LYNN TWP., Pa. — The clomp of cowboy boots hitting the wood floor was in sync with the music of Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney and rapper-turned-country crooner Post Malone.
As a crowd shuffled along, Aleah Nothstein, a country and western line dance instructor, demonstrated the four steps of a grapevine — a fundamental move in line dancing, the form of dance that requires no partner.
Line dancing, which had a burst of popularity in the 1980s with the movie "Urban Cowboy" and through Billy Ray Cyrus's 1992 hit "Achy Breaky Heart," is making a comeback, and it’s sweeping across generations.
The dance form is a choreographed routine in which a group of people dance along to a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in one or more lines or rows.
But today, line dancing isn’t just for country music.
With the popularity of Post Malone and singer Beyoncé stretching into country, people are reciprocating by line dancing to pop, hip-hop, and even Latin beats.
Nothstein, of Boot Scootin' with Aleah, has taught local folks line dancing for the past three years.
Her classes are held every Tuesday and Saturday at Lotus Springs Farm, a barn/wedding venue in New Tripoli, at Seven Sirens Brewing Co. in Bethlehem and Country Junction in Lehighton, Carbon County.
'It's rewarding'
On a recent Saturday night, Nothstein roped in about 50 people to teach hourlong classes of some of the most popular line dances at Lotus Springs.
She honed her line dancing skills about five years ago in bars and restaurants such as C.J. Hummels in Lenhartsville, Berks County, and Johnny and Hons Smokehaus in Robesonia, Berks County.
"... People will pick up on it as long as you can explain well what's going on to them."Line dance instructor Aleah Nothstein
As an instructor, she appears patient and offers beginners a chance to ask questions before turning on the music.
The shuffles and turns seen in her recent class were choreographed to well-known songs: "Boot Scootin' Boogie" by Brooks & Dunn, "I Ain't Sayin'" by Jordan Davis, "Good Girl" by Carrie Underwood and "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone (featuring Morgan Wallen).
"With teaching, I have learned very quickly that if you can teach a mix of everything, people will pick up on it as long as you can explain well what's going on to them," she said.
"Essentially, it's a reward, being able to teach the lessons. If you could teach something real easy and then something difficult, and people still get it and enjoy their time, it's rewarding."
History of line dancing
The origin of line dancing lies not just in walls of country music.
While some line dances stem from European folk influence (polka, waltz), there are others made famous by disco of the 70s — think "Electric Slide" by Marcia Griffins, "Do the Hustle" by Van McCoy, and "Nutbush City Limits" by Tina Turner.
"I've found that you can do dances with country music to rap. It's the coolest thing..."Line dance instructor Aleah Nothstein
By the 90s, top-charters like Cyrus's “Achy Breaky Heart” and "Macarena" by Los Del Rio had their respective line dances.
More famous line dances followed: 2000's "Cha-Cha Slide" by the late DJ Casper and "Cupid Shuffle" by Cupid.
With the rise of TikTok and country line dancing nights, it has undergone another revival, Nothstein said.
"With line dancing, I like to be able to have a lot of versatile music," she said. "I've found that you can do dances with country music to rap.
"It's the coolest thing, being able to see it go from being just country line dancing to being more modern music and all these different dances that you can think of."
Community love
At Nothstein's classes, she is joined by her beau, Codi Sigley, aka DJ Mullet.
After the lesson, the "real" down-home dancing begins during the open format hours.
During those three hours, attendees are encouraged to write down song requests for the DJ. Musical tastes vary from Alan Jackson to Waka Flocka Flame.
"We have people walk through the door that never even tried line dancing before and by the time they go home, they're on the floor a few times."DJ Codi Sigley
Every hour or so Nothstein will check back in with the dancers to go over the dance steps she taught earlier in the night.
"There is a large line-dancing community, even just the people who have started with us," Nothstein said. "They've been consistent with coming to our lessons.
"We've got a little friend group now that has been doing line dancing with me since probably the beginning."
Those pals chatted with Mullet while Nothstein taught her lesson — one even manned the DJ booth so Sigley could shuffle with his sweetie to Kenny Chesney's "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy."
The enamored couple made it look easy as Chesney chugged along in the background.
"We have people walk through the door that never even tried line dancing before and by the time they go home, they're on the floor a few times," Sigley said.
"Especially for those four lessons that she taught before the [open format] part of the night."
Nothstein's classes start at $8. For more information on her latest schedule or other information, visit Nothstein's Facebook page.
