They may be far from a honky-tonk, but some Mattapoisett residents have taken to the boot scootin’ boogie with the vigor of a country western star.

Nancy Cabral of Acushnet began teaching line dancing four years ago and recently brought her moves to the Mattapoisett Council on Aging.

“It’s good for two main reasons,” said Cabral. “One, for exercise and two, to challenge your mind because you need to remember the steps.”

Cabral began teaching the course in March and has averaged 15 students, most of them beginners.

“They’re doing very well. They’ve got a great attitude,” said Cabral.

Although the students joke with each other during breaks, they are all business as Cabral begins going over the steps.

Cabral said the virtue of line dancing is that it doesn’t require partners.

“Line dancing originated because there were a lot of women that didn’t have partners,” she said.

That is not an issue for Cabral. Her husband Ed said he recently got “roped in” to learning the dances.

“I love country western music, and it’s good exercise,” said Ed. “It’s something we can do together.”

With a little rhythm, Cabral said most people can learn to line dance.

“Teaching the class is mostly repetition, showing them how to execute the steps and then adding the new steps incrementally.”

Student Sandra Schlegel said she’s done line dancing for years. “I do it at weddings. It’s always a lot of fun,” she said. “It’s actually come a long way since the beginning. It’s real dancing now.”

As they advance, Cabral said there is an infinite set of combinations she can teach her students.

“There’s no limit to line dances,” she said. “I must know hundreds of them.”