Dancing Across Texas

One of the best things about life at Kissing Tree is finding time for all the hobbies you’ve always thought about trying – and finding fun people to try them with!

Kelly Dickson had done some line dancing in her hometown of El Paso, but it wasn’t until she moved to Kissing Tree four years ago that her passion for line dancing took off. Now, Kelly goes to the line dancing classes twice a week at The Mix and has joined the KT Line Dancers group on performances and outings. “We’ve had our current teacher, Sandra, for two years, and she’s wonderful,” Kelly says.

Come to Class

The class meets on Wednesdays and Fridays, with beginners meeting at 2 and a more advanced class at 3. The group includes folks of all ages, and many of the advanced students attend both classes because they enjoy the camaraderie and the exercise. “It’s helpful, because if new people are learning some of the basic dances, Sandra will put us around them,” Kelly says. “That way, if it’s a 4-wall dance, they’ll have someone to watch when they turn, so they can see someone who knows the steps.”

Getting Started

So, how hard is it to learn line dances? Kelly says the basic dances are simple enough that anyone could pick them up. “There are some basic steps, and we put them into a combination that goes with a song,” Kelly says. “For the more advanced group, she’ll teach to song you might hear at bar.”

It can take a couple of classes for newbies to get comfortable, but it’s worth it. “It’s like anything else—like golf or pickleball,” Kelly says. “Sometimes when people come the first time, they get overwhelmed. But you have to stick to it and come consistently for a few weeks. It’s not hard—anyone can learn it.”

Dance to Anything

Once you learn a series of steps, you can do them to any song with a similar tempo. “We love finding new songs to expand our repertoire,” Kelly says. “When there’s live music at The Mix, we often get up and dance, even if it’s rock music. The bands often say they didn’t know you could line dance to their music! There was recently a Kissing Tree Prom with music from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and we line danced to that!”

And another nice thing about line dancing is that you don’t need a partner. “I’m single, and with line dancing, you don’t have to just sit around when everyone is couple dancing,” Kelly says. “We’re going to participate!”

Line dancing is good exercise, too, and memorizing all the dances keeps dancers cognitively sharp. “In an hour, we’ll probably dance 10-15 dances,” Kelly says. “Making yourself remember all those steps is good for your memory.”

Here We Go, Dosido

And they’re not just dancing at Kissing Tree—this group often takes their boots on the road. The group performed recently at the Kissing Tree health fair, and at a fundraiser at the New Braunfels Elks Lodge. In February, the group attended the prestigious Yellow Rose of Texas Line Dancing Extravaganza in New Braunfels. They had worked on many dances ahead of time, and had fun dancing with students and teachers from all over Texas and the world. “Everyone would get out on the floor and dance together,” Kelly says. “There was a lot of camaraderie with the group.”

The KT Line Dancing class meets on Wednesdays and Fridays at The Mix, with beginners at 2 pm and an advanced class at 3 pm. Come on out and join them — as soon as you sign your contract, you get access to all of Kissing Tree’s activities and clubs.