On Wednesday nights at Middle Ages Brewing Company on Wilkinson Street, the taps are open and the floors are moving. Up to 200 people show up to learn line dances led by instructor Greg Hale of Shotgun Line Dancers, coached through the steps by strangers who quickly stop being strangers.
It’s that kind of night that Julianna Fahrenz, founder of Erie and Ivy Events, had in mind when she partnered with Middle Ages to launch the weekly series. Fahrenz said she first tried line dancing two years ago when her mother suggested it as a low-key outing. She showed up not knowing a single step and left with an experience she didn’t expect.
“A bunch of the girls who were already out on the dance floor started calling out, ‘Left, right, left,’ and coaching us through it,” Fahrenz said. “I immediately felt comfort in that connection, that they actually wanted my friend and me to succeed.”…