Wesleyan Gets into the Swing of Things

By Sarah Levin
Staff Writer

Swing dancing is back. "Swingers" is enjoying great success at video stores, The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies have an album in the Billboard Top 200, and even The Gap, the archetype of mainstream culture, has used swing dancing to advertise its khakis. Across the country, swing dancing lessons are being advertised in city newspapers, magazines, and on college campuses. And at Wesleyan, the rage is rampant.

Swing dancing is a vague term for a fast-paced, often acrobatic activity. Originating in the early 1930s, the dance has been influenced by innumerable styles of music.

What began as a jazz-based movement soon evolved into a plethora of dance techniques, varying with geographical location. The diversity of swing dancing is reflected in its names: Jitterbug, Lindy, Jive, Shag, Whip, Push, East and West coast swing, Bop, etc.

With the revival of this dance, Wesleyan students are catching on. In years past, the ballroom dance society, Cheek-to-Cheek, held swing workshops every couple of months. This year, the society has implemented a weekly swing workshop, followed by an hour of open floor, held at the Pine Street dance studio.

"The goal is to provide people with a chance to come swing dancing every week," said Emily Lu ’00, president of Cheek-to-Cheek.

The first workshop of the year was held last Friday night. Students swarmed the dance studio at 6:30, dressed in everything from basic khakis to 40s-style dresses, eager to see what all the fuss was about.

Waiting expectantly for the instructor, some decided to let loose to the big band sounds squealing from the tape player at the front of the studio. They were halted by a shriek of welcome.

David Wright had entered the room.

Wright, small in stature with the voice of a large motivational speaker, is a graduate student of physics at Wesleyan.

"I knew of him and knew he was a really good dancer," said Lu. "Over the summer, he organized a series for a teacher to come in to teach swing, and offered it for students."

Wright started off teaching the basic triple step technique, stressing the importance of taking small steps—"Pretend you’re dancing on a dinner plate!"—and continued with under-the-arm turns.

At this point, the Pine Street dance studio became more of a health hazard than a fun place to swing. With at least 150 people crammed into the room, collisions were unavoidable. Overzealous leaders spun their partners straight into other couples, or the wall. With each turn of the foot, there were more bruises.

"It’s amazing how many people showed up," said Adriana Jones ’01. "They should definitely continue it, but in a larger place."

At one point, Wright had to send a good number of students out into the parking lot in order to accommodate the crowd waiting outside.

"We haven’t actually gotten in there yet," said Lauren Pidot ’02, staring through the open doors of the studio at the mass of students. "It’s way too crowded."

The crowd consisted of a huge amount of frosh, with upperclassmen sprinkled throughout. The heat in the building rose with the energy level, and midway through the lesson students were rosy-cheeked. Some seemed frustrated with the lack of space, but even the more experienced dancers took it with a grain of salt.

"If anything, it made me worse," joked Noah Rauch ’02, who was a member of his high school’s swing dancing club. "It was so hot in there."

Is it possible to learn anything in such a situation?

"It was tough to learn much, since everyone was crashing into everyone else," commented Reka Salgunan ’01. "But that doesn’t matter. It was still fun."

Lu mentioned that since Friday, a number of students have approached her, offering to teach lessons. She also added that Ken Selling, a Wesleyan alumnus and now a faculty member, wants to offer a three week series for intermediate or advanced swing dancers later in the year. Until then, students will continue to crowd into the Pine Street studios every Friday evening for a taste of the swingin’ action.