***Written in November 2021***

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Ah, if only we had a dollar for every time we were asked this question. But, yes, we do indeed realise that COVID-19 is happening.

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Do we think that's a reason not to travel around the country sharing our love of line dancing? No, we don't.

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In fact, we think the pandemic makes it the perfect time to boot-scoot our way round this beautiful nation of ours. Because let's face it, now more than ever society needs a reason to smile, and we hope teaching dancing to people can put smiles on the dials of many, right across the country.

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Line dancing knows no boundaries - it can be for those who could dance before they could walk, those who have two left feet, those who can't help tapping their foot to the rhythm if a great song comes on the jukebox, and those who don't understand what someone means when they say '5, 6, 7, 8' (if this is you... that's okay! But FYI, it's to count you in before you start dancing).

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There are no prerequisites for line dancing. You don't have to be over 70 years old, you don't have to have knitting as your number one hobby (but it's fine if you do), and you don't have to love country music more than life itself.

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Between the two of us, we have shared dance floors with those in wheel chairs, those who are legally blind, those nursing babies while dancing, those who didn't realise line dancing extended past the nutbush, those wearing boots that have never left the concrete, and those with boots which have been resoled so many times the owner is on first name terms with their local RM Williams shop.

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Some dancers have never left the big smoke, others feel claustrophobic at the thought of having to park in a space confined by two white lines painted on the ground.

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Despite all these differences, there is one rock solid, common denominator - a love of dance.

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So, while we don't know what the COVID-19 situation will look like in 2022, we do know that if we are able to get people groovin' and grapevinin' in halls, pubs, schools, and best of all, on red dirt, then, we will.

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On our trip, border crossings will be minimal, so once we are in a state, we will in general remain there until moving to the next state rather than playing jump rope with those imaginary lines on the map which have caused such chaos in the past 18 months.

 

If we have to lock down in an area, so be it.

 

But, with the vast majority of our time to be spent in rural and regional areas, we are hopeful that if a lockdown is to occur that will affect us, it will be a short-lived lockdown, as opposed to city lockdowns which have been shown to potentially stretch for months.

 

There is the possibility that some of the events we plan to attend will not run, but we will aim to keep on roughly the same route regardless of this, and will only majorly change our route if COVID-19 ends up throwing a particularly large spanner in the works.

 

We will abide by any social distancing requirements that are in place through the year, as well as other COVID-19 management requirements, such as providing QR check-in codes, and hand sanitiser.

 

Watch out rural Australia... we're coming, so get ready to kick your heels up!

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