Most Popular Line Dances To Play At Weddings & Parties

Whenever you go to a gathering, you would want to know some popular line dances so you can mingle with everyone and have a good time. 

Let’s put your best shoes on and get to work!

Popular Line Dances To Get Everyone On The Floor

1. The Cupid Shuffle

Many people would argue that the Cupid Shuffle is the simplest line dance ever. Even beginners could learn it in no time. 

The lyrics will tell you what to do. The basic routine for this dance line is:

1. Take eight steps to the right. Depending on the size of the dance floor, the instructor might go for four steps instead. Let your heels touch in the last step.
2. Continue with another set of steps to the other side.
3. Do eight heel steps on the spot.
4. Do eight normal steps in place and turn a square angle to the left.
5. Now that you are facing another direction, you can repeat the routine.

2. The Electric Slide

Electric Slide is the next-in-line dance for beginners with slow music and easy steps that everyone can keep up with.

1. Start with a grapevine: step to the right with your right foot then put your left foot behind it with your legs crossed. Then, put your right foot to the right again. And, finally put your left foot back for a normal standing pose. Clap your hands.
2. Repeat the steps to the left side.
3. Step backward with your right, left, and right foot again. Clap your hands.
4. Put your left foot forwards. Clap your hands while your right foot taps.
5. Switch sides and repeat the step.
6. Put your left foot forwards once more and turn a square angle to the left. With your right foot ready for a new repetition, you can easily nail the routine again.

Check more: What to wear Line dancing?

3. The Cowboy Boogie

As one of the popular country line dances from the 90s, any song with four beats in each bar would be great for the Cowboy Boogie. 

As its steps reach all four directions, this line dance looks pretty energetic.

1. Start with a grapevine as shown in the Electric Slide. Instead of clapping, do a knee-up move (hitch).
2. Repeat the step but to the other side.
3. Take two steps forward, each accompanied by a hitch.
4. Take three steps backward and do a hitch.
5. Move your hips forth and back in a boogie then turn a square angle to the left to repeat the routine.

4. The Cowboy Hustle

Once again, you have a wide variety of music options. All songs with a Western country vibe and a slow tempo could match the composed and simple steps of the Cowboy Hustle.

1. Tap forwards with your right heel, bring your foot back, and repeat the step.
2. Step forward with your right foot, tap forwards with your left heel, left toes to the left, and tap behind with your left toes.
3. Switch sides and repeat the second step.
4. Step to the right with your right foot, tap behind it with your left toes, and repeat on the other side.
5. Right foot on the right side, left foot behind it, another right-footed step, and turn to face a new direction so you can repeat the routine.

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5. The Cha Cha Slide

Although there can be alternatives, the original Cha Cha Slide song is still the best-known track for this routine because the steps are pretty much included in the lyrics. 

Compared to the line dances mentioned above, the Cha Cha Slide has a more upbeat vibe, hence it fits festive occasions better.

1. Do a grapevine to the left.
2. Take three steps backward and finish in a normal standing pose.
3. Jump and land on both feet and move one step forth with both feet.
4. Stomp powerfully with your left foot. Add some hand or arm movements.
5. Step your right foot forwards, legs crossed. Then, uncross them with a step on your left foot. Step to the right with your right foot and put your left foot forth.
6. With your left foot forth, turn to the left and move your right foot to the right. Do another grapevine.
7. Until further instruction, stay on the spot and clap your hands to the rhythm.
8. Jump off the ground and land on both feet with a wide gap between them. For the second jump, cross your feet this time. For the third jump, keep your feet apart again. Finally, put your feet back next to each other.
9. Step your left foot to the left and slide your right foot along. Switch sides and repeat.
10. Lean backward for a limbo pose and straighten up again.
11. Lean forwards with your knees bent and your arms crossed on the front while bouncing to the beats.
12. Run in place with your heels touching your rear and without moving back or forth.
13. End the routine with the funniest pose you can think of and add a matching facial expression.

6. The Boot Scootin’ Boogie

Originating from Vancouver in the 1990s, the simple yet fun moves of the Boot Scootin’ Boogie quickly earn them a good reputation amongst line dances and remained that way until today.

