Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest update - September 4, 2026
This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series that presents a YouTube video compilation about the custom during African American (soul) line dancing of holding, waving, twirling, and otherwise manipulating hand held handkerchiefs, small towels, and other cloth items during line dance routines.
I refer to these cloth items as "dance cloths".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/09/the-creative-use-of-handkerchiefs-in.html for Part II of this pancocojams series.
These posts showcase YouTube video examples of this African American (soul) line dance custom of mostly men line dancers holding, twirling, and otherwise manipulating a dance cloth as embellishment of the way that they perform that particular dance routine.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/09/information-about-dancing-and-waving.html for Part I of a four part pancocojams series about Ghanaian, Togolese, Nigerian (and other African cultures) customs of waving or twirling white handkerchiefs while dancing or while worshipping in church. I believe that these West African and Central African source of the custom of African Americans dancing with (mostly white colored) handkerchiefs. The links to the other posts in that series are given in each of these posts.
The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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A VIDEO COMPILATION OF THE CREATIVE USE OF HANDKERCHIEFS AND OTHER "DANCE CLOTHS" IN AFRICAN AMERICAN (SOUL) LINE DANCING [PART i: 2011-2018]
DISCLAIMER- This compilation isn't meant to be a comprehensive documentation of the subject of the use of creative use of handkerchiefs and other cloths/towels in soul line dancing.
This post also doesn't mean to imply that this African American custom of holding and waving a handkerchief or some other cloth while dancing originated with soul line dancing. My guess is that this custom dates from enslaved Black American dances such as the ring shout.
Please share YouTube video links for early examples of this custom in the discussion section for this post . Thanks.
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I conducted this informal YouTube video review in September 2026 for this soul line dancing custom of holding a handkerchief while dancing. 2011 was my the start date since that was the earliest date that I came across on YouTube for this custom.
It also appears to me that the custom of Soul line dancing holding a handkerchief or another type of dance cloth is becoming rarer and rarer. (Females holding a handkerchief while soul line dancing seems to have already been rare by 2011).
Even when more male Soul line dancers held a handkerchief while dancing, that custom wasn't followed by all the male dancers. Yet, it does appear to me that nowadays (2025 and 2026) more male dancers are holding fans or not holding anything than are holding a handkerchief.
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I've found that the publishers of African American (soul) line dance videos usually feature the same group of line dancers. That means that the dancers (usually men) who are shown holding handkerchiefs or another type of dance cloth in one video that is published by that person are almost always shown holding handkerchiefs or another type of dance cloth in other videos published by that same person.
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These selected examples are given in chronological order with the earliest example given first. My brief description of the presence of one or more "dance clothes" in each video is given below that video.
SHOWCASE VIDEO #1 -Zydeco shuffle
Jeterated, Feb 4, 2011
Music "It's Allrite" by J Paul and the Zydeco New Breed
NC's Largest Line Dance Party 1-22-11 [North Carolina]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMWMGreKPdI
-snip-
A woman dancer in the center of the front line is holding a bottle of water in one hand and a
large black cloth in her other hand. She’s the only dancer with a cloth. At certain parts of the song while
she is dancing she briefly twirls the cloth above her head.
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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2- "Let's Get It Poppin'" Soul Line Dance
Tamar “LADYT” Simmons, May 6, 2011
"Fun new beginner soul line dance. Choreographer: Bernadette Burnette, Philadelphia, PA. Music:" "Get It Poppin'" by Fat Joe featuring Nelly. Copyright: Warner Music Group. Soul Line Dance Video Performed at Elk's Lodge, 7350 Temple Hill Road, Camp Springs, Maryland. Thursday Night Line Dance Party Hosted by DJ Lady D. Instructor: Candy Djsweets Truss. Thursday, May 5, 2011. Dance originally showcased at The Stepper's Weekend in Miami 2011. Videographer: Adrienne Jenkins."
-snip-
In the beginning of this video, a woman dancer stands on the dance floor with other line dancers and wipes her face with a red cloth. Presumably, she did this after one line dance before this line dance showcased in the video begins. (Note that most of the dance cloths that I've seen in YouTube videos are the color white.)
