How the Texas Two-Step Became America’s Country Dance

Where there is country music playing anywhere across the country, chances are you will see couples dancing the two-step. From honky-tonks to festivals, country fans love this dance. But how did it start?......

The Texas Two-Step is the most popular country dance in the world, and it actually got its inspiration from immigrants.

The footwork for the two-step is rooted in The German polka, the Waltz and the Polish Varsovienne which are just a few of the dances that inspired the original two-step.  German culture eventually permeated Cowboy culture with the massive German settlements in Texas and across the Western frontier.

But the Texas Two-Step would eventually adopt all of the flourishes, spins, flips and moves of another dance craze — swing dancing.

From the 1930s to 1950s, all forms of swing dancing descended upon America. One of the most enduring, Western swing traced its roots to artists like Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. That's when folks started swinging about and at any given moment return to the familiar “quick-quick, slow, slow” two step pattern.

It really is a blast to watch dancers with all their Texas Two-Step variations. The side-by-side, shadowing, Fort Worth shuffle, double two-step...and it continues to evolve.

So put on your dancing boots and have some fun. The Texas Two-Step is here to stay!