Dust off your cowboy boots — across Northern Virginia, crowds of enthusiastic line dancers are flocking to bars, restaurants, and event halls.
One local company helping to spark the trend is LineDance4You. Its instructors offer free, weekly lessons at venues like The Loudoun Kitchen & Bar in Leesburg, giving patrons a fun, energetic night out. There’s a strong sense of community connection on the dance floor, according to Danielle Schill, owner of LineDance4You.
“We really pride ourselves on it not just being about dancing, but more about just making people feel good about each other, building relationships with each other, and meeting new people on the dance floor,” Schill says.
Line dancing has been a longstanding tradition at many NoVA-area establishments, but there’s a new wave of interest from “an enthusiastic younger crowd,” which Schill attributes in part to TikTok.
“Country dancing all around has just been big in this area for many years but … following COVID, it just really exploded because all of these young people were home and learning dances on TikTok and picking it up and were just so excited to do it out at the venues,” Schill says.
Ready to give it a try? While some line dancing nights are designated for experienced dancers, many are beginner-friendly. At LineDance4You classes, the instructor starts by walking through the steps to each song slowly, then runs it a few times to the music. And the music isn’t only the old-school country music you may associate with line dancing — Pitbull, Britney Spears, and AC/DC have all been featured.
There are resources online for new dancers to learn the foundational steps of line dancing, but Schill says there’s no need to prep in advance. Just show up, introduce yourself to the instructor, and be ready to learn. “Whether you’re a brand-new dancer who doesn’t know a grapevine from a jazz box or anything else, or someone who’s been dancing for 20 years, we want to make sure that everybody has a place at the table — or a place on the dance floor,” she says.
Get Dancing at These Venues
The Loudoun Kitchen & Bar
Leesburg
Tuesdays and Saturdays with LineDance4You
Bluemont Station Brewery & Winery
Bluemont
Thursdays with LineDance4You
L&B’s Pizzeria & Sports Bar
Dale City
Saturdays with LineDance4You
Lost Boy Cider
Alexandria
First and third Wednesdays with Good Times Line Dancing
Ned Devine’s Irish Gastro Pub & Restaurant
Herndon
Thursdays with DJ Freedom Ortiz
CraftWorx Taproom
Gainesville
Wednesdays with We’re Into Line Dancing
Feature image courtesy LineDance4You, LLC
This story originally ran in our December issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
