There is a craze sweeping Vermont.
For the last five years or so, in clubs, gyms, and meeting halls all over the state, people like Bob Milliken have been leading the uninitiated through the ritualized steps of various country dances. Usually dressed in colorful embroidered shirts, jeans, and cowboy boots, Milliken and his wife, Cheryl, are country dance teachers who ply their trade throughout the Champlain Valley.
On a recent Wednesday evening at the Veterans of Foreign Wars building in downtown Burlington, Bob Milliken instructs eight people in a room thats been emptied of furniture. A tape deck pumps out modern country tunes like Terri Clark's "When Boy meets Girl" as inexperienced dancers meet new moves. Using a cordless microphone, Milliken demonstrates the steps as he explains them. The novices follow his lead, sidestepping and kicking their way through one of the simpler dances. Those who encounter success yell out "Country!" Anyone who needs to repeat a part of the lesson asks for help with another single word: "Not!"
"Our style of teaching is different then in a club environment," says Mrs. Milliken. "We will review or 'call' any dance if anyone deems it necessary." The Millikens, collectively known as Country Spirit, were looking for a pastime when they enrolled in a beginner-level country dance course. The object was to learn line dancing, a style of dancing in which rows of people repeat a pattern of steps, kicks, turns, and other assorted moves in unison. "Once you know the basic steps," Ms. Milliken says, "it's just a matter of putting them in the correct order." The couple spent many nights practicing at various clubs. They would even travel to other states on what they called "country weekends" to see the new dances being performed there.
The Millikens' interest in this cultural phenomon led them to seek certifications through a course from the National Teachers Association (NTA) for Country Western Dance, a Las Vegas-based organization. A final exam required them to give advanced-level line dance instruction to a group of blindfolded pupils. As Country Spirit, the Millikens began teaching four years ago, often attracting 60 people per class in the winter months. They hold weekly practices and also offer eight-week courses designed to provide the basics. "It takes a beginner about four weeks to get really comfortable with the moves," says Cheryl Milliken. "People are always amazed at the amount of dances they can learn in eight weeks."
Country Spirit has taught at local elementary schools, offered slightly adapted courses for senior citizens, and hosted private parties. The learning process may go faster if the pupil has studied aerobics. "Country dancing can be quite a workout," she says. "People are often surprised at the amount of exercise involved."
The country resurgence includes other dances that dont need line formations. Partner dancing, also highly choreographed, consists of two people in a sweetheart (or side-by-side) position to perform a series of steps together. Couple dances use only one basic dance pattern, such as a waltz or two-step, leaving the couple free to execute various spins, twirls, and variations. This configuration requires that one person, traditionally the man, assumes the lead.
But why has country - which has also influenced the polka, swing, and square dancing - become so popular recently? Aficionados insist that one main different between country music of the past and the present is the music. By adding elements of rock and roll, jazz, pop, and blues to its collective language, contemporary country music is highly accessible, upbeat, and very danceable. Many cite the 1980 John Travolta movie Urban Cowboy as a catalyst for the explosion of contemporary country music and dancing. This surge is estimated to be increasing at a rate of six million new fans a year.
Yet many dancers warmed up to the music only after they had been hoofing for some time. "I never used to like country music," recalls Marie Miller, "but I loved to dance." She and her husband, Tim, own Country Bound - aka CB's - a 4,000-square-foot facility in Essex Junction, VT. On any given night at the club, customers might be doing The Fred, which begins with the following call: "Brush hands back, front, clap twice, slap twice, clap twice...," and ends with "slow half turn, scoot forward four times."
Clubs such as CB's cater to the growing thirst for country dance, offering regular instruction as well as an open floor where devotees can give it their all. Marie Miller, who doubles as the Vermont director of the NTA, teaches alongside Tim. Professionals for six years now, they were introduced to country dance by a visiting relative who showed them what was then already au courant in Los Angeles. The Millers were smitten, and set out to learn all they could, even trekking as far as Texas to experience different approaches to country dance. Upon their return to Vermont, they taught friends on an informal basis. Seeing an absence of clubs where people could go for this type of dance, they opened CB's along with The Cobweb in Georgia and, on the New York side of Lake Champlain, Cocktails in Morrisonville and Mud Puddles in Lake Placid.
For all its formal maneuvers, line dancing is very adaptable, Many of the dances are choreographed before music is assigned to them so, as long as a country song as the same underlying beat, one dance can work with almost any tune. Occasionally, a song will be associated with a particular dance, such as Alan Jackson's "Chattahoochee" and Tracy Bird's "Watermelon Crawl." However, many dances are linked to several different songs. The Millikens try to change their music after each eight-week session, adding newer hits to the repertoire. Local clubs also have extensive record collections, playing the latest hits as well as the classics.
Strict etiquette is observed on the dance floor. The middle is set aside for line dancers. Partner dances travel in a circle around them. On the outside of it all are the couple dancers, given enough room for any impromptu moves that the leader may feel like performing. "Anyone that dances in a club needs to know all this," Cheryl Milliken cautions with a laugh. "Otherwise, theyll get run over."
This article originally appeared in the 6/26/96 issue of VOX, an arts weekly based in Burlington, VT.
Back to TGM's Musings