This student story was published as part of the 2025 NASW Perlman Virtual Mentoring Program organized by the NASW Education Committee, providing science journalism experience for undergraduate and graduate students.
Story by Michaela Allen
Mentored and edited by Carrie Arnold
The most important thing about line dancing is the community: the one you’ve always known, the one you will come to know, or the one you have for the length of the song. You could cha-cha slide alone, but would you really want to?
“Everyone is welcome,” said Courtney Dortch-Pickens, an assistant line dance instructor in Mobile, Ala., about the environment she hopes to create. It was this philosophy that made her welcome in a new community and what kept her there.
Dortch-Pickens and her husband sought out dance classes about a year and a half ago. People helped them with the steps at first, but soon they were helping newcomers. Before long – and to their surprise – the couple was recognized as instructors.
The progression reflects their strengthening skillset, as well as their strengthening social connection.
Renewed interest in line dancing in African American communities models a path toward increasing social connection to combat the loneliness epidemic.
The emergence of the loneliness epidemic coincided with the reemergence of line dancing in the mainstream. Line dancing is a longtime tradition in African American communities. At its simplest, a line dance is a (nearly) universal set of steps to a song, such as the electric slide. People performing it together turn a simple line dance into a social bonding experience.
In terms of health, line dancing is an inviting and accessible exercise option. Phoebe Butler-Ajibade, a health educator and researcher at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, was inspired to start a line dancing class on campus after attending a party. What began as a small class of 10 evolved into a large gathering of people from all over campus.
“You aren’t going to see many other classes with black females exercising for hours at a time,” said Butler-Ajibade. “The dance classes are really good for the women. The men are coming, too. And the kids are coming with mama.”
Exercise can mitigate poor health outcomes, often attributed to certain lifestyle factors, such as lack of physical activity and poor dietary habits.
A growing body of evidence shows that loneliness also negatively impacts human health, maybe even more than traditional risk factors, like physical inactivity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and obesity.
In 2023, former surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, issued an advisory on the loneliness and social isolation epidemic, bringing it into the cultural consciousness as a public health concern. According to the advisory, up to 50% of Americans experience loneliness, reflecting our decreasing social networks, increasing social isolation, and diminishing social infrastructure.
Unsurprisingly, loneliness is linked to an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline. However, its health impacts reach even further. Loneliness is correlated with an increased risk of hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. It is even correlated with a higher susceptibility to infectious diseases, such as the common cold and COVID-19.
Social connection is an important tool in our fight against loneliness. A strong sense of social connection decreases the risk of these outcomes. Despite the evidence, the public and healthcare providers continue to underestimate the influence of social connection on health.
While exercise is not enough to ward off loneliness, line dancing is uniquely positioned to address loneliness alongside other risk factors.
Outside of exercise, Butler-Ajibade said, “They’re also getting hugs.” She has seen social support show up in the line dancing space as a warm embrace, a listening ear, and the exchange of health information and resources.
Asked about the benefits she experiences, Dortch-Pickens said, “Number one is the extended family,” pointing to the supportive relationships that she can depend on in and out of class.
Scientists have identified three components that describe a person’s sense of social connection: structure, quality, and function. Structure describes the quantity and diversity of relationships someone has: Are these a mix of friends, neighbors, and co-workers? Quality accounts for whether someone feels positively or negatively about these relationships. Function describes the support available from relationships, including who can be called on in times of need.
Engaging with the line dancing community is a chance for participants to fulfill all aspects of social connection by fostering diverse and inclusive relationships that extend beyond the dance floor.
Top image Courtney Dortch-Pickens is an assistant line dance instructor. She and her husband have participated in line dance classes for over a year. Credit: Courtney Dortch-Pickens.
Michaela Allen is a Ph.D. candidate in biomedical sciences at Tulane University School of Medicine. Reach her at mallen15@tulane.edu
The NASW Perlman Virtual Mentoring program is named for longtime science writer and past NASW President David Perlman. Dave, who died in 2020 at the age of 101 only three years after his retirement from the San Francisco Chronicle, was a mentor to countless members of the science writing community and always made time for kind and supportive words, especially for early career writers.
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