Electric Slide Dance Steps

"Javier once said that dancing is about being exactly who you want to be in that moment. Dancing with him, I realized I was becoming exactly the woman I wanted to be. We didn't win the contest - but we did win something more important to us. On my last night in Havana we were King and Queen of La Rosa Negra. We didn't know when we would see each other again, but we knew that this wasn't our last dance."

This dialog from Dirty Dancing 2, Havana Nights is a proof that there are some, for whom dancing is synonymous to life and if they cannot dance, life would come to a stand still for them. One of such dance form which can totally drive you crazy is electric slide. It is a four wall line dance and is in the league of cha-cha slide. Each style has a wall, the direction in which the dancers face at any given time. A four wall dance is where the direction at the end of the sequence is 90 degrees to the right or left from the direction in which the dancers were facing at the beginning. So are you ready to learn?

Electric Slide Dance

Jig #1
Choose a music track and kick start with the group (minimum 5 people) falling in line, facing in the same direction. Let's say that is the west. Follow that up with a grapevine to the right for the first 4 steps. Then get the left foot next to the right foot and on the fourth step clap.

Jig #2
For those who are not aware of grapevine, it is a sequence of these basic steps-

• Side step
• Step across in the front of the support foot
• Side step
• Stepping behind the support foot
• Repeating the steps

Coming back to the electric slide, after doing grapevine for the first 4 steps to the right, grapevine from steps 5 to 8 on the left. Akin to the beginning, end the grapevine by clapping and step touching right foot next to the left. Grapevine is imperative if you want to know electric slide line dance.

Jig #3
Now, what you have to do is walk backwards for doing the step numbers 9 to 12. Follow that up by stepping on the right and then left and then right. Again, next to the right, touch the left foot and clap on the step number 12.

Jig #4
For the step number 13, step forward with the left foot, tapping the right toe on the heel of the left foot, concluding with a clap. This will be your step number 14. The 15th step will comprise a step backward on the right foot and the step 16 will have tapping of left foot at the right heel, ending with a clap. These steps in succession are akin to a rocking motion.

Jig #5
Now repeat the step touch sequence and steps number 13, 14, 15 and 16 for the steps 17 to 20. For the 17th step, take step forward with your left foot and get the right toe to tap on the left heel and clap. That will be your 18th step. For the step number 19, you would need to go a step back on the right foot. Again, tap the left foot at the right heel, continuing with the clapping for the 20th step.

Jig #6
Last, but not the least, get the left foot forward, counting for the step number 21. Take a quarter turn to the left and end with a hop - there that was your step number 22!

Finally after this, the group can change the direction and start from step 1 and dance away to glory till the music ends! That's it! I would not be surprised if you find this similar to cha-cha All said and done though, there could be variations in the sequence of these steps. These were the basic steps of a slide dance.

Go on get into the groove!