Do the Electric Slide

The Electric Slide is a four wall line dance set to Marcia Griffiths' hit song, "Electric Boogie," which hit the States in 1976 when it was created by Ric Silver at a New York Dance Club called VAMPS. Even today, the dance is a huge favorite at weddings, bat mitzvahs, school dances, or just about any place where people want to dance and have a good time. If you want to hit the dance floor instead of the punch bowl the next time this favorite comes on, see Step 1 to start learning the Electric Slide and get your boogie on.

Steps

Doing the Electric Slide Step-by-Step

  1. Step to the right with your right foot. You should be counting 1, 2, 3, 4 to the beat of the music and take one step after each beat. That means you should take a step to the right with your right foot on Count 1. This is the very first step to doing a grapevine to your right.
  2. Step to the right with your left foot, crossing it behind your right. That's why it's called the grapevine -- because you'll be "weaving" one foot behind the other. You can also put your arms into it, and pump them forward or upward slightly every time you take a step. In the "Electric Boogie" video, you can see that the dancers are really pumping their arms, almost as if they were doing the "Running Man" with them; it's up to you how much you want to get into it!
  3. Step right with the right foot. This will uncross your feet.
  4. Close your feet together while tapping your left foot by your right. Simply tap the ground with your left foot without putting your weight on the foot. You'll be taking your next step with your left foot, so you should keep the weight on the right foot. You can also clap your hands whenever you tap your feet to add some flair to this dance move.
    • Congratulations -- you have just completed a grapevine to the right! The grapevine consists of the moves set out in Steps 1-4.
    • If you want to simplify this dance and aren't ready for the grapevine, instead of weaving one foot behind the other, you can instead simply step the right foot to the right, step your left foot to the right to meet your right foot, tap it, and repeat. So you would do a step-tap, step-tap, instead of the grapevine. If this is what you choose, then you should also do this move on the left side.
  5. Step to the left with your left foot. You will now begin mirroring the steps laid out in Steps 1-4 on the left side.
  6. Step to the left with the right foot, crossing your right foot behind your left foot.
  7. Step left with your left foot. This will uncross your feet again.
  8. Close your feet together, tapping your right foot next to the left foot. This time, tap the ground with your right foot while keeping your weight on the left foot. Great work! You have completed the grapevine on your left side.
  9. Step back with your right foot. This begins the process of taking three steps backward and tapping your feet. Just as you did before, count off 1, 2, 3, 4 to the music as you take your steps.
  10. Step back with your left foot.
  11. Step back with your right foot.
  12. Tap your left foot next to your right foot. Remember to keep that weight on your right foot. To add some flair to your steps, you can add a knee-lift, kick, toe-point-and-hip-lift, or whatever you want with your left foot instead of just tapping your feet closed, as long as you keep your weight off the tapping foot.
  13. Step forward with your left foot.
  14. Bring your right foot behind your left foot, and tap your right big toe to your left heel. Many people, instead of tapping with their foot, will kind of do a deep lunge with the left knee, touching (or just reaching for) the floor with their right hand. Others just tap their feet closed.
  15. Step back with your right foot. It's like rocking back and forward twice.
  16. Tap your left foot in front of your right foot. ( to do the original 22 step dance Repeat 13, 14, 15 & 16)
  17. Step forward with your left foot. Prepare to turn left, getting your hips and arms ready to do the "pivot and brush".
  18. Hop on your left foot as you turn yourself to the left 90 degrees. This is known as a quarter turn. Turning to the left means that your left shoulder goes back and your right shoulder comes forward. You can kick your right foot up a bit and brush the ground as you transition to the new position; just kick whichever foot is in back to move to the new side, so that it is next to the left foot again. Many will also do a knee lift (with the right knee) and/or clap their hands here.
  19. Repeat all these steps until the music fades. Start with the very first step. Note that you -- and hopefully the rest of the group -- will be facing a new direction each time you repeat, continuing to turn 90 degrees after every 18-step cycle. That's the beauty of the line dance -- once you can do it in one direction, all you have to do is to keep turning and repeating it until the music fades.

Understanding the Structure of the Electric Slide

  1. Do a grapevine to the right and tap. A "grapevine" is a series of sidesteps in one direction, stepping to the side, then crossing in front or behind with the other foot, then stepping to the side again. A more detailed breakdown is below. Count 1, 2, 3, 4 to the beat of the music and do the grapevine on the right.
  2. Do a grapevine to the left and tap. This is just like the grapevine to the right, except it's to the left. Count 1, 2, 3, 4 to the beat of the music and do the grapevine to the left.
  3. Take 3 steps backwards and tap. This part is conceptually similar to the grapevine steps, except going backwards instead of sideways. As before, count 1, 2, 3, 4 to the music as you step.
  4. Step forward and tap your foot, step backward and tap your foot. This is the fun little boogie-dip move that you will do to transition between turns.
  5. Step forward and turn left. Count 1, 2 to the beat of the music and repeat the process. Once you've finished, take another quarter turn and repeat until the music is over.



Tips

  • As mentioned at a few places in "Steps" above, the Electric Slide allows for a great deal of personal creativity and style within the framework of the dance. Many people will add in their own knee-lifts, hip-lifts, foot-flicks, kicks, hand claps, finger snaps, silly poses and gestures, lunges, spins, and more at various points in the dance. However, this is not a solo showcase! If you do try some of the optional steps above or add in your own fancy moves, please make sure you keep up with the movement of the group-- don't bump into or crowd out the other dancers!
  • The most popular song for this dance is "Electric Boogie" by Marcia Griffiths, but the dance can be done to any 4/4 music that is sufficiently groovy and of comparable tempo to "Electric Boogie".
  • The Electric Slide is most fun with a large group of people. Everyone should line up in several lines, roughly in a square or rectangle, as dictated by the shape of the room.
  • The 18-step variation is a simplified version of the original 22-step choreography, simply called "The Electric", which was a professional-level Fugue choreography piece created by Ric Silver in 1976 in Manhattan at Vamps Disco. It is quite rare to see anyone do the original Electric, but for the curious, there are two major differences between the 22-step Electric and the version described above: one is that dancers will line up in two lines facing each other, but offset, which will (hopefully) cause them to dance in boxes around each other without colliding. The other difference is that one repeats the "forward, tap, back, tap" sequence before stepping forward and turning left.
  • The 18-step variation described above and shown in the video is typically how the dance is done by amateurs at weddings, by line-dancers in country-western bars, and virtually all other social dance venues. It is also how it was portrayed by the dancers in the music video to "Electric Boogie", by the actors in the movie "The Replacements", and in the majority of other movies, TV shows, and videos featuring this dance, whether produced by professionals or amateurs.
  • Many Electric Slide groups consist of a few people that know what they are doing, and a lot of people who are seemingly dancing for the very first time ever in their lives. In this situation, it is advisable (if possible) to have beginners situated kind of in the center, and experienced dancers at the edges. If there is at least one experienced dancer at each of the four sides, the beginners will be able to see an experienced dancer no matter which way the group is facing-- remember the whole group turns 90 degrees after each cycle!
  • A smooth-ish floor is recommended; hardwood is ideal. Dancing on carpet is not recommended. It is possible, but the turns are more difficult and will cause much wear and tear on the carpet.

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