After 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, The Horseshoe Country Bar & More on High Street fills with cowboy boots for a night of line dancing – many of them worn by the Boot Scootin’ Buckeyes.
An Ohio State student organization, Boot Scootin’ Buckeyes provides community through line dancing lessons. In its fourth year, the club has seen significant growth, which Boot Scootin’ Buckeyes president Kyle Gordon said reflects line dancing’s surging popularity on social media.
“Over the past couple of years, line dancing has really taken off on all social media platforms, especially on TikTok,” Gordon, a fourth-year in health sciences, said. “The more students see that, the more interested they become. When they learn Ohio State has a club, and it’s pretty accessible, I think most students are genuinely open to giving it a try.”
Julia Haid, a fourth-year in criminal justice and vice president of Boot Scootin’ Buckeyes, joined the club as a freshman and said she has also noticed social media’s influence on bringing people back to line dancing.
“Social media and all the different places that have line dancing, especially near campus, have really made it blow up,” Haid said. “People will post videos of themselves dancing or post tutorials. Even on our Instagram, we have tutorial videos, and those are really popular. People see it and think, ‘Oh, that looks really fun.'”
Haid said the club’s membership has nearly doubled this year.
“During my first year, there was a big crowd,” Haid said. “Over the next two years, numbers trickled down, and there were fewer people at lessons. There were even fewer people at [The] Horseshoe. This year, we went from having one lesson a month to almost two lessons a week.”
Many Boot Scootin’ Buckeyes members visit The Horseshoe on Wednesdays to showcase the dances they learn at club meetings, according to Haid.
The Horseshoe opened during the club’s first year, and Haid said the two have developed a close partnership in fostering line dancing culture among Ohio State students. She said Boot Scootin’ Buckeyes and The Horseshoe encourage their visitors to stop by the bar or try out the club.
“We really lean on each other,” Haid said.
Kate Krabacher, a third-year in information systems and secretary of Boot Scootin’ Buckeyes, said she regularly meets students at The Horseshoe who end up attending a meeting after learning about the club.
“Somehow, whenever I’m at [The] Horseshoe, I always end up talking about the line dancing club,” Krabacher said.
Krabacher said one of her favorite line dancing memories was at The Horseshoe. She had just learned a new dance that she wanted the DJ to play the accompanying song for. She said she waited for the song to come on and finally, it played at the end of the night.
“I really wanted to do this dance because I just learned it,” Krabacher said. “I was like, ‘I can’t wait for him to play this song. I’m gonna go out there, and I’m gonna know it, and it’s gonna be great.”
Krabacher said she loves the feeling of learning a new dance and being able to show it off alongside others.
Boot Scootin’ Buckeyes has also expanded into teaching country swing dance to meet growing demand, according to Gordon.
Becca Maynard, a fifth-year in animal sciences and Boot Scootin’ Buckeyes member, said she helps instruct the swing dancing lessons.
“I have a huge passion for it,” Maynard said.
Maynard said Boot Scootin’ Buckeyes and The Horseshoe have helped her rekindle her love of dancing, which she enjoys sharing with others.
“Getting people involved in swing dancing makes me happy because it’s something I enjoy and feel like I’m good [at], so I can share my knowledge with everybody and hope they can get to that,” Maynard said. “The mission of the club is to give people a space to try something new and fun that they’ve never done before.”
Krabacher said Maynard is more than a member of the club and Boot Scootin’ Buckeyes’ leadership appreciates her willingness to help others learn the dances.
“She’s always really helpful, Krabacher said. “It’s nice to have somebody else that knows what to do, especially when you’re in a group. That’s always really helpful at lessons.”
Krabacher said the swing dance lessons have become another sign of line dancing’s growing popularity.
“I feel like that has definitely brought more people into the activity,” Krabacher said.
Maynard said she was surprised by the turnout for the club’s first swing dance lesson last semester, where she taught the Cowboy Cha Cha dance – a traveling partner dance that can also be performed as a line dance. When she looked back at pictures, she said she was shocked to see herself standing in the middle of a huge circle of dancers.
“We filled up the whole room,” Maynard said. “I was like, ‘That’s crazy. So many people showed up.'”
According to Haid, the community is what makes Boot Scootin’ Buckeyes special.
“We all want each other to have fun,” Haid said. “We all want to succeed and learn. It’s great that people are always willing to help each other.”
Maynard said she is grateful for the experiences she has had because of the organization.
“It’s fun to see everything grow,” Maynard said. “It’s really fun to see the community grow and I’ve met so many cool people along the way. I would recommend this to literally anybody.”
