👋 Welcome to line dance teaching

Welcome to the StompSpot Instructor Course. It's free, it's for anyone thinking about teaching line dancing, and you can work through it at your own pace. Your progress is saved as you go.

The course covers what you need to run safe, fun and well-organised classes: how to teach, how to structure a session, the footwork, choreography and music, warming up and cooling down, how the body works during exercise, safety, planning, and running your own business. Each chapter ends with a short quiz, and there's a final assessment when you've finished.

How to use this course

• Read each chapter, then take its quiz. A chapter counts as complete when you score 80% or more on its quiz. You can retake quizzes as often as you like.
• Watch the videos. Chapters include videos showing the steps and techniques described. They're from YouTube, so they only load when you press play.
• Log in to keep your progress everywhere. Without an account, progress is saved in this browser only.
• Take the final assessment once you've completed every chapter. The pass mark is 80%.

This course is a learning resource, not a regulated qualification. If you plan to teach professionally, check what your insurer and the venues you work with require, as many expect a recognised exercise-to-music or dance teaching qualification.

What is a line dance class?

Line dancing is a group dance where everyone performs the same choreographed sequence of steps, usually in rows, without a partner. A good class draws on the line dance tradition and adds fitness: routines are set to popular music, broken down step by step, and danced at an intensity that suits the people in the room.

Classes are usually organised by level: absolute beginner, beginner, improver, intermediate and advanced. Beginner classes use short, catchy routines that suit all fitness levels. Higher levels bring longer routines of 64, 72 or even 96 counts, more varied rhythms, and influences from styles such as street, waltz, jive, polka and tango.

Line dancing is also a community. Dancers who know the popular dances can join in at socials, workshops, weekends and holidays anywhere in the country and abroad. Instructors do best when they collaborate rather than compete, supporting each other's events and sharing what works.

Benefits of line dancing

Fair warning: line dancing can greatly improve your social life.

Line dance classes give people a fun, sociable way to improve their health and wellbeing, and they promote social inclusion. Regular dancing can bring:

• Improved cardiovascular health and lung function
• Increased muscular strength, endurance and motor fitness
• Better aerobic fitness
• Improved muscle tone
• Help with weight management
• Stronger bones, reducing the risk of osteoporosis
• Better coordination, agility and flexibility
• Improved balance and spatial awareness
• Greater physical confidence
• Better mental functioning
• Improved overall wellbeing, physical and psychological
• Higher self-confidence and self-esteem
• Better social skills

Many people prefer line dancing to a typical exercise-to-music class because they learn complete dance routines to popular music, and the supportive, inclusive atmosphere helps them make new friends.

Why classes succeed

• Wellbeing. Dancing triggers the release of brain chemicals such as endorphins, dopamine and adrenaline, which promote happiness and confidence and reduce anxiety and stress. Easy-to-follow moves and adjustable intensity let people work at their own pace and leave with a sense of achievement. A non-competitive, non-judgemental class encourages self-expression.
• Fun. People meet others, make friends, learn new dances to great music, and look forward to every session.
• Fitness and weight loss. Classes are energetic, so they burn calories and build cardiovascular endurance and stamina. They're a way to bring more movement into daily life without judgement or pressure. Weight loss also depends on diet and lifestyle, so dancing works best as part of a balanced approach.
• Variety. Introducing new dances regularly keeps classes fresh while giving people time to master each routine. Dancers typically take around four weeks to learn a routine well.
• Community. Workshops, socials, weekends and holidays give dancers more ways to connect beyond the weekly class.