How to Do the Cotton Eyed Joe Dance

Learning the Steps

Begin by tapping your right heel forward twice. On the first two beats of the chorus, stick your right foot out and tap the ground with the bottom of the heel twice. Your taps should line up with the beat of the song. Rest your hands on your hips or in your pockets.

Tap your right foot behind your body twice. On the next two beats of the chorus, put your right foot behind you and tap the ground with your toe twice.

Tap your right foot to the side and bring your right heel across and in front of your body. For the next two beats of the song, you will perform a scooping motion across the front of your body with your right leg. Tap your right foot beside your body (beat one), before touching your right foot with your left hand (beat two).

Tap your right foot to the side, and bring your right heel across and behind your body. For the following two beats, you will perform the same scooping motion behind your body. Tap your right foot beside your body again (beat one), before reaching back to touch your right foot with your left hand (beat two). Altogether, these first four moves make up the first 8 beats of the dance.

Perform a four count grapevine to the right. For the next four beats, shuffle your body to the right by doing a grapevine move with your feet. Step your right foot to the side, step your left foot behind your right, step your right foot to the side again, and step your left foot together with your right. Clap your hands on the fourth beat of this move, when your two feet come together.

Take four side steps to the left while spinning your body. For the final four beats of the song, take four small side steps while turning your body 90 degrees with each step. In this move, you'll return to your original position on the dance floor while rotating your body a full 360 degrees. As you move your feet in a sideways shuffle on the beat - left, right, left, right - turn your body in a circle to the right as well. These previous two steps make up the second 8 beats of the dance. One entire round of this dance is 16 beats long.

Swing your right arm overhead for the last four counts of the dance. As you spin your body and move to the left, keep your left hand on your hip while pretending you are swinging a lasso overhead with your right arm.

Repeat these moves, but lead with your left foot. As the song continues, these same 16-count dance moves keep repeating, but they'll alternate sides every time. When you lead with your left foot, you'll perform your grapevine to the left as well.

Mastering the Dance

Practice the moves slowly at first. In order to learn the moves, it's best to practice slowly, counting the beats out loud while going through the motions. By taking the time to learn slowly, you'll have an easier time remembering the moves later on.

Watch other people perform the dance. If you're new to the Cotton Eyed Joe dance and want to join in at a dance party, watch the first few rounds of the dance before joining. The dance repeats for the entire length of the song, so you'll have plenty of time to join in after watching and getting the hang of the moves from the sidelines. You can also find videos of people doing the Cotton Eyed Joe on YouTube.

Learn how the dance moves line up with the song lyrics. Spend some time listening to the Cotton Eyed Joe song and try to remember which counts of the dance line up with specific words in the chorus. If you get lost during a round of the dance, you'll be able to listen to the song to help you find your place. The chorus of the song is 16 beats, and is the same length as one round of the Cotton Eyed Joe dance. The final hook, “Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton Eyed Joe?” lines up with your final 8 counts of the dance, where you will be moving from side to side.

Join in on the chorus. The Cotton Eyed Joe is a long song, and it is most common to see people join in on the chorus. When you're new to the dance, try performing the moves during the chorus so that you'll have lots of other people to blend in with. If you get lost or forget the moves along the way, wait for the top of the chorus ("If it hadn't been for the Cotton Eye Joe, I'd been married a long time ago...") to start the dance over again. During the rest of the song, feel free to keep performing the Cotton Eyed Joe dance, or dance in any other way you please!

Add a bounce on your left foot for the first eight counts of the dance. Once you get the moves down, try adding tiny jumps on your left foot as you perform the first stationary toe-tap moves. Bounce on your right foot when you lead with your left foot. The bouncing will help make the moves look and feel more upbeat.