Sticky fingers and stomping feet: London's Ribfest hosts line dancing for the first time

Between the clouds of barbecue smoke and the smells of tangy sauce, boots are stepping, stamping and stomping at London's annual Ribfest this long weekend.

For the first time ever, free line dancing lessons are happening at the Victoria Park festival, from opening until sundown.

"Ribfest has got that rowdy kind of cowboy stuff, so I guess [the organizers] thought, 'Why not try this?'" said line dancing instructor Wendy McLean, who teaches with Just For Kicks.

Ribfest organizer Doug Hillier reached out to McLean, seeking an interactive type of entertainment for the festival, she said. Rather than teaching all of the line dancing classes alone, McLean connected with four other local instructors to prepare five days-worth of lessons.

About a dozen people showed up early for Friday's first class of the day with Giddy Up Line Dancing instructor Shirley Davis.

"I love to get new people out dancing and get them hooked on it because it is a lot of fun," Davis said. "It's great exercise and when we just get out there, we have a lot of good friends to dance with and we just love it."

So far, McLean and Davis said they have taught dancers as young as toddlers to adults in their eighties.

"It's not strenuous. You put as much into it as you want to. You can take little steps or slower steps," said Davis, who also teaches seniors group classes in Ilderton and London.

Each hour of lessons will have a mix of dances for beginners, such as the cupid shuffle, alongside a few advanced dances for experienced line dancers.

"A lot of the regulars will help the new people," Davis said. "The people are all so friendly and so kind. There's a lot of camaraderie between us."

Line dancing is one of the many attractions at Ribfest, which also includes live music, a giant game of Jenga and food.

The free dance classes are happening in front of the Victoria Park bandshell from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday.

"It is a concrete dance floor, but that doesn't hinder us if we're addicted to line dancing," Davis said.