ENFIELD, CT – Line Dance Instructor Nicole Gagne will be teaching country line dancing classes at the Old Country Banquet Hall, upstairs on 4 Alden Ave., as a means for people to get out of their homes and have a new experiene.

“With my years of experience, I wanted to open country line dancing to the public for other people to learn,” Gagne said. “I wanted to create a new kind of hobby for families who may not be getting out of their house regularly, and give them a new experience. Date night for couples or a girl’s night out. It’s good for anyone from 14 up to 80 in age.”

Line dancing is a choreographed dance with a repeated sequence of steps in which a group of people dance in one or more lines or rows, all facing either each other or in the same direction, and executing the steps at the same time. It is practiced at country-western dance bars, social clubs and ballrooms. Line dancing is sometimes combined on dance programs with other forms of country-western dance such as two-step and western promenade dances as well as western-style variants of the waltz, polka and swing.

Gagne’s love for country line dancing started 35 years ago when her entire family was involved. She recalled it being exciting to learn something she’d never done before and meet new people who were very nice and welcoming.

“I want students to get a new experience from the sessions,” responded Gagne. “These classes are geared towards those who have never danced before and want a new challenge for themselves.” She said she will take a similar approach with advanced dancers, gradually increasing the difficulty of the dances. “What I’ll be teaching them if they stay with the class they will eventually begin to progress into a higher level of dance. The instruction changes weekly in order to progress the classes’ experience,” she explained. Week to week Gagne said she’ll see how well the students will progress. Overall, she wants them to achieve their goal, meet new people and have fun in a no-stress environment.

She has two line dancing sessions coming up beginning  April 6 and April 10. The class will be a 10-week session from April 6 through June 8 at 10-11:30 a.m. The April 10 session is for beginner and intermediate while the April 6 sessions are for beginners only. Twenty-five dancers are the maximum, $65 per dancer, masks are mandatory as well as social distancing.

After June 8, Gagne plans to have another session in July which will be 10 weeks up to September. Pre-registration is required for all classes.

For those that are interested in signing up for the April sessions, go to getinline.my-free.website where they can register until March 19. Join Gagne’s Facebook group at facebook.com/Nikki.Gagne.2 for information on classes called “Get In Line Dancing.” No registration form is needed. The day the payment is made, they are registered. Classes can be paid for electronically if students either email her for information or use Facebook to pay on Messenger. One contactless ways to pay by March 19 is through Venmo-@Nicole-Gagne-5, however if an individual would prefer to pay by mail, they can contact Gagne through their Facebook group for the appropriate address.