The new kings of Western Swing?

Via Cato, comes this report from The Times:

They turn out in their hundreds in Stetsons and boots as hits such as the Crazy Foot Mambo and the Cowboy Strut echo around their village halls.

They are drawn by a love of American culture - although definitely not American politics - and a passion for line dancing...

Now country and western has become so big in France that the country's bureaucrats have decided to bring the craze under state control.

The French administration has moved to create an official country dancing diploma as part of a drive to regulate the fad. Authorised instructors who have been on publicly funded training courses will be put in charge of line dancing lessons and balls.

The rules, which come into force next year, come after the rapid spread of country and western in France, where an estimated 100,000 people line dance several times a week. Jean Chauveau, the chairman of the country section of the French Dance Federation, said: “It's growing at a crazy rate. There are thousands of clubs and more are springing up all the time.”...

In a peculiarly Gallic approach to the phenomenon, French civil servants say line dancing should be submitted to the same rules as sports such as football and rugby. This means imposing training courses for line dancing teachers and a state-approved diploma for anyone who wants to give lessons or run clubs.

Amateur instructors will have to take 200 hours of training under the new rules. Professionals will get 600 hours, including such subjects as line dancing techniques, “the mechanics of the human body” and the English (or at least Texan) language. They will also learn how to teach line dancing to the elderly.

Two things: how marvellously French this is and, secondly, a reminder that culture and political policy are different things that, though they may overlap occasionally, remain distinct. Also, that France is a more interesting, complicated place than you might think...

Comments

[line dancing fool]

Interesting! France's line dance regulation really validates line dancing as a proper activity. Initially that sounds so incredibly bizzare, but the regulation almost infers a certain respect and commands attention. I'm into it...

[cynthia]

how can i get in touch with JEAN CHAUVEAU?
thanks cynthia

[rate my dance]

i just love to where boots and dance. Its so fun to do. i do it on a weekly basis.

rate my cam dance