Posted on 05/31/2008 1:49:42 PM PDT by Dawnsblood
Yannick Bigard, who has been line dancing for four years, told Sud Ouest, her local daily: “I couldn't imagine going without the costume or at least the boots and the hat. I spend my time imagining new choreographies.”
Mr Chauveau said the trend illustrated France's “complicated and ambiguous” relationship with the United States. “We love American magic and the American dream,” he said. “But we hate Americans when we confront the hard reality of their behaviour throughout the world. We go for the cowboy hats but not George Bush.”
In a peculiarly Gallic approach to the phenomenon, French civil servants say line dancing should be submitted to the same rules as sports such as football and rugby. This means imposing training courses for line dancing teachers and a state-approved diploma for anyone who wants to give lessons or run clubs.
Amateur instructors will have to take 200 hours of training under the new rules. Professionals will get 600 hours, including such subjects as line dancing techniques, “the mechanics of the human body” and the English (or at least Texan) language. They will also learn how to teach line dancing to the elderly.
The cost of the courses, about €2,000 (£1,570) for the professionals and €500 for the amateurs, will be largely met by taxpayers. Mr Chauveau said the regulations highlighted the French state's obsessive desire to organise all public activity. “France is the only country in Europe apart from Greece where sport is controlled through the state,” he said. “Line dancing is now considered a sport, so it is being controlled, too.”
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Words fail me.
The French people have no problem telling government to stuff it in other areas, (witness manure on doorsteps). Why don’t they tell their ‘crats to keep their damn noses out of their pastimes?
I like the line form the article where the lady says that everyone on the dance floor doing exactly the same moves as everyone else is a sign of “French individualism”.
They’ll be into bukake and cartoon porn any day now.
I'll stick with the good old "buckle polishers."
I bet the place stinks.
Don’t these idiots realize that The American Dream is built on Capitalism not Socialism? And what is this crap about loving our cowboy hats but hating GW Bush. Yeah, I have a cowboy hat and a pair of boots too. Frogs let me introduce you.....
“We hate Americans..”
Screw you, frogs. Remember when they tried banning English words to keep their gibberish “pure”? What a shame we couldn’t have defeated the Kaiser and Hitler without leaving the Germans in control of France.
If you turn the Marlboro Man into some kind of beret-wearing, Galois-smoking poofter, whatever you end up with ain’t a cowboy anymore. The French character isn’t compatible with the rugged independence exemplified in the myth of the American cowboy. Better to stick with Beau Geste, Jaques.
All hat and no cattle.
I don't think that's right.
There are several countries in Europe where you have to acquire a license to golf. The Netherlands for sure. 100 hours of instruction and a membership in a state-recognized golfing club before you're allowed to get a tee time. Gotta show a valid license and everything.
Already posted here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2023892/posts
footloose???
Line dancing was created as a way for ugly people to gather together and ignore each other.
It has absolutely nothing to do with CW/swing dancing, nothing whatsoever to do with Texas, and is most certainly the antithesis of genial southern boy/girl goodtimes.
Bob Wills woulda thought someone had replaced the patrons with robots from a horror movie.
Insanity.
Control for the sake of control.
Just wait until the French figure out that sometimes more than 2 urinals are lined up in a row.......
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