The unsuspected virtues of line dancing

It’s not even 7 p.m. and the bar is almost full. The majority of customers seem to be 30 or younger, but I also see a few white heads. People are excited, line dancing is going to start soon.

“I’ve been opening bars for 15 years and I’ve never seen a craze like this,” Anthoni Jodoin, founder of Spaghetti Western, warned me.

I admit to being surprised by the scale and diversity of the fauna. There are a few cowboy hats, but also a Canadian jersey and lots of shirts that make you want to listen to Nirvana. As colorful as they are, all these beautiful people are brought together by the same love of country on Plaza Saint-Hubert, in Montreal.

Obviously, Quebecers love their country. However, this culture did not seem to me to be very represented in the metropolis. I felt things were changing when I noticed more and more teenagers with cowboy boots on their feet…

Anthoni Jodoin confirms this to me: “There has been a zeitgeist among young people for a year or two! » We can think of Beyoncé’s country turn, but also of rapper Lil Nas X and his collaboration with Billy Ray Cyrus, or even of the new western collection imagined by producer Pharrell Williams. The Lasso Montreal country music festival, held since 2022, also has a lot to do with it, believes the entrepreneur.

Katerine and Jessica, 28 years old, are like me in their first line dancing class. They’re getting started because country has been their favorite genre ever since they attended the Lasso festival. Are they nervous?

” No way. You ? »

Oh, absolutely. I asked a friend to come as backup. Amélie, like me, concerned about her lack of coordination, thought about letting me down. We are volunteers, but we fear not being in our place…

“It’s super inclusive, everyone is accepted! », Catherine Lefrançois told me.

I had called the musicologist and musician a few days earlier. She is the author of a master’s degree and a thesis on the history of country music in Quebec, but it was as a simple citizen, she clarified, that she submitted to me a theory regarding the popularity of the line dancing. “My impression is that since the pandemic, people are hungry to participate in cultural events where they are not passive. »

In Quebec, the organization ès TRAD organizes traditional dance evenings and it is always full, while there are empty rooms at the theater and presenters are working hard to develop audiences.

Catherine Lefrançois, musicologist and musician

And what community do we join when it’s country that we adopt?

“The conventional wisdom about country music is that it’s authentic,” Catherine Lefrançois replied to me. I don’t think that means much. Ozzy Osbourne is as authentic as Willy Lamothe! We often talk about simple music, too. But for me, it’s more very sentimental music. The artists express a lot of vulnerability and emotion. There is something deep that touches the person listening. Then there is a whole network of western festivals where people gather for the festive atmosphere. »

Strong emotions and celebration, it is noted.

“No need to know how to dance, just need to have fun ! », says Eve-Marie to me, between two sips of beer. The 22-year-old woman has been coming to dance every week since Spaghetti Western opened last October. “It’s because I love Kathy!” »

Kathy Maguire is the teacher wearing a beautiful 100% denim outfit. The one who grew up on a farm in Beauce has been teaching dance for four years, while pursuing a career as a circus artist. She is also working on a solo show: Babydoll, a feminist western. For her, the practice of line dancing and respect for women go hand in hand: “You can dance and share a common vocabulary without contact. The girls know they are safe in my classes. »

No wonder that at 7 p.m., the dance floor is 90% filled with women.

Kathy starts the class by recalling the etiquette of the track: “We have fun and if we catch someone, we give them a high-five. »

Then, she teaches us a first choreography by dissecting its 32 beats. Or, at least, she tries to. Amélie and I are often against the crowd. I understand little about hi-hatTHE rock step is my weak link and don’t even tell me about it shuffle… My neighbors and I high five each other because we bump into each other or because we succeed in a routine. We are in the same boat.

Thirty minutes later, Kathy Maguire tackles a second choreography. Bingo! This time I follow the steps with ease (and I will repeat them the next day, alone in my living room).

An unexpected emotion reveals itself: I’m frustrated because I don’t have enough space to give all the desired range to my movements! The bar is a victim of its success, which is a damn fine fault.

“I really understand why people like it,” slips my friend with the humidity-frizzed forelock. (It’s very hot.) It’s clear to me too.

A reflection from musicologist Catherine Lefrançois comes to mind: “Country is popular!” However, since the beginning of the marketing of this music in Quebec, when we talk about it, it is always with a tone of astonishment… As if we were denying the cultural importance of this musical genre. »

Guilty.

But I swear to you that I have changed.

Spaghetti Western Bar’s online dance classes take place every Thursday and Sunday at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., cost $5.