CENTER STAGE: Two-Step & Line Dancing Revive Local Social Dance Scene
a resurgence in country-western dance forms invite accessible entry points for self expression, community joy
As the Chippewa Valley embraces the return of summertime, the reemergence of social dancing is moving and grooving right alongside it. Regardless of experience, dance allows for a journey of self-discovery, with the potential to uncover a newfound passion for a particular rhythm or movement – or simply feel the joy of moving your body – that resonates with audiences of all ages.
For local Laura Dombroski, founder of Line Dance With Laura, these beliefs guide her mission to bring line dancing center-stage within her local community.
(Line dancing) just creates a really great sense of community — whether you're dancing with old friends or total strangers, everyone's doing the same steps together. -Laura Dombroski, Line Dance With Laura
Line dancing involves participants forming lines and performing choreographed steps to music, Dombroski said. She became aware of the dance form through other adult dance classes offered in the area, and took the leap to reconnect with a long-standing interest: formal dance instruction.
“There really are so many talented instructors who are just warm and welcoming — I've learned so much just by showing up and participating,” Dombroski said. “I've already seen a really huge growth in the interest around line dancing in the past few years; I think that momentum will only continue — especially in the summer.”
Dombroski and her crew of dance leaders will return to local festival stages and host recurring "Dance and Sip" instructionals with Dixon's Autumn Harvest Winery & Orchard this summer. (Photo by Carlee Sleep)
In the past five years, Line Dance With Laura has brought line dancing instructionals to Country Jam USA, Hoofbeat (formerly known as Country Fest), The Club on Water Street, and private weddings and corporate events.
Popular line dances, often set to western music, provide a repetitive sequence of steps that foster connection and introduce accessible entry points to the dance form, she noted.
“(Line dancing) just creates a really great sense of community,” Dombroski said. “Whether you're dancing with old friends or total strangers, everyone's doing the same steps together. We're moving to the music and sharing that experience.”
Through her events, Dombroski learned many Chippewa Vallians were no stranger to community line dancing. The former Fournier's Dancing Academy and Ballroom, established in 1900, evolved into a social center for a number of generations.
Older participants of Line Dance With Laura have recounted stories from the 1950s and 1960s, and highlighted venues like Fournier’s, as third spaces for community gatherings and choreographed dance.
“I just love hearing stories from generations before us, who learned to dance because that's just what they would do every weekend,” Dombroski said. “You would improve simply by showing up and dancing with different people — I would love to see more of that return.”
While Fournier’s closed in 1971 (the site now holds the parking lot for Eau Claire’s County Courthouse, as Volume One has shared), today, both line dancing and two-step events have re-emerged throughout the Chippewa Valley — with Dombroski on the pulse of where her growing audience would likely participate in the dance form.
Alongside the growing popularity of line dancing, another dance form with similar roots has experienced a comeback in the Chippewa Valley.
Two-step, a choreographed sequence influenced by partner dances and country-western motifs, has become an integral avenue for people to reconnect with their rural upbringings and the generations which came before them.
Two-step is about having fun — and if you can keep the beat — you’re more than halfway there. It’s my biggest dream that participants can find a newfound love for both the skill and silliness of social dance, just like I did. - KD Hackworthy, two-step organizer with Farewell Transmission Radio
KD Hackworthy, an organizer of two-step events in the area with Eau Claire's Farewell Transmission Radio, said they first embraced the dance form through queer country dancing communities in Minnesota's Twin Cities area.
Their commitment to personal values and creative expression motivated them to establish accessible two-step dance instruction in the city of Eau Claire.
“I’ve not only grown to love two-step and line dancing, I’ve grown to cherish how queerness and ruralness meld to create the exact kind of community I want to both create and occupy,” Hackworthy said. “Two-step is about having fun — and if you can keep the beat — you’re more than halfway there.”
Over the past three years, Chippewa Valley venues have hosted a number two-step events, including SHIFT Coffee Bar, Lilydale Dance Hall and Event Venue, Leona’s Pizzeria, and The Pablo Center. Hackworthy has become a returning instructor for local two-step, with the intent to make dance a regular part of residents’ lives and create intentional community around an activity many have grown to love.
“It’s my biggest dream that participants can find a newfound love for both the skill and silliness of social dance, just like I did,” Hackworthy said. “I am hopeful to bridge a generational divide in the dance and arts community.”
As Hackworthy and Dombroski both noted, Chippewa Valley residents will soon have their pick of opportunities to enjoy two-step and line dancing — promising a summer of self expression through movement and music.
“Seeing people proud of themselves and just fully present in (the dancing) is something that always brings a smile to my face,” Dombroski said. “Watching that shift from fear to confidence is just a reward in itself.”
Stay up to date with future line dancing events through the Line Dance With Laura's social media platforms (@linedancewithlaura) • Visit the Volume One events page for announcements of two-step social dancing in the Chippewa Valley.