Dance Floor Etiquette
Couples Dances
Because Rain Country enables community ownership of the country-western dance scene in Seattle and the greater Puget Sound area, we have one of the broadest sets of couples dances danced regularly anywhere in the country. We provide the instructors and the DJs, so we are not limited to only a narrow set of dance styles and songs.
At any given dance night, you can dance Two-Step*, West Coast Swing, Waltz, Night Club**, Shadow, East Coast Swing, and sometimes Shuffle*** and Cha Cha.
*We dance “San Francisco-style" Two-Step, slow slow quick quick.
**We dance Night Club as slow quick quick.
***Our Shuffle is what is sometimes known as Triple Two — triple triple walk walk.
Line Dances
The following line dances have all been taught at Rain Country dance nights in the past few years and are available to be danced. (In practical terms, however, some newer dances and some more advanced dances are not yet widely enough known to be viable on our Friday dance nights, and are only danced on our Wednesday dance night.)
This list is still being expanded, with the specific songs used and when available, online step sheets and video links being provided. (Note: not all of our DJs have the same music, and any of them might not have some of the songs listed below.)
Note: The line dance step sheets and videos linked below are best we have been able to find from online sources. Step sheets and videos which match how we do these dances are not always available, and some may only be a close but not an exact match.
“All Shook Up” by Billy Joel
“Askin' Questions” by Brady Seals
“Romeo” by Dolly Parton and Friends
“You Win My Love” by Shania Twain
“Here for the Party” by Gretchen Wilson
Barn Dance / Wild Wild West
“Wild Wild West” by Escape Club
Bayou City Twister
“Dance (Club Mix)” by Twister Alley
Bomshel Stomp
“Bomshel Stomp” by Bomshel
Boot Scootin’ Boogie (aka Vancouver Boogie)
“Boot Scootin’ Boogie” by Brooks & Dunn
“Boot Scootin’ Boogie” by Asleep at the Wheel
“The Bug” by Mary Chapin Carpenter
“These Boots are Made for Walkin” by Billy Ray Cyrus
“Good Time” by Alan Jackson
“Bing Bang Boom” by Highway 101
“I Ain’t No Quitter” by Shania Twain
Chill Factor
“Last Night” by Chris Anderson and DJ Robbie
Chompin’ At the Bit
“Ooh Ahh (Just a Little Bit)” by Gina G
“Up!” by Shania Twain
Circle Jerk
“Sooner or Later” by Eddy Raven
“Sooner or Later” by The Forester Sisters
“Big Boned Gal” by k.d. lang
Coastin’
“Lord of the Dance” (from Riverdance, custom mix)
Country As Can Be
“Country As A Boy Can Be” by Brady Seals
Cowboy Cha Cha (couples)
“Neon Moon” by Brooks & Dunn
“Never Giving Up on Love” by Michael Martin Murphey
“Blue Rodeo” by The Bellamy Brothers
Crazy Foot Mambo
“If You Wanna Be Happy” by Dr. Victor & the Rasta Rebels
Cute, Cute, Cute
“Brand New Girlfriend” by Steve Holy
“Baby Likes to Rock It” by The Tractors
D.H.S.S. (Delicious, Hot, Strong & Sweet)
“Coffee” by Supersister
Dizzy
“Dizzy” by Scooter Lee
“Easy on the Eyes” by Terri Clark
“Someone Must Feel Like a Fool Tonight” by Kenny Rogers
Funky Country
“Good Ole Days” by Shannon Brown
“Mexico Road” by K.T. Oslin
“Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me” by Keith Urban
Ghost Train
“Zorba’s Dance” by LCD
Hanky Panky (aka Slippin’ and Slidin’)
“Hanky Panky” by Madonna
Hold Your Horses
“Hold Your Horses” by E-Type
Honky Tonk Twist
“Honky Tonky Twist” by Scooter Lee
“I’m Movin’ On” by Rascal Flatts
Mambo Shuffle (aka Sex on the Beach)
“Live, Laugh, Love” by Clay Walker
Midnight Waltz
“The Children” by The Mavericks - plus many other waltz songs get used spontaneously
MMMBop
“I Will… But” by SHeDaisy
Multiply
“Multiply” by Jamie Lidell
My Maria
“My Maria” by Brooks & Dunn
“That Kind of Girl” by Patty Loveless
“Downtown” by Dolly Parton
“Reggae Cowboy” by The Bellamy Brothers
Rio
“Patricia” by Mestizzo, “Viene Mi Gente” by Chica
Roll Back the Rug
“Roll Back the Rug” by Scooter Lee
