Electric Slide: 18-Count Four-Wall Line Dance

A classic 18-count line dance that is repeated with a quarter turn, so the class ends up facing all four walls. Students learn it, coach each other in pairs and then add arm styling. Students work on coordination, spatial awareness and rhythm.

How to play

1. Set students in staggered rows and teach counts 1-8: grapevine right with a touch and grapevine left with a touch (4 min).
2. Teach counts 9-12, three steps back with a touch, and counts 13-18: rock forward and back, step forward and a quarter turn to the left (4 min).
3. Dance the full pattern without music, counting out loud, until you have faced all four walls (3 min).
4. In pairs, one dances and the other checks that the turn goes the right way and lands on count 18; switch after two walls (3 min).
5. Dance to music at full speed and add a different arm style on each wall chosen by a student: claps, robot arms, waves or pointing forward (6 min).

Rules

• Everyone always turns to the left on count 18.
• Keep an arm's length in front, behind and to the sides.
• If you get lost, watch the person on your right and jump back in on the next count 1.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: a student using a wheelchair travels short distances or marks the steps with the arms, turning with the class.
• Hearing impairment: place the student in the second row with classmates as a visual reference and signal count 1 with your hand.
• Coordination level: drop the touches and keep only the steps, adding them back once the pattern feels automatic.

Learning goals

• Perform an 18-count sequence on the beat.
• Keep track of direction while changing walls.
• Help a partner fix mistakes respectfully.

Equipment for a class of 25

• music: 1
• speakers: 1

Teacher tip

The most common mistake is turning right, so place a cone on each wall and call out the next wall before count 18. Mid-tempo pop songs work best at first.

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