Cotton Eye Joe Dance

There must be a half dozen ways to do the Cotton Eye Joe Dance. Seems like every region in the country has their own version. This first video shows the version that I believe most people do in the country. Now this dance was originally done in a circle, but now is done almost exclusively as a line dance in most parts of the United States. And I’m quite sure my Southern brethern may take a little objection to that, but that’s just how it is.

The reason I picked this video is that this young lady takes the time to walk you through the Cotton Eye Joe steps slowly. One thing she fails to do that has been adopted by most dancers is hit her heels with her hands. The video below that is a better representation in full speed as the lighting on this video isn’t the greatest.

One thing I see around the country is that ,like many line dances, individual dancers have added their own spin to the Cotton Eye Joe dance. so you will often see all kinds of extra moves being done by a few regulars while the amateurs just try and keep up.

Ok,  One last video. This one cracks me up because this is exactly how they do it down South but these people are obviously French!

Go Figure