'The Longest Line' is the name given to the
world record holder of the
largest country line dance.
The record is held by the
6,698 people who line danced down
the main street of
Tamworth on the 20th of
January, 2001, during the Foster's
Country Music Festival. The dance was to the Brooks and Dunns' extended version (for 6 min 28 sec) of '
Boot Scootin' Boogie', and the line went for more than 10 kilometres. The dancers all paid an
entry fee to participate and the audience also donated money, the event raising over $60,000 for a
local charity.
To help the dancers keep in time with the music the local radio station broadcast the song all along the street, and the 40,000 people who were waiting to watch the following Country Music Cavalcade also clapped and cheered to keep the rhythm. The dance was taught a short while before the start of the record breaking attempt, but the majority of participants were line dancers who were already familiar with the 'Boot Scootin' Boogie'.
The 2001 record breaking event, sponsored by Australia Post (which is quite humorous as the lines in the post office are often notariously long), follows years of previous record breaking by Tamworth line dancers, as follows:
2000 Country Music Festival: 6,275 people.
1999 Country Music Festival: 5,882 people (during this year, an attempt to break the world record was made by a breakaway group, who danced around the local race track. The separate attempt was a failure, and the dance down the main street didn't break the existing record either. It was quite the scandal at the time).
1998 Country Music Festival: 5,966 people.
1997 Country Music Festival: 5,502 people.
There are a number of rules the line dance event had to comply with, including (but not limited to):
1. A reliable head count must be taken.
2. The participants can be in rows or a line.
3. All participants must do some form of line dancing in the attempt.
4. Judges must be placed at intervals to check on the movement and involvement of participants.
5. A start and finish signal is advisable.
6. The contestants should all dance at the same time.
7. The dance should last for at least five minutes.
Info from www.guinessworldrecords.com