Steve Luke Weighs In on ... Line Dancing
12/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
I went line dancing for the first time in the summer of 2005. I only went about four times over that summer, though, and I didn't really pick up on anything. It wasn't until this past summer that I started going every week -- every Wednesday -- because Wednesday is 18-and-over night. I'd pick up about one or two dances every time I went, and after going eight or 10 times, I pretty much knew most of them.
My oldest brother Josh and my older sister Rachael, a long time ago when they were in high school, went to this club back home in Ohio called The Boot. That was serious line dancing, and I remember them talking about it when I was still in grade school. That club closed down a while ago, but this new club, The Dusty Armadillo, opened up. Josh, who is 27 and still goes to country line-dancing clubs, has been going to it for a long time and always told me how much fun it was and tried to get me to go. I went one time and got hooked. There were just so many people there from all different schools from the area.
Luke (left), with hometown friend Nick Wiley, during a trip to the Dusty Armadillo.
Josh knows every single one, and he's really good at it. Every time I go, there is always a group of attractive girls -- like 20 of them -- always around him, watching him, trying to pick up these line dances, and every time he gets like five girls' numbers. So that's when I started asking him to teach me some of them. He started by teaching me the easy ones first, like the Electric Slide, which are really simple and anyone can do them. I'm not even close to Josh's talent, though. I don't think I'll ever catch up with him because I always have stuff to do, and he just parties all the time.
When I was first learning them, I would go home, lock the door and practice by myself because it would be embarrassing if someone walked in. But if you didn't practice them, by the next week, you would have forgotten everything and had to relearn everything. So I always practiced. I practiced a lot this summer during downtime at wrestling camp.
You don't even have to necessarily dance to enjoy yourself. My other brother, Dave, who is 23, goes but never really dances. He just interacts with everyone and tries to get girls' numbers. Dave has been there more than me, and he's just terrible. It's so funny whenever he goes out there. I would go just to watch him; it's like watching a movie. He just gets turned down and then gets turned down again. Girls just look at him, thinking, "What are you doing"
Most line dances are basically the same motions; you just have to put them together. Once you get into it and learn the motions, it gets easier to learn more of them. That's when you can show off to everyone else, and that's when it gets fun. I'm a risk taker. If I bump into people or do something stupid, I really couldn't care less. It's fun. Sometimes I bump into people on purpose. I've loved country music since junior high. I'd have to say that "She Thinks my Tractor's Sexy" is the best line-dancing song. It's the most fun song to dance to. I also like the Elvis country song. I can't remember how it goes, but that line dance is a lot of fun too. It's faster.
No, I don't dress up in cowboy boots and cowboy pants. I just wear jeans and a regular shirt. There are people there that just go all out in slacks and everything, but girls don't like that. I want to be comfortable. You can't really consider it a workout, but it's always so hot in there, I'm usually drenched in sweat. My brother Josh brings two shirts every time. He always has to run out to his car to get another shirt because he's just completely soaked. It's pretty disgusting.
I usually go out with both my brothers and a bunch of my friends. It's the most fun when you can get a big group together, but really you can do it anywhere. When my uncle got married, they had a little dance floor at the reception. I just went out there and started doing a few of them. Music wasn't even playing, and people thought I was stupid, but I think, secretly, they were impressed.
Note: "Weighs In on" runs in The Riding Times, an inside look at U-M wrestling.
