Line ‘em Up, Cowboy: Line Dancing Mondays at the Bedford

Line ‘em Up, Cowboy: Line Dancing Mondays at the Bedford

28 July, 2008
by: SpoonfedMeg

Even a country fan like me has to accept that for many, country might not be the music style of choice. But regardless of the songs, many girls might admit to a bit of a Cowboy fetish. Maybe it's the manly farmers tan; the rugged, outlaw look; or maybe it's just the fact that they always seem to have really big… hats. So whether it's the music, the dance moves or even the possibility of finding a cowboy or girl of your very own, there are plenty of reasons to turn up at The Bedford for line dancing classes at 7:30pm every Monday night. For my part, I'm excited to learn more and enjoy some good ‘ole country tunes.

I'm interested to see how the traditional English pub and London accents will mix with the likes of country legend Toby Keith ("we'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way"). Although the room looks more like a tea parlour than a honky-tonk, there are a surprising number of people in cowboy boots, ready to boot-scoot boogie the night away. Rob, the instructor, greets many dancers by name as he takes their money in exchange for the promise of new dance moves and a raffle ticket. The six quid cover gets you the lesson, social dancing until 11pm, and if you're the lucky raffle winner, a bottle of wine. An almost entirely female clientele ranges in age from young 20-something cowgirls to toe-tappin' grannies who put me to shame with their dance skills.

Rob takes the lead for the first dance of the night: the Tush-Push. Already I begin to wonder what I've gotten myself into as I'm instructed to "push that tush!" with more gusto than I imagined necessary for a simple dance move. We practice first without music, walking carefully through each step until everyone feels comfortable with the moves. Next, we try our new steps with a slow tempo song, and finally move to the full-speed version of the dance. Soon the whole group is tush-Pushing their way across the floor. With one dance under our belts, we move on.

Each week, Rob teaches three dances: one completely new dance, one that he introduced the week before, and one that he is teaching for a third and final week. This way, repeat dancers can practice the moves again and again, but even new-comers can easily pick up the three dances of the night. Once the lessons end, I find it a bit tricky to keep dancing as Rob plays songs for moves taught in previous weeks. After admiring the skilled dancers in the room for a bit longer, I decide to tush-push my way out of there, and leave the floor clear for those who know what they're doing.

I leave exhilarated, although I'll certainly get more out of the classes if I go back again to learn another set of dances. While there's not a cowboy in sight, it's a chatty, social group and everyone seems to be having a great time. Gentlemen of London, here's a tip: if you're looking for some girls in leather boots, strutting their stuff on the dance floor, don't be shy and swing by the Bedford. I'm willing to bet that even rugged, manly cowboys do the Tush-Push.

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SpoonfedMeg