AIRAN SCRUBY & RACHEL SACHER
News Editor and Staff Writer
Paul Clark/Photo Editor
The floors of the HAWC were hopping Friday night. The rhythms and tunes of swing music blasted as the students danced the night away from 7 to 11:30 p.m., with the Swing Dance Club.
This was the Swing Club’s first dance of the fall. The event had an excellent turnout. Throughout the course of the night, about 50 students came out to participate in the festivities.
“There was a lot of dancing,” club president Carter Catchings said. “It was great to see so many of our students dancing together and to see how much progress they’ve made in such a short amount of time.”
Catchings started swing dancing when he was 14-years old.
The night provided students with lessons in swing dancing, which brought out some new faces to the Swing scene. The dance lessons were free, as were the refreshments.
Adam Wall, vice president of the Swing Dance club on campus, said the night went well, with as many as 15 couples on the floor at one time.
“It was especially cool when we did a snowball, where one couple starts dancing then splits off until everyone in the room is dancing,” Wall wrote in an e-mail.
The attire was causal, but students wore everything from high heels to sandals.
The night started off with lessons for the beginning dancers. This brought out some new dancers for the club. Some students just came by to sit and watch others dance. Having the Swing night at the HAWC attracted many students.
The music also helped create the fun environment students enjoyed.
“We had great music, a lot of food, and even some games and prizes,” Catchings said.
Swing-dancing lessons are offered here on campus. Beginning East Coast Swing classes take place twice a week. The lessons are given on Monday night, at 7 p.m,. in PLC102 and also on Wednesday nights at 6 p.m., in the lobby of Dorm 13.
Catchings encourages students to join the Swing Club.
“It’s not too late for people to join us this semester, and the lessons are absolutely free,” he said.
With regard to future events, the Swing Club is considering the possibilities of a Christmas dance, giving students a break from the books. In the spring, the dance club plans on having a Valentine’s Dance and an end-of-the-year dance.
“It’s such a great way to interact with people,” Catchings said. “Swing is exciting, it’s fun, and it can still be romantic without being dirty. It’s great exercise, it’s a wonderful way to meet new people, and even though it’s a fairly structured dance, you can still be really crazy and creative with it.”
The Swing Dance Club has plans to attend more off campus swing venues. Right now the club has about 50 members, and continues to grow.
After the dance last Friday, the interest among students looks to be increasing.
“We had some really experienced dancers, people who didn’t know how to swing at all and everything in between,” Catchings said.
Kayla Godwin has been swing dancing since summer and joined the club at the beginning of the semester. She said she encourages students to give it a try, regardless of experience.
“I would definitely encourage others to get involved with swing dancing,” she said. “It is really fun and easy to learn. It doesn’t take long to get addicted.”
11-16-2006
