“Cotton-Eyed Joe” is a popular country folk song that has inspired countless partner and line dances across country dance venues around the world. Because of the 1980 film “Urban Cowboy”, country music and dance enthusiasts have a renewed interest in the dance. It’s such an iconic country song that different artists have released their own versions of it – most of which received Grammy nominations.
Since it’s such a fun song to bop to, “Cotton-Eyed Joe” has since been incorporated with various dance performances all over.
Check out the Maguire Academy of Dallas and their creative take on the track.
The group assembled in a straight line on stage, sporting matching blue and black ensembles: black skirts for the girls, and black pants for the boys.
The impressive line dancing performed by the group of young dancers showed off some pretty fancy footwork.
Much to the audience’s delight, the young talents took turns dancing at the center, each one with their own flair.
Clapping in time with the beat of the country hit, the dancers changed places without taking away from the choreography.
It went on for a few minutes until it was time for a surprise.
Another line of dancers slowly assembled at the back as the first group moved towards the front, sunglasses on and knowing smiles on their faces.
From one familiar tune came another, and the dancers instantly transitioned into a different choreography.
This time, they were dancing to the iconic “Gangnam Style” by PSY.
To refresh your memory, “Gangnam Style” by Psy went viral to the point that it’s currently the seventh most viewed video on YouTube with over 3.5 billion views to date. Interestingly, the music video was filmed in Seoul, Korea for 48 hours straight. The music video went viral shortly after its release, prompting everyone around the world to memorize the steps, record their own videos, and basically anticipate the Korean artist’s next television appearance.
For it to be combined with a country line dance performance means quite a lot of fun and creativity were involved.
The track that once took the world by storm blared over the speakers, causing the audience to scream, clap, and cheer as the dancers showed off the steps.
It was a surprise interruption from the country theme that the audience loved.
Even the dancers couldn’t help but smile as they moved across the stage, while members of their production team could be seen dancing on the side.
There’s nothing like a fresh production that allows everyone to let loose and just have fun with it. You can imagine just how much fun it was for them to practice.
This 2013 number definitely added color to the North Texas Irish Festival.
It was a delight to watch as it deviated from the typical country line dancing performances. Most groups would opt for a medley of country songs, or add uniqueness through eye-catching costumes and props but the Maguire Academy of Dallas cooked up a little something extra that made them a hit at the festival.
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