The New Boot Scootin’ Generation
Article by Hannah Olson
Photos by Arianna Skoog
Long before TikTok dances and packed Friday nights at the High Horse, line dancing already had deep roots in Billings. For decades, local instructors like Lynne Perry and Steve Gillis helped build a culture of country dancing across the region. Through lessons, bar dance floors, and years of consistency, they created spaces where people gathered, learned, laughed, and moved together.
Now, a new generation is carrying that tradition forward in a way that feels both rooted in Western culture and entirely modern. If you've been anywhere near a dance floor lately, chances are you've seen it: packed rooms, 20-somethings in boots learning choreography between drinks, strangers suddenly moving in sync to a song they all somehow know. What once carried a reputation as an older generation's pastime has exploded into something younger, louder, and unexpectedly cool again.
At the center of that resurgence in Billings are two young instructors shaping the city's evolving dance scene: Geno Savini of Treasure State Country Entertainment and Taylor Bertolini of Northern Lights Country Dancing. Their styles, venues, and energy are different. But the heart behind what they're building is remarkably similar. Both are creating places where people can show up as they are, learn something new, and feel connected to those around them.
More Than Just Dancing
Line dancing has always been deceptively simple: a choreographed sequence of repeated steps performed in rows. No partner required. No elite training necessary. Just movement, rhythm, and the willingness to try.
What's happening now feels different, largely because younger generations are rediscovering it at a moment when people seem to be craving real-life interaction. Social media has helped fuel the resurgence, especially through country music's mainstream revival. But neither Savini nor Bertolini believes people keep showing up just because it looks fun online. They keep showing up because dancing gives them something many have quietly been missing: a sense of belonging.
Building a Scene From Scratch
When Geno Savini moved to Billings from Nevada three years ago, he was surprised by what wasn't here. "There was no one line dancing," he says. "There were no venues putting on line dancing." Back home, dancing had been part of everyday social life, and after arriving in Montana, he missed it so much that he created it himself.
He started Treasure State Country Entertainment, he admits, for somewhat selfish reasons. "I created this business more ... selfish reasons just to keep dancing for my skill level alive." What started as personal quickly became communal. Savini began teaching lessons, Djing, and organizing dance nights anywhere willing to experiment: breweries, parks, fitness studios, bars. "It's been very grassroots, organically grown," he says.
Now, Friday nights at places like High Horse Saloon are regularly packed, many of them young adults discovering line dancing for the first time. "The dance floor is kind of a melting pot for people," Savini says. Some arrive because of a TikTok video. Some come because a friend dragged them. But many stay because the community around dancing becomes part of their routine and identity.
Finding Your People
For Taylor Bertolini, line dancing carries a similar pull. Originally from South Florida, Bertolini moved to Billings seeking a fresh start and founded Northern Lights Country Dancing after recognizing the lack of a dance community here. What she found through dance, she says, was connection. "Dance is what brings people together, and it's a language that we're all speaking."
Through beginner classes, country swing lessons, social dance nights and community events, Northern Lights has grown into a thriving scene, especially among younger dancers seeking welcoming rather than intimidating spaces. Bertolini focuses on making dance approachable for people who feel nervous walking in for the first time. "Just have 30 seconds of insane courage, and you just might like it," she says.
Neither Savini nor Bertolini talks much about perfection. They talk about participation, confidence, and joy. And often, the dancing is only half of it. "A lot of people come dance on a Friday night because that's potentially the only time they get to see each other for that week," Savini says. Friendships form. Group chats emerge. Entire communities build themselves around a shared activity that asks almost nothing of you except willingness.
Breaking the Stereotypes
Part of what makes the current movement compelling is how much it challenges old assumptions. Savini laughs, talking about the stigmas around dancing, especially for men. One moment that stayed with him involved a young boy watching him at an all-ages event. Afterward, the child's mother told him, "Because he saw you dancing ... he was like, 'Oh, it's okay to dance.'"
The modern line dancing scene in Billings doesn't look exactly like people expect. Country songs, yes, but also pop, remixes, and throwbacks. Cowboy hats mixed with sneakers. Some arrive dressed head-to-toe in Western. Others come straight from work. Some know every dance. Others are learning as they go.
For those who want to get involved, both Treasure State and Northern Lights are active on social media, posting schedules, pop-up events and instructional videos.
Why It Matters
At a time when so many people are searching for community and reasons to leave the house, line dancing offers something surprisingly rare: uncomplicated togetherness. No phones in your hands. No pressure to be perfect. No need to already belong before you arrive.
Because beneath the choreography and the country songs, what Billings' new generation of line dancing is really building is connection, the same thing Lynne Perry and Steve Gillis helped create years ago, and the same thing dancers have always been chasing. A place to gather, a reason to stay, and maybe, if you're brave enough to try it, a few new friends waiting out on the dance floor.
