Boston’s 'Line Dancing Queens' want to see you on the dancefloor

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It’s the second day of The WBUR Festival!

We’ve got sessions with authors, ambassadors and experts happening across Boston University’s campus today. But if you don’t have a ticket, don’t worry. You can still join us at the free Street Fair at BU Beach, where we’ll have food trucks, a pop-up vintage market from FOUND, live music, games and — last but not least — line dancing.

Now, line dancing might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think “Boston.” But line dancing has become something of a sleeper hit in the city over the last five years, according to the Line Dancing Queens, Molly Albert and Vicky Falso. They host a few line dancing events each week, including every Wednesday night at the Cambridge bars McCarthy's and Toad, as well as online.

Albert says that when she and Falso began line dancing four years ago, while students at Emmanuel College, there were about two or three events per week in the city, with 30 to 50 people at each of them. “Now it’s every day of the week, and there’s probably at least 100 people every day of the week no matter where you go,” Albert said.

So, what’s the hype about? I chatted with the Line Dancing Queens ahead of today’s line dancing lesson at 1 p.m. to learn more about the allure of the stepping style and how it’s grown a community in Boston.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Hanna Ali: How did you get started line dancing? What attracted you to it?

Molly Albert: “It started at Loretta’s, which was close to Emmanuel.  I went because I liked country music, and it’s a country bar.  I've never been good at dancing, but I do like to dance, so it was just fun, and then there's so many [line] dances to learn that you kind of get hooked.”

Vicky Falso:  “We went just to go, not knowing it would become, like, our obsession. We went once and we immediately bought cowboy boots, clothes, everything to fit in at line dancing.”

HA: What is line dancing, exactly? 

MA: “ I guess some people might think it's partner dancing, but you're dancing on your own. There are certain steps that repeat in every dance, and it gets harder as you do more advanced dances. You're technically supposed to dance in rows, in lines, which is why it's called line dancing, but everyone's kind of crowded together, so it's not exactly like that.”

VF: “There's a lot of walking forward three times, kicking, walking back, a lot of jazz boxes, shuffles. Grapevines. And the songs have a set dance everywhere you go. [Pitbull’s] ‘Damn, I Love Miami’ is very popular right now. But then the dance to it is called ‘Pieces to the Puzzle.’ A question we got asked a lot, even before we taught, was like, ‘How do you know that dance?’ And you just kind of pick it up as you go. You're like, ‘Oh, I know this song. That means it's this dance.’ And then it's almost like a flash mob.”

HA: Who’s in the crowd at these line dancing events?

VF: “It really is a mix. Everywhere you go it's a different demographic. I feel like it really blew up 'cause it blew up on TikTok. People started getting interested, and [it] became more of a younger crowd. People are obsessed! … And there's hundreds of people in Boston and different communities. There’s queer line dancing.  We do play a lot of pop songs, we're not exactly traditional with following the steps. We promote everyone being included and [having] fun.”

MA:  “At our events, it's more people around our age, so like 20 to 30. When we started, it was an older crowd. But now that it's gotten so big in Boston, it really is kind of every age.”

HA:  Why do you think people should try it?

MA: “It's a very good cardio workout. … And then it's also fun to just challenge yourself to learn all the dances 'cause there's hundreds of them. And the community is very nice and welcoming. Even if you're not very social, most people there are, so they will probably come up to you or be very nice if you say hi. It's just a good way to make friends.”

HA: What would you tell someone who’s hesitant to try line dancing?

VF:  ”If you want to start, only do the lessons. We'll guide you through it. Introduce yourselves to us. It's a good way to just meet people, get active, and if you find dancing's not for you, maybe you'll just enjoy the environment, hanging out, doing beginner [dances]. Any level is welcome and okay in any line dancing bar.”

P.S.— WBUR anchor Steve Brown, news fellow Kevin Vu and I learned a few kickin' moves from the Line Dancing Queens ahead of today's group lesson at BU Beach. Watch us try our very best to grapevine and Charleston step in this video.