“Ride That Train” by Mel McDaniel
Second Chance Waltz
“Saturday Night” by Billy Dean
“I Don’t Want This Song To End” by John Michael Montgomery
She Bangs
“She Bangs” by Ricky Martin
Show Me Wot U Got
“Cowboy Up” by Jill Johnson
Simplemente (aka Heaven Sent)
“Simplemente” by Chayanne
Slap Leather
“Queen of Hearts” by Juice Newton
“It’s a Little Too Late” by Tanya Tucker
Soakin’ Wet
“Love Rendezvous” by M People
“Hicktown” by Jason Aldean
“Nothing to Lose” by Josh Gracin
“Love Train” by Big & Rich
Southern Cross Cha Cha
“I’m Gonna Miss You Girl” by Michael Martin Murphey
“Your Man” by Josh Turner
“Dancin’, Shaggin’ on the Boulevard” by Alabama
Tease
“Fishin’ in the Dark” by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
“Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under” by Shania Twain
“Last Name” by Carrie Underwood
Step Sheet (Electric Slide; Tease is two counts longer)
Texas Cha Cha
“Dance the Night Away” by the Mavericks
“He Drinks Tequila” by Lorrie Morgan and Sammy Kershaw
“Two Piña Coladas” by Garth Brooks
“Shiftwork” by Kenny Chesney and George Strait
Thunderbolt
“All is Fair in Lover and War” by Ronnie Milsap, “Firecracker” by Josh Turner
Tumbleweed
“Tumbleweed” by Karen Staley, “Tonight We Ride” by Michael Martin Murphey
Tush Push
…many songs are used
“Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under” by Shania Twain
“All Tuckered Out” by Clint Black
“Sin Wagon” by Dixie Chicks
Walkin’ Wazi
“Cadillac Red” by The Judds
Waltz Across Texas
“Waltz Across Texas” by Scooter Lee
“Half the Way Home” by Tammy Wynette
Watermelon Crawl
“Watermelon Crawl” by Tracy Byrd
Wave on Wave
“Wave on Wave” by Pat Green
What If We Fly?
“What If We Fly” by Chely Wright
Where’s Amarillo?
“(Is This the Way to) Amarillo” by DJ Booze
Working It
“Ooh Child” by Daryl Hall & John Oates, “Let It Go” by Tim McGraw
We are always interested in finding great new songs as alternates for ones we already use. If you have a song to recommend, let us know!
There are also a number of dances known only to a few of our dancers. Our Wednesday dance nights are times our DJs would be happy to play these, even with only one or two dancers on the floor. Some of these include: Cheyenne, Cotton-Eyed Joe, Crossing the Border, Enchantment, Happy Hour, José Cuervo, Loosen Up My Buttons, M.L.D., Matador, Mucara Walk, Queen’s Waltz, San Antonio Stroll, Tahoe Kick, and Whiskey River.
Here is a partial list of Dance Floor Rules that we use with Rain Country:
- Direction of dance is counter-clockwise for dances which travel. Do not stop, back up, or dance against the flow.
- Slower and newer dancers should use an inside lane, and faster or more experienced dancers should use an outside lane.
- If swing or line dancers are on the floor during a progressive dance, they should stay to the center of the floor. Progressive couples dancers should not cut through the center of the dance floor.
- West Coast Swing couples should choose slots in the center of the floor first and then the corners, leaving a lane for progressive couples dances. Only if there is no room elsewhere on the floor should slots block that dance lane. Similar expectations hold for Night Club, East Coast Swing, and Cha Cha couples.
- Our DJs will usually announce dances like West Coast Swing, Night Club, East Coast Swing, Shuffle, and Cha Cha. When a dance is called, dancers of that style take priority. If there are enough dancers that a lane can not be left for Two-Step, Shadow, and so forth, then dancers of those other styles should leave the floor to the called dance couples.
- Similarly, if a line dance is called, line dancers “own” the floor for that dance. Only when there is only a handful of line dancers on the floor should couples dancers feel free to use an outside lane. (Remember that some line dances move a lot and even a small number of dancers may end up in an outside lane of the floor.)