How to Behave on a Conga Line

A conga line need not be a kitschy embarrassment. It can be fun.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dancing Shoes
• Welcome To The Conga Club CD

1. Wait for an appropriate song. Anything with a heavy beat will do.

2. Find a partner or join an existing conga line. Do not try to persuade anyone who seems reluctant to join a conga line.

3. Enter the line. Do not be first if you can avoid it.

4. With your hands, move the hips immediately in front of you artfully from side to side. The idea is that each person "leads" the person in front - you are not following the person in front of you. You are spontaneously choreographing her.

5. When someone joins the line behind you, move your hips as instructed by her. Your movements may not correspond to the movements of the person in front of you.

6. Snake around the dance floor. Kick each heel, as in the "Hokey Pokey," as appropriate.

7. Continue moving forward until you're tired of it.

Tips & Warnings

• Athletic people make for a more lively conga line, but large people make for a more impressive one.
• Conga lines are particularly effective outside traditional tropical contexts. Russian weddings, for example.
• The conga line is not to be confused with the Trinidadian wine dance. Do not attempt the Trinidadian wine dance without an actual person from Trinidad and a medical team present.