if you are a single person or if your spouse or significant other does not care to dance, you can still dance and not feel any different than anyone else on the dance floor,” Goodman said. “You don’t need a partner.”
“My husband, Robin, and I used to line dance together in England,” Martin-Madeley said. “Line dancing is very popular there. He had line danced since he was a teenager and shared his love of it with me when we met. We had to give it up a few years ago because he became very ill and passed away in March.”
But having since returned to it, Martin-Madeley enjoys the camaraderie.
Dancers finished chatting and quickly joined the floor for “The Electric Slide.”
“Good job,” Goodman told students, pointing out the studio’s wall of fame of head-shots with regular dancer’s first names, encouraging the family-friendly attitude of the studio.
“The line dance community is made up of many friendly people,” Munson Township’s Stephanie Piecuch said. “I have made so many friends. I can go to a dance by myself and always see a friend there. It’s great exercise, a whole lot of fun, great for the mind and you meet great people.”
“My classes are a win-win situation for newcomers,” Goodman added. “The first class you come to is free. You can see for yourself if it is something that you might like to be a part of and it won’t cost you anything but a little time. We are all friendly and welcoming to any new people and you are guaranteed to get some exercise, so wear comfortable shoes.”
For more information, visit blinedancers.com or call 440-840-9100.
