Swing dancing a craze at USU
“It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.”
This isn’t just a classic Duke Ellington lyric. It also describes the hobby of many students at Utah State University.
Local swing dancing is attracting students in crowds. Emma Martino, country swing