Oaklands 5th International Annual "Best Known" Line Dances for 2003/2004

For the past few years Louise Vincent has run an annual survey to find just what dances are known by most linedancers. The survey was simple - those participating were sent a list of dances, from which they picked those dances they either knew or once knew. The results were then compiled to give this year's "Best Known" list. Voting went for two months and there were no restriction on who could vote - as long as they knew at least one linedance! The survey was operated under the ageis of the "The Oaklands Academy of Line Dance", based in England.

Most of those voting were from (where the country was given): North America (84), UK (35), Europe (6),
Australia (3), Asia & Middle East (11). There were 150 submitters.

The summary results for previous years can be found at:

oaklands_annual_survey_2002.html
oaklands_annual_survey_2003.html

The full survey results can be found at: http://www.lhvincent.freeserve.co.uk.
 
 

Dance	Choreographer	Known by:	Last Year	How Old
Tush Push	Jim Ferrazzano	98%	97%	pre 1982
Chill Factor	Whittaker & Westhead	90%	91%	2001
Electric Slide	anon.	89% **	94% **	1989
Crusin'	Neil Hale	87%	90%	1989
Dizzy	Jo Thompson	84%	87%	1998
Waltz Across Texas	anon.	84%	83%	1992
Wave on Wave	Alan Birchall	84%	n/a	2003
Come Dance With Me	Jo Thompson	83%	82%	2003
J'ai du Boogie	Max Perry	80%	83%	1999
Watermelon Crawl	Sue Lipscombe	80%	83%	pre 1999
Islands in the Stream	Karen Jones	78%	81%	1999
Swamp Thang / Heart Like a Wheel	Max Perry	77%	79%	1996
Cheek to Cheek	Rob Fowler	76%	n/a	2003
Red Hot Salsa	Christina Brown	76%	85%	pre 1999
After Midnight	Judy McDonald	75%	82%	pre 1999
Ski Bumpus / Black Velvet	Linda de Ford	75%	77%	pre 1999
Enchantment	Jo Thompson	73%	75%	?
Jose Cuervo	Max Perry	73%	<60%	?
Slappin' Leather	Gale Brandon	72%	73%	pre 1999
Cowgirl's Twist	Bill Bader	71%	76%	1994
Mony Mony	Maggie Gallagher	71%	72%	2001
Picnic Polka	David Padden	70%	80%	pre 1999
Por Ti Sere	Jo Thompson	70%	72%	?
Badda-Boom! Badda-Bang!	Karen Hunn	69%	66%	2003
D.H.S.S.	Gaye Teather	69%	n/a	2003
Bootscootin' Boogie	Matto & Blair	69%	<60%	pre 1999
Coastin'	Ray & Tina Yeoman	68%	72%	pre 1999
@ the Hop	Carmel Hutchinson	67%	69%	2001
Black Coffee	Helen O'Malley	67%	72%	pre 1999
Cho-co-latte	Yvonne Anderson	67%	n/a	2004
Charleston Cowboy	anon.	67%	73%	pre 1999
Fly Like a Bird	Hedy McAdams	67%	72%	1995
Quando When Quando	Lawrence & Fisher	67%	72%	1999
Rose Garden	Jo Thompson	67%	68%	pre 1999
Stroll Along Cha Cha	John & Janette Sandham	67%	60%	pre 1999
Beer for My Horses	Christine Bass	66%	n/a	2003
God Blessed Texas	Shirley Batson	66%	67%	pre 1999
Hideaway Cha	Brady, Davis & Thompson	66%	76%	2000
Southern Delight	Rosella & Fred Lord	66%	70%	2003
Cool Whip	McDonald	65%	n/a	2003
Down on the Corner	Peter Metelnick	65%	71%	?
Hot Potato	John H. Robinson	65%	78%	pre 1999
Jukebox	Jo Thompson	65%	68%	2001
Mucara Walk	John Steel	65%	74%	pre 1999
Bye Bye	Kate Sala	64%	n/a	2003
Midnight Waltz	Jo Thompson	63%	68%	1993
Shakatak	Kate Sala	63%	70%	2002
Copperhead Road	anon.	62%	66%	pre 1999
Cotton-Eyed Joe	Jo Thompson	62%	<60%	pre 1999
Got to be Funky	Dawn Beecham	62%	66%	1998
Cinco de Mayo	Alan Livett & Jo Thompson	61%	67%	pre 1999
Do Wop Be Doo Be Doo	Gaye Teather	61%	n/a	2003
Pizziricco	Dot Ilaria	61%	71%	?
Pot of Gold	Liam Hrycan	61%	64%	pre 1999
Slow Burn	Hunyadi & Robinson	61%	n/a	2004
Dancing in the Dark	Jo Thompson	60%	< 60%	?

** Note: while only 89% said they knew the 'Electric Slide' by that name,  'The Freeze' and 'The Elvira Freeze' are essentially the same dances are appear seperately. Since individual voting is not reported, this 89% should be considered a minimum.

The year the dance was choreographed is given, where known.

Caveat (ie: beware) - It is tempting to look at the above list (and the other dances in the full survey) and conclude that the 'oldies' are the most popular dances and that dancers are not keen on all the new stuff. However, by it's very nature, this survey *is* biased in favour of the oldies.

The survey is international (well, ok, the US and UK and a few folks from elsewhere). Popular dances today are a lot more regionalised than they were in the earlier days of linedancing - what is popular in one region, let alone one country, is usually totally unheard of elsewhere (compare the current top dances in the US, the UK and Australia, as surveyed elsewhere on this site). This means that even if a dance is spectactularly popular in one area and/or country, it probably won't be elsewhere and so it can't hope to compete against the 'golden oldies' that were taught nearly everywhere. There are exceptions to this - some new dances have a world-wide popularity, such as 'Chill Factor'. The older a dance, the more time it has had to spread around. Some dances get almost everywhere very quickly (again 'Chill Factor' is a good example, tho' mind you, the fact that some people are still teaching it means that it hasn't gotten everywhere ... yet), but other's can take years to slowly drift around the international linedance community. The survey itself was to determine what dances people either knew or had once known (and could probably pick up again without much hassle). It is not a survey of what dances are popular or most liked. I know the 'Electric Slide', but that doesn't mean it's a favourite of mine or that I would get up to do it!