Line dancing with Mayans

While we were in Panajachel, every night we had a "culture night" planned. Sometimes the teachers were in charge, sometimes the students. The idea was cultural exhange, and events ranged from dancing, singing, showing pictures of New Orleans post-Katrina, showing pictures of an archeological site, making Navajo tacos, giving a summary of a Mayan epigraphy conference, and so forth.

One night, however, another student in the program and I decided to teach one of THE original US music and dance forms: country line dancing. Our goal was participation, so after explaining the origins of the form and showing a brief YouTube example clip of country line dancers in their "natural habitat," it was time for a demonstration followed by several rounds of dancing! We taught them two variations and danced to three songs: "The Boot Scootin' Boogie," "Don't Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)" and "Chattahoochee." Our group is a jolly one anyway, so you can imagine the crazy joking and laughing that was going on whilst trying to figure it all out. It.was.hysterical. And tons of fun.