1. Step forward with your right heel then flatten your left foot on the floor. Switch sides and repeat three more times.
2. Double tap a spot in front of you with your right heel and double tap a spot behind you with your right toes.
3. Put your right foot to the right but keep your weight on your left leg. Kick that foot back to the left, and let the sole touch your left hand.
4. Get your right foot back down and do a grapevine. Repeat the grapevine with the other side with your corresponding foot scuffing the ground in the last step.
5. Take three steps back and scuff your foot at the fourth step. Keep it in the air and put it forward before putting the other foot next to it.
6. Part and close your heels without moving your toes. It resembles a greeting in the military!

7. The Chicken Dance (Birdie Dance)

Despite the slightly childish name, the Chicken Dance has been one of the most popular line dances at weddings due to how easy and funny it is. 

It came from Switzerland but only got more recognized in the US.

1. Bend your arms. Keep them close to your chest. Shake your hips four times from side to side.
2. Stand back up and clap your hands four times.
3.  “Cluck” your hands four times to imitate a chicken. Keep your body bouncing slightly to the beats.
4. Bend your arms again. Flap them like wings before repeating the routine.

Read more: Hula Dance: Origin, Attires, Moves, When to Perform

8. The Watermelon Crawl

The Watermelon Crawl line dance is also a regular at weddings, even though it is slightly more complicated than the ones above.

1.  Turn your right knee to the left. Do a slight kick-up, tapping your toes on the floor.
2. Put your right foot backward and draw your left foot back next to it. Repeat on the other side.
3. Take three steps forwards and one step backward. Clap your hand to the front at the last step. Repeat with three steps back and one step forth. Clap your hands behind.
4. Do a grapevine to the right then another to the left.
5. Step your right foot to the side at last so you can turn to the left.
6. Step in place until a new routine begins.

9. The Wobble

If you enjoy the Electric or Cha Cha slide, you wouldn’t want to miss out on the Wobble line dance. It carries a more modern vibe on a traditional 4-beat rhythm. 

There’s no proper routine for the Wobble dance. So, it’s all about having fun, though you can refer to a quick routine below.

1. Jump and land on the ground with both feet before swaying your hips three times to fill a 4-beat bar.
2. Jump back to your first position and do the wobble with your hips again.
3. Wobble your entire body from left to right then the other way around. Don’t forget to follow the beats!
4. Have fun by moving your arms and hips to the music.
5. Do the back-and-forth steps or a cha-cha set.
6. Continue to sway your body from side to side until the routine resets.

10. The Y.M.C.A.

AKA “Young Men’s Christian Association”, a safe space for the youths during the 60s and 70s. The main routine of the dance includes forming those four letters with your arms.

1. It usually begins with people moving their hips side to side before raising their arms to form the Y. 
2. Keeping the slight bouncing off the body, the dancers will make the M with their hands above their heads. 
3. With one arm horizontally and the other curved over, they will have the C. 
4. The A will appear with the tips of your fingers put together.

11. The Old Town Road

Although the name seems old, it is a new line dance created in 2019. The steps are adorable and simple enough for you to pick up right away.

1. Put one hand above another. Move them up & down to imitate riding a horse. Fill the remaining two beats of the bar with hand gestures to match the lyrics.
2. Raise a hand and move it in a circle like a cowboy about to throw his rope. Add hand gestures again.
3. Two steps to the right. Then, two steps to the left. Do shimmy movements with your shoulders.
4. Cross your feet and kick your right heel to the left rear before turning in a new direction and repeating.

12. A Little Bit Lit

This line dance might seem difficult at first, though the steps come naturally if you practice for a while.

1. To the right: two steps, cross rock your left foot, recover, step to the left, and turn to another direction.
2. Toe and heel cross twice, kick out, and twist in according to the order of heels – toes – heels.
3. Do a rock step forward with your right foot, regain the normal position, followed by a lock step backward, and repeat with your left foot. Finish with two claps and start all over again.

13. The Black Velvet

It is danced to Black Velvet by Alannah Myles, but you can choose songs with similar beats and add more turns for fun!

1. Put your right foot to the right then the front. Do the same with your left foot. Repeat once more.
2. With your right foot, kick forward then put it down. Place your left foot next to it. Your weight stays on the left foot. Step forth with your right foot, turn, and do the kick again.
3. Do the kick with your right foot, turn left. Then, do double shuffles forward.
4. Turn, double shuffle forwards, and turn again.
5. Jazz box: Cross your right foot over the left. Step back with your left foot, right foot to the right, and left foot forwards.

14. The Bring on the Good Times

Like many other dance lines in this list, it is based on a song of the same name with easy steps that everyone can learn.

1. Point your right toe to the right, put it back, and point right again. Do two crossed steps to the right. Repeat with your left side.
2. Rock forth, recover, then step back, and clap. Step back, clap, and repeat once. Step back, stand, and step forth. Step forth, lock, and step forth.
3.  Step forward with the left foot, step right ¼, then cross the right foot over the left foot. Do another crossed step. Side step forward then backward.
4. Do one toe strut for each foo, a coaster step on the right foot, one heel strut for each foot, and end with small running steps.

15. The Cotton-Eyed Joe

We hardly know any line dance as energetic as the Cotton-Eyed Joe with such basic steps!

1. Stomp and kick with your right foot.
2. Take three steps backward.
3. Switch sides and repeat the two moves above.
4. Repeat everything once more then take eight steps forwards.

16. The Country Girl Shake

If you are looking for something trickier, try the Country Girl Shake!

1. Take two steps forward. Put your right foot forth and thrust your hips thrice. Rock forth on your left foot and recover. Turn ½ to the left and step once to each side.
2. Repeat the move above but end with a ¼ turn.
3. Cross rock with your right foot, recover, and turn ¼ right. Rock forth with the left foot, recover, and turn ½ left. Rock forth on your right foot, recover, and step back. Bump forth and back with your hips.
4. Shuffle for the next 8 steps. You can add turns to make it much more fun to watch!

17. The Double D (Duck Dynasty)

Another fast-paced routine for the song Cut ‘em All. But anything with an energetic vibe would do.

1. Stomp with your right foot and clap. Do a sailor brush with your left foot. Stomp left and clap. Do a sailor step with your right foot.
2. Rock forwards with the left foot, recover, step together, rock backward with the right foot, and recover. Do two kick steps with the right foot.
3. Rock forwards with your right foot, recover, turn ¼ right, cross-rock your left foot, recover, and do a full chasse.
4. Point your right toe to the front then the right, and lift your right foot behind your left leg. Do a vine to the right, cross step then turn to unwind completely.

18. The House Party

The House Party is perhaps the line dance with the most turning, though it is pretty easy to memorize!

1. Jump forth with your right foot, and pull your left foot next to it. Step back with your left foot, and put your right foot back to the original position. Step right foot forth, turn ½ left, and repeat.
2. Do a Triple Box. To the right: right, left, right, and turn ¼ left. To the left: left, right, left. Turn ¼ left, and repeat the side steps to the right. Turn ¼ left, and repeat the side steps to the left.
3.  Cross heels with each foot and sway your hips to four beats.

For the next dance lines, we will take just a sneak peek into the steps involved and recommend detailed instruction because of two reasons: 

• They are quite complicated for beginners
• They include steps we have gone over already!

19. The Good Time

Not to be confused with a similar name, the Good Time dance line is remarkably simpler! 

It features steps forwards, side toe-taps, hitches, shuffles, turns, and shoulder shimmies, which beginners can quickly pick up!

20. The Hoedown Throwdown

If you know Miley Cyrus in her Hannah Montana era, you might have heard of this song already. It is a country song with a quick tempo, hence all tracks with similar beats would work for the routine.

With a sprinkle of hip-hop dancing in it, the steps might be a bit complicated to learn. If you are interested in a challenge, Disney has an official guide for it!

21. The Linda Lu

The footwork for the Linda Lu dance line is very eye-catching. 

Though as you might have guessed, the fancier it looks, the tougher it is. Not to mention the claps and turns included to make the dance more cheery.

Check out the instruction from Moonshine Flats for more thorough guidance on a presentable performance.

22. The Macarena 

Macarena is a famous line dance from the 90s, and it still maintains the same popularity after so long. While the footwork is not too much to remember and master, the hand and arm movements are something to think about.

Michelle Fong and DI Beam Dancers choreographed a clean routine on the original song of Macarena. Yet, many people claimed that they had no difficulty dancing without music.

23. The My Maria

We would recommend My Maria to any wedding ceremony due to the romantic and cheerful vibes it brings.

Intermediate-leveled dancers will learn the steps in no time, for they include the basic steps back and forth, side cross steps, grapevines, and claps. 

What makes it tough to nail is the incessant change of direction!

24. The Power Jam

Rather than a wedding or a party, the Power Jam is a much better choice for clubbing because it fits all songs with upbeat and happy vibes.

It starts in a basic fashion with four steps and gets funkier when the arms and the hips are involved. You can check it out right now!

25. The Slappin Leather

We often see experienced dancers try out the Slappin Leather routine. As the name indicates, it involves slapping your leather boots but looks pretty fancy.

Footloose is the most popular song for this dancing line, yet we can start with a music-less guide!

26. The Outlaw

Although it is not very famous for new dancers, the Outlaw is something enough simple and fun to drag everybody to the dance floor.

It can heat the atmosphere with numerous turns and stomps. But you will have to stand up for the claps and jumps!

27. The Swamp Thing

Also known as Swamp Thang, this Louisiana dance is mostly about cha-cha your way through the routines and improvising your steps for fun.

As seen in this instruction, the song Swamp Thing by The Grid is the most common choice for this dance line. But anything with a similar rhythm would do the job!

28. The Tango with The Sheriff

Choreographed to Cha Tango by Dave Sheriff, this slow dance is great when you want to involve everyone in a big performance, including the elders.

You can dance to your rhythm as well as partner up with someone else since we are having a tango here!

29. The Stroll

The Stroll might be the oldest line dance among our choices. The tempo is very slow and the steps are easy to learn by heart.

At a party, this dance will come in handy with two parallel lines for women and men to take their turn and move along the line in pairs. Everyone can come up with their steps and have their spotlight.

30. The Tush Push 

Maybe you don’t always have to dance for a certain occasion and they can serve as your exercise instead! The Tush Push is for sure good at warming you up with heel switches and hip moves.

Take a look and see if you would rather dance to some cute songs or enjoy yourself with these relatively easy routines!

Tips When Line Dancing

For Beginners

First of all, you will have an easier start in dance classes if you have decent shoes with sufficient support and comfort. We love leather soles for people whose feet are not accustomed to dancing!

Secondly, be patient with yourself and other learners. 

Line dances are usually designed for a large group of people with the main purpose being a good time for everyone. 

One might be quicker or slower to memorize a step, and it’s okay. Even though these routines are quite simple, it takes some time to master them.

When you have had enough patience, the next step to success is practice. Repeating the routine will help you grow familiar with the movements as well as improve your confidence. This is also important in group activities.

If you have difficulty learning a step, don’t hesitate to ask for help. It doesn’t have to be the instructor! Sometimes, you can learn so much more from your classmates.

Let yourself be surrounded by people! Hiding at the far end of the line is a bad idea even for a shy person. 

If the routine involves a 180-degree turn of the whole formation, you will be on the front instead. Meanwhile, being in the middle of a group gives you some direction in case you forget what to do next.

General Tips for Line Dancers

The atmosphere is extremely important in line dancing. So, you should be courteous.

Here are a few common situations:

• If you need to get to the other side of the dance floor, take the perimeter instead of pushing your way through the crowd.
• Don’t be shy to help other dancers if they have problems, yet don’t be too fussy about their styles.
• When the positions have been specified, follow the instruction and maintain the correct formation.
• Pay attention to the DJ because they are in charge of important notices such as a change of music or style.
• Show appreciation towards the DJ as well as your fellow dancers when they have done their parts well. So, they would be motivated to do even better and the atmosphere would stay very positive.

Final Words

And it marked the end of our long list of popular line dances! No matter which style you choose, don’t forget to enjoy yourself. 

Line dancing is not supposed to be serious and stressful. Hence, you will miss out on the fun if you focus too much on the techniques!