Line dancing and two-stepping

I witnessed a lot of this kind of dancing last night. It was at a country bar in Thousand Oaks that Joey wanted to go to for her 30th birthday, with a mostly white crowd and a sprinkling of cowboy hats among that crowd. I hadn't heard of most of the songs, but everyone was singing along like they were old favorites. It reminded me of the many parts of this country-- and even LA -- I've just never been exposed to.

Was most impressed by a tall, skinny guy in a plaid shirt (pictured here with Joey) who was two-stepping up a storm with every partner he could get his hands on. He was a very good leader, twirling those girls around and moving them real smoothly around an imaginary circle on the dance floor. We called him Opie. There were also these two very hardcore cowgirls who knew a line dance for any song that the DJ could throw at them. Joey (an Oklahoma native and fan of all things country) was very brave and out on the floor for every line dance, trying to mimic their moves -- but the cowgirls were not very helpful. Hardcore, as I said, and too cool for this crowd.

I found myself tapping my toes a lot, but too intimidated to get out there. I would totally consider taking a class. The nice thing about line dancing is you don't have to depend on a partner and yet there's quite an art to it, unlike the solo butt-shaking I usually see in clubs.