One of WU’s newest organizations is bringing high energy, jazz-based dancing to the Student Activities Center. The Winthrop University Lindy Hoppers hold weekly swing dancing nights on Tuesday nights from 7-10 p.m.
Freshman Catherine Evans started the organization last semester and is the current president. “I missed swing dancing, and the closest swing dancing place is in Charlotte,” Evans said. “They don’t even do it every week, so I figured I would just start up my own club since [students are able] to do so on campus.”
While the organization was not officially active last semester, Evans says they hosted a “trial month,” which was popular on its first night. However, the club hopes to gain more members as the semester goes on. “There are not really that many [people] just because I’m having issues with the publicity,” Evans said. “People come once and then we never see them again, which is kind of sad because I teach something different in every lesson, or I have guest teachers come in and we all don’t teach the same.”
According to Evans, each evening begins with a swing dancing lesson at 7 p.m. “Depending on who comes and how many people there are, we base what the lesson is going to be on and how long it’s going to be on that. Then, from 8 to around 10 is open dancing.”
The club’s vice president, freshman musical theatre major Isabella Ferretti says the club will host a Valentine’s Day swing dance on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. for “significant others and best friends.”
Evans says the club often does “birthday dances” for members’ birthdays, something that “freaked out” Ferretti the first time she participated in one.
“It’s really fun because a lot of people mess up. Even the pros mess this up because it’s just so weird,” Evans said. “You get everyone in a circle and the birthday people or person stands in the middle. You start off dancing with one partner and then you just swap out [partners]. It’s not easy to do so it’s just a funny time.”
Evans and Ferretti said students often are not interested in swing dancing due to misconceptions about the dance style, which originated during the Jazz Age and has roots in the Harlem Renaissance. “A couple [of] reasons I’ve heard as to why people won’t go swing dancing is because they think it’s ‘country dancing’. It’s jazzy, it was invented by African Americans. It has more rhythm than ‘country dancing,’” Evans said.
The WU Lindy Hoppers meet every Tuesday night from 7-10 p.m. in the SAC, located behind Withers Building. There is a one-time $5 cover charge for students, and a $3 cover charge each night for non-students.
Photo: Marisa Fields-Willliams
