The State Dance Of Texas Isn’t What You Think

Having one dance represent all of the people of Texas seems impossible, but one was adopted in the 1990s in Texas.

Was it one of these iconic dances of the day?

• Voguing
• The Macarena
• The Hammer Dance
• Slam Dancing
• The Sprinkler
• The Cotton Eye Joe

None of these popular dances were selected. The Texas Two Step also didn't make it as the state dance, but the Cotton Eye Joe was close.

Most Older Texans Danced Our State Dance In School

According to AuthenticTexas.com, late Governor Ann Richards signed an official proclamation designating Square Dancing as the official Texas folk dance in May of 1991. You may have been exposed to the hundreds-year-old dance in an elementary school gym class.

The Square Dance might have been why "normal" people were called squares back in the day. Square is a word that has become much more than the shape it was meant to name.

Anything acceptable is square. A square meal, a square deal, it's all about honesty and fairness.

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You work together as a team in Square Dancing, and no one stands out.

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The Difference Between A Line Dance And A Square Dance

Line dances like the Cotton Eye Joe, have specific dance moves that you must learn in order. The Square Dance is a "called" dance, and someone tells you one of 70+ different things to do.

Technically that makes the Cupid Shuffle and the Cha Cha Slide both square dances, not line dances, because they call the moves in the lyrics. They only became line dances once they were recorded and the moves were set to be the same every time it was played.

Those dances are done at almost every wedding, no matter the audience. I guess that makes it okay that Square Dancing is the State Dance of Texas. Sadly it's not an original thing to do, as Square Dancing is the state dance in nearly half of the states in the nation.