Line Dance: The Difference Between a Tag and a Restart

A tag and a Restart do not fundamentally change the entire dance. They are set exceptions in the sequence of an otherwise repeating pattern. You can tell the difference by what happens to the length of the relevant repetition.

As a hypothetical example, let’s use a basic sequence with 32 counts. If the instruction says “after the third repetition: tag with four counts,” you first dance all 32 counts, then the four additional counts, and then start again from the beginning. So extra counts are added at this point. The specific steps of the tag are part of the choreography, you don’t make them up yourself.

If instead the instruction says “during the third repetition: Restart after count 16,” that repetition ends right there. Counts 17 to 32 are skipped this time, and count one of the basic sequence follows the 16 you danced. The next regular repetition includes all 32 counts again.

The guide to the 16-count Cowboy Charleston shows a complete, easy-to-follow sequence. The numbers in our two examples are made-up figures for illustration, not instructions for this dance.

An instruction like “Restart at Wall 3 after Count 16” contains two different pieces of information. In this context, “Wall 3” usually means the third time through the sequence. “After Count 16” identifies the point within that repetition. You still dance Count 16 before the sequence starts again. So the term wall here does not refer to an additional turn.

It is also important to distinguish between “at” and “after”: a tag after a specified wall comes after it has finished. A restart in that wall interrupts it. A time reference like “facing 6:00” adds the direction you are facing at the specified moment. It does not replace the repetition number or the count.

The music often explains why these exceptions are included: a section lasts longer or shorter than the regular sequence would suggest. In line dancing, the word bridge is often used for a tag. But that does not necessarily mean that the same section is also called a bridge in the music.

Breaks in Boogie Woogie show how a musical interruption can be used differently in choreography. So an audible pause alone is not evidence of a line dance tag.

A restart is not an invitation to stop briefly and somehow rearrange your feet. The last movement before the restart must make the beginning possible. That depends not only on foot position, but especially on which foot is carrying your weight.

Suppose the basic sequence begins with a step to the right. Then your right foot must be free to take that step. But if the shortened sequence ends with your weight on the right, a transition problem arises unless you make an adjustment. Some choreographies therefore change the last step before the restart, for example by replacing a normally weighted closing step with an explicitly described unweighted action. This is one possible solution, not a general restart rule.

The specified change applies only where it is intended. It does not turn the restart into a tag either: that would require adding extra counts. Changing a movement on an existing count initially changes the transition, not the length.

A tag can also end with a deliberate distribution of weight so the beginning follows cleanly. To distinguish the two, however, the sequence is what matters: extra counts or an early return to count one. The supporting leg and direction of gaze then explain how this transition works physically.