About 40 country-loving folks are lined up in less than neat lines at The 55 Activity Centre on a Tuesday evening.
Several attendees are in cowboy boots, there's one cowboy hat in the crowd and a few baseball caps; several attendees are in jeans, some in workout clothes.
There's a murmur of chatter and an air of excitement in the moments before the class starts.
Soon instructor Sharon Slater, in jeans and a black printed t-shirt, but wearing professional dance shoes, takes centre spot at the front of the room,
She gets the line-dancing class's attention through her headset microphone.
For the next hour, she takes the class of often smiling and laughing dancers, including this reporter, through song after country song.
By the end of the class, everyone is sweaty as they head out into the dark 麻豆社国产night, promising to return the next week.
It seems 麻豆社国产has gone (more) country than usual of late.
‘Sold out’
The District of 麻豆社国产says Slater's line-dancing classes sold out the first day they were on offer.
Her 6 p.m. Tuesday class originally had 40 spots, but District staff increased it to 45 to meet the waitlist demand, a municipal spokesperson told The 麻豆社国产.
Slater also runs line-dancing sessions, usually with her daughter Melissa, at the Brackendale Art Gallery: Café & Culture Centre.
The BAG's Jessica Rigg said the sessions are "hugely popular and always sell out."
They had monthly events at the BAG starting last July, with more than 500 attendees.
"We will continue to offer monthly [line dancing] and are so grateful for Sharon and Melissa's enthusiasm and support for this unique event at The BAG," Rigg said.
(The next on March 17 is already sold out, as is the at Howe Sound Brewing.)
While Howe Sound Brewing didn't respond to an email from The 麻豆社国产 by press deadline, Slater said she and her daughter have had more than 100 participants at sessions at the pub.
Local line dancing attracts dancers of all ages and genders.
How it started
Slater took up line dancing with a friend about 13 years ago in Ontario, where she previously lived.
It came naturally to her, so when the teacher quit and they needed another one, she volunteered.
"Then I got into clogging, ukulele, hoop dance— everything I could think of—and started teaching them all," she said, with a laugh.
She moved to 麻豆社国产about three and a half years ago.
She teaches a regular line dancing class, one that is more advanced, a class for seniors and then the one-off sessions at local pubs. She is also available for birthday parties.
She isn't the only local instructor who's gone country.
Soile Weaver of, for example, has also offered popular line-dancing workshops, in addition to her other classes.
Asked what she thinks accounts for the popularity of line dancing, Slater said it is a combination of things.
"I think if you have a really good song with a really good beat and not hard steps," she said.
"They're always laughing and having a good time."
Giving back
Slater’s passion has always been entertaining in retirement homes, so she and her 麻豆社国产Seniors Line Dance Troupe have brought line dancing—and ukulele playing—to Hilltop House, Shannon Falls Retirement Residence and Westwinds 麻豆社国产Senior Living.
"We do about 40 minutes of line dancing and then 40 minutes of ukulele and singing," she said of her recent sessions.
"Wherever we can spread a little bit of joy, we go," she said.
Slater and her daughter volunteer their time to teach. She sees it as her way to give back.
"My daughter and I really both want to support Squamish. That's why I volunteer."
The small stipend she charges for private parties, she donates.
"The money they give me, I save until May, and then I give that to the [Sea to Sky Hospice Society] Hike for Hospice," she said, noting last year she donated about $1,300 to the cause from money raised from parties and the dance troupe.
For folks who might be intimidated to give line dancing a try, Slater says to give it a carefree whirl.
"Don't be on the outside or on the sides. Stand in the middle, and then when you turn, you'll always have somebody to follow," she said. "And I just encourage them and say, 'OK, so you missed a step. What difference does it make?' ... Dancing is just fun. And why not do it with a whole bunch of people? "
Registration for the next line dancing classes with Slater begins on March 11.
Disclosure: Reporter Jennifer Thuncher attended Slater's Tuesday line-dancing class. She paid for her session and gained no benefit from pursuing this story.
