Do you prefer that your boogie is electric or boot scootin’? Has your cupid ever shuffled? Join a special edition of Sounds on the Square – an evening of line-dancing on Friday, September 13, on the beautiful brick Plaza of the Historic Henry County Courthouse, 7-10 p.m. Sue Ann Ehmann, line dance extraordinaire, will lead the masses of all levels, from beginner to expert, while special DJ Mary Kaye Johnson turns the tunes.
Admission is free. Beginning at 6 p.m., Scuffle Hill Brewing Company will serve craft beers, and A Heavenly Sandwich will sell food. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Invite your friends and family for an evening of music and dancing at Uptown Martinsville’s premier concert series.
Country line dancing appears to have originated in Europe and arrived in the United States with the settlers who immigrated to America. They evolved from the English country dances, or contra dances, that were danced in the New England states of the U.S. in the early 1800s. Today’s country line dancing was probably born in Nashville, Tennessee, when the song “Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Cyrus became a huge hit in 1992, and country line dancing was catapulted into the mainstream.
Ehmann graduated from Patrick County High School and studied communications at the University of Miami. She began dancing in 1990 with the Carolina Shag. She moved into line dancing, and since 2005, has been teaching line dance classes on a regular basis in Virginia and North Carolina. She attends workshops frequently to remain current. Her choreographed dances have won at JG Marathon, an annual international event held in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has been featured in Linedancer Magazine. She and her husband, Ron Brammer, reside in the Stella community.
Coordinated by the Martinsville-Henry County Historical Society, Sounds on the Square is sponsored by Carter Bank & Trust, Children First Pediatrics, Deskins, Inc., The Estate & Elder Law Center of Southside Virginia, Hooker Furnishings, The Lester Group, New College Institute, and Sarver Cleaning Services.
A finalist in the Best of the Blue Ridge 2024 as Family Friendly Festival, Sounds on the Square is enjoyed by patrons of all ages, generations, and cultures. This is the fourth year of the series.
