Business brings line dancing to Whidbey

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Boot heels strike the floor, hands clap in time, hips sway and on Whidbey Island, a Texas Latina is using line dancing to build community.

Gigi Iglesias, owner of Line Dancing With Gigi, introduced her first beginners-only line dancing class to the island this month to kick off 2026. This year, Iglesias and her crew will be at two new venues, The Shrimp Shack at Cozy’s and Orlando’s.

Iglesias first learned to line dance while visiting her daughter in Virginia.

“It was just mind blowing to me. I loved it,” she enthused. “It was the sound of freedom.”

When Iglesias moved to Whidbey in 2023, she realized it was a line dancing desert. Five months later, she made up her mind to do something about it, she said.

The Oak Harbor resident began making her way into bars and more venues across the island. Through hosting free line dancing events and teaching paid classes — that’s when Line Dancing With Gigi was born. Soon people of all dancing backgrounds were joining her events and she gained a following. Her fans’ loyalty isn’t unfounded; Iglesias makes a point to listen to her students’ requests; if they want her to learn a new dance and teach them the choreography, she will, she said.

“You know it helped me get through the hard times when I didn’t know anybody here,” she added. “I still had my dance.”

Originally merged, Iglesias now offers classes to the beginners and the improvers, and soon, the couples, so everyone at every level can dance to their own beat.

Iglesias said line dancing is a form of self-help — physically, mentally and socially. She and some of her dancers joined her at the Health and Wellness festival last May to speak about line dancing’s wellness benefits, according to a previous News-Times article.

Though her favorite song to dance to is “Fool” by Thomas Rett, Iglesias’ line dancing playlist spans mulitple genres including country, pop, disco, reggaeton and more. Line dancing choreography does occasionally vary by region, she explained. Iglesias said she visits Virginia frequently, picking up dances and bringing them back to teach on Whidbey, marrying the two ends of the country.

With people of all ages and levels joining her classes, Iglesias and her long-time followers play a part in guiding newcomers through the steps and keeping it lighthearted, she explained. In between dances, participants catch their breath and sip on a drink while they chat with the people they have come to think of as close friends.

Iglesias has taught her earliest pupil, Lori Clark, 80% of the dances she knows, Clark told the News-Times, having attended Iglesias’classes and events for the last two years.

At Off The Hook in Oak Harbor last Friday, Clark was line dancing amongst a group of over 10 community members at Iglesias’ social line dancing event, but she remembers a time when that was different.

“No one was here. Like, it was just me and her on the dance floor,” she said. “Look at all these people. It’s pretty amazing.”

Clark’s happy place is when she’s line dancing, listening to the music and laughing – even when she messes up, she said.

“She’s really built something special,” Clark said.

Alisa Reafs, an Oak Harbor resident, said being legally blind doesn’t make Line Dancing With Gigi any less fun, but it does take her longer to follow the steps. Regardless, she picked up dancing through Iglesias, and is now a regular thanks to Iglesias’ attentiveness and the help of other dancers.

“I dreamed of learning how, but in this capacity and with this group of people is amazing,” she said.

A year into line dancing, Reafs recalls all of the birthday celebrations, gift exchanges and fun times she has had with the group of line dancers she now considers her community.

Follow Line Dancing w/ Gigi on Facebook to stay up to date on Sunday and Monday classes, free Thursday and Saturday reviews and free Friday social dancing events.