Line Dancing Etiqette

Well, I decided to put together a list of dance floor 'rules' for line dancers - a list of line dance etiquette. Most of these should be common sense whether you’re at a class, a club, or a community social.

Before the dance...


• When you’re in a class, or group, and new people come to join, give them a big welcome and see if they have any questions about how to sign in, or where to put their things, or whatever. Make them feel welcome!
  
• Only bring yourself onto the dance floor - no food, drinks, or smokes.
  
• Don't talk while an instructor is teaching.
  
• Please let the beginners dance in the front row. The less experience a dancer has, the closer they should be to the instructor.
  
• Remember - everyone was once a beginner. If you have some experience, please try to be helpful to newcomers.
  
• Don't teach someone a step or a move unless they ask you to.
  
  Once instruction is over...
  
  
• Don’t walk through the dancers to get to the other side of the floor. Walk around the outside edge of the dance floor instead.
  
• If you want to talk to someone, leave the dance floor. Standing there blocks others.
  
• If you have a DJ playing your music, be polite and respectful when you make a request. If they can’t play your song, please don’t be a brat about it.
  
• When dancing near beginners, be mindful and courteous and don't show off. You will only intimidate them.
  
• If you bump into someone on the dance floor, apologize. It doesn't matter whose fault it was.
  
• Don't teach someone the steps right in the middle of the dance floor. Leave the dance floor and find an empty place to teach them.
  
• If you’re the one starting a dance, go to the front of the dancers so the others can fall in behind you.
  
• Don't start a different dance unless there is plenty of room, and you sense it is acceptable.
  
• Once a dance begins, please join from the back or the end of the line - not in the middle (unless invited).
  
• Don't hog the floor. Everyone needs some space.
  
• If the lines are long and you will block the outside edge of the dance floor if you join, start another line instead.
  
• The line of dance (LOD) is always anti-clockwise.
  
• Leave the outside edge of the dance floor open for couples dancers. Dancers dancing around the edge have the right of way. Be careful not to block their progress.
  
• In many venues line dancing is done at the same time and on the same floor as couples dancing. A general rule is that the more a dance moves, the more to the outside it goes. Line dances, swing dancing, and spot dances are for the center ofthe floor. Couples dances that progress forward go around the outside of the dance floor, and the faster the progression, the more to the outside the couple goes.
  
  
• Remember the magic words: Please and Thank You.
  
  
• Keep your head up and keep smiling. Have fun!