Words Jo Barnes
Photo Sarah Hartley Photography
The Wizard of Oz told the Cowardly Lion “All you need is confidence.” Susan Martman of Sidney Line Dancing would enthusiastically add: “And cowboy boots!!”
Susan, a high energy 75-year-old, discovered line dance five years ago. Since then, she has been teaching others this fun activity and collecting numerous pairs of cowboy boots along the way.
“Line dance fills me with so much joy. Put the music on and I’m dancing! You can wear runners, but cowboy boots make a nice noise with the stomps and claps,” she says, and adds for emphasis: “I own 14 pairs of boots!”
Generally speaking, line dancing involves dancers lining up in rows without partners and following a repeated choreographed dance pattern. Everyone faces the same direction and executes the same steps simultaneously. While line dancing can be traced back to European folk dances and is typically associated with country music, it is a form that has evolved over time.
“It’s not just country,” relates Susan. “Line dancing encompasses other forms of dance like ballroom. It can use Latin rhythms like the mambo, which includes movements like sweeps and turns.”
So, what makes line dancing so popular, you might ask? Susan says there are plenty of reasons. “You don’t need a partner and it’s not expensive. It’s a form of dance that is so accessible and social. Unlike ballroom which requires a more rigid posture and where your feet have to be exact, there’s more leeway with line dance.”
Susan teaches a variety of adult line dance classes to a range of ages. “There is an Absolute Beginner class which covers all the basics like step together step, half turn, heel dig, grapevine, V-step, and K-step. The Beginner Level 2 and 3 classes are longer and students learn more intricate steps,” she outlines. “We have people from their 40s to mid-80s. One man who participated at Shoal Centre was 89 years old”.
It can be challenging, but Susan welcomes the experience. “When you teach, you have to be constantly thinking ahead a couple of bars while you’re dancing. It’s a skill,” she relates. “Sometimes I might make a mistake. It doesn’t matter. We all make mistakes. I laugh; the students laugh.”
While it has taken a lot of effort to find a venue for her line dancing, Susan and her classes have found a home at McTavish Academy of Art and Shoal Centre. “It has taken five years to find a more permanent home. Sidney Line Dancing has been at RV Parks, St. Paul’s United Church and Allegro Dance,” she says. “When Covid came along, we did classes outside in the parking lot of Sidney’s Highway Christian Fellowship Church.”
Susan’s involvement with line dancing all began with an experience in California a few years back that captivated her attention. “My husband and I have been snowbirds for many years. We would go down south for three months each year. We went to California,” says Susan. “One day, I’d been watching line dance and decided to take part.”
Susan was a quick study, and before long, Brenda Needham, the instructor, a fellow snowbird from Canada, recognized Susan’s ability and asked her to assist with teaching. “In all my years of teaching line dancing, I have never met anyone that learned to line dance as quickly as Susan,” relates Brenda. “In a very short time, she became ‘my Susan.’ In my classes she would position herself in the back so that when the dancers turned, they could watch ‘my Susan’ which made it easier for them to learn the dances.”
Brenda, who has been teaching line dancing in Comox for six years, suggested that Susan might want to try teaching it in her home area of Sidney. She agreed to the idea. Fast forward to 2025: Susan is not only leading line dance classes at several venues, but she has mentored others such as assistant teachers Brenda Morris, Tamara Parent and Kelly Albucz.
She also shares her love of line dancing outside the dance studio, leading dance at local social events. “We have had so much fun at the ANAVET (Army Navy Air Force Veterans) dance club events in Sidney,” she says. “The dance floor is full!”
Fun and laughter are at the heart of Susan’s classes. Brenda can attest to Susan’s abilities and enthusiastic approach. “With Susan, people can expect an instructor who is a lot of fun,” comments Brenda. “She is an amazing dancer and choreographer and openly shares her love of line dance with others.”
But whether or not you own a pair of cowboy boots, you might be wondering if line dance is for you. We’ll let Susan have the last word: “It’s pure joy. I want people to feel included. Come give it a try!”
https://mctavishacademy.ca/dance-studio/line-dancing-classes/