There are only a few male dancers in this group. This woman is the only one in this
group with a dance cloth. This performance occurred before hand held fans became a popular item in
soul line dancing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-GkiANyWdk
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SHOWCASE VIDEO #3 - "DO IT WITH YOUR BOOTS" ON SHUFFLE 07 16 13
thearchiebexperience, Sep 24, 2013
THE ARCHIE B. EXPERIENCE LINE DANCERS DOING
DANCE: "DO IT WITH YOUR BOOTS ON" CREATED BY CUPID
SONG: "DO IT
WITH YOUR BOOTS ON" BY CUPID
"Join us at The Archie B. Experience Line Dancing if you want
to meet people, exercise mind & body, and just have fun learning soul line
dances in a "NO ONE LEFT BEHIND ATMOSPHERE". We meet every Tuesday,
6:00 PM to 7:30 PM( line dance w/ instruction), then 7:30 PM- 9:00 PM (non-stop
line dancing) at UPTOWN 78 LOUNGE, 8280 FM 78, Converse, TX, 78109"…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_86ZkoJgsJU
-snip-
This instructor described this dance as a “country zydeco”.
The instructor in the video describes the clicking heels step as “Dorothy” (in reminisce of The Wizard Of Oz book, play, and movie character who had to click her heels three times to return home to Kansas). After that step is done, the dancers wave their dance cloth over their head in time with the 1-2 beat.
-snip-
This YouTube video is an outlier since I haven't come across any other African American (Soul) line dance video where each dancer has her or his own dance cloth.
Holding handkerchiefs and other types of dance cloths was a custom in Soul line dancing before the custom of holding fans that were [are] popped to add to the music being danced to.
In contrast to the variety of the almost always solid colors of these hand held popping fans, the handkerchiefs/dance cloths in Soul line dancing were [are] almost always the solid color white, or the solid color black or the solid color red.
This video is also unique because of the dancers perform with a handkerchief that is the solid color blue, or yellow, or (in one case) the solid color orange.
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SHOWCASE VIDEO #4 - TRIPLE ABC LINEDANCE CREATED BY JOHN WOODHOUSE
GOLDIE MOJICA, Jul 29, 2018
"SOUTHSIDE STEPPERS 10TH ANNIVERSARY
WEEKEND SATURDAY JULY 28 2018" [Chicago Illinois ?]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLw1uzk4nsY
-snip-
Notice that one man in the front has a
large white dance cloth and a large white towel hanging from his pocket A dancer who had [has] a towel hanging from his (or her) back or side pocket signifies that the dancer needs something to wipe off the sweat because he or she really "gets down" on the dance floor (i.e. he or she really gets funky- in both meanings of the word "funky")
That dancer and the male instructor/caller in the center of the first line are the only ones who are holding anything except for a woman dancer who fans herself with a yellow fan. Notice that she
doesn’t "pop" her fan.
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ADDENDUM - TWO BONUS VIDEOS
This bonus video doesn't show any line dancer performing while holding a handkerchief or another type of dance cloth. However, I'm showcasing it for the points mentioned in my comments below the video.
BONUS VIDEO #1- Bus Stop 7 25 15
brjohn11, Jul 27, 2015
"Denise Bryant "Music2Your Feet", teaching Bus Stop at DJ Freckles line dance work shop at the Hampton Inn in Stafford Va [Virginia]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqjcIE6XM4g
-snip-
In the very beginning of this video a male dancer is shown wiping his face with his handkerchief. However, I don't think that he is shown line dancing in this video.
Notice that in this video a woman is holding a fan while she is line dancing. However, she isn't popping the fan (opening it and quickly closing it so that it makes a brief popping/ clicking sound. Instead, she’s just constantly fanning herself through a portion of that dance. In another portion of the dance she shuts the fan and dances while holding it shut.
Notice that the woman showcased in Video #4 in this pancocojams video compilation is also just holding her fan or fanning herself and not "popping" her fan. It's likely that these were the ways that hand held fans were first used in African American "soul" line dancing. However, the "popping fan" motion was probably relatively commonly done before the "Pop That Fan" song became popular.
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BONUS VIDEO #2 - SO KOLD LINE DANCE *☆ The Smooth Groove Heritage Award 2018
.
Lady Snapshot, Aug 27, 2018 PHILADELPHIA
Song-Music ,By Walter Beasley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5GXRrMdGK8
-snip-
This is a video of Jero 'Kold' Green (also known as "Mr. Kold") and Lady Glam performing Chicago stepping at a white party (a party where everyone wears clothing that is the color white). Notice that Mr. Kold is holding a white handkerchief.
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This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
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