Stepping Out in Scotland County: Line Dancing Builds Community, Good Health

Jun 16, 2025 | Nutrition Education

A group of adults participate in a line dancing class inside a community center. The instructor, wearing glasses and a white T-shirt with a graphic of vegetables and the words "Try a Healthy Lifestyle," leads the group. Participants of various ages and attire follow along behind her in a bright, open room.

Sharon N. English, family and consumer science Extension agent, leads a line dance class at Scotland Place in Scotland County.

LAURINBURG — Rhythms pulse through the Scotland County Recreation Center twice each week. The source? Not teenagers having a party, but mostly older adults moving and shaking as part of a popular line dancing program.

Born from a Cooperative Extension health initiative, it has transformed not just bodies, but lives, a powerful example of community care, resilience, and the healing power of music – with a little hip shaking and slide steps included.

The program started in 2015 with a simple goal: to offer fun, accessible exercise. Sharon English, Extension’s family and consumer sciences agent in Scotland County, helped launch the class with support from the North Carolina Extension and Community Association.

“The vision was always about movement,” English said. “It wasn’t about learning popular new dances and steps; it was about improving health, both physically and mentally.”

We’re not just a class. We’re family. When one of us hurts, we all show up.

Eddie Mae Eastling,
instructor

What began as a single evening class has grown into a vibrant movement, now offered multiple times a week through partnerships with Parks and Recreation and local community centers. English and her team shifted to daytime classes after the pandemic, focusing on seniors and making the classes accessible to all ability levels.

“As in life, if you find yourself going the wrong direction, just turn around; or if you miss a step, its ok, just keep moving,” English said.

Yolanda Caple, a local hair stylist, credits line dancing for a life-altering transformation. “I was 250 pounds and pre-diabetic,” she recalled. “Now I’m in the 160s, off my blood pressure meds, and not pre-diabetic anymore.”

It was one of Caple’s clients, Eddie Mae Eastling, who first encouraged her to join. The class wasn’t easy at first, but Caple stuck with it.

“Those older folks were dancing me under the table. I was huffing and puffing behind my mask!”

Eastling initially came to the evening class after seeing a newspaper ad. After retiring from her manufacturing job, she began assisting at the class, which she continues to do as a volunteer. That led to a paid job at Parks and Rec as a Silver Sneakers-certified instructor.

A diverse group of adults participates in a line dancing class inside a community center. A smiling woman in the foreground wears an orange

Eddie Mae Eastling dances at Scotland Place in Scotland County.

“I always wanted to be an instructor,” she said. “Now I teach seniors five days a week. They pay me to teach exercise and make people laugh.”

Nicole Blake, a longtime nurse from Hamlet in nearby Richmond County, joined the group after spotting dancers at a local festival.

“I was searching for something after my son moved out and my father passed. I had lost my joy,” she said. “I saw the dancers, how happy they were and how much fun they were having and wanted to learn more.”

She’s lost 90 pounds and now teaches her own line dancing class in Richmond County.

“I didn’t dance before this,” she said. “Eight months in, I started my own class. This became more than exercise; it was therapy. I found myself again.”

According to English, the mental health benefits of the line dancing classes are as profound as the physical ones.

“People come in with stress, loss, loneliness,” she said. “We laugh, we move, and for that hour, life’s heavy stuff takes a back seat.”

The group also visits nursing homes, performing for residents who often join in from their chairs. “You should see their faces light up,” Eastling said. “It brings them joy, and it brings us joy too.”

Ten years after its launch, the line dancing program thrives because of its open-armed approach.

“We don’t care if you mess up,” Caple said. “Just keep moving.”

Participants with mobility challenges, memory issues, or who’ve never danced before are met with encouragement and humor. “I tell people, ‘If you get it all right today, you’re teaching next week,’” English joked.

Classes average 30 to 40 people, and the movement is spreading. New groups have sprouted in neighboring communities, some inspired by participants like Blake. Despite their different paths, the women agree the program is about more than dancing – it’s about fellowship, health and healing.

“We’re not just a class. We’re family,” Eastling said. “When one of us hurts, we all show up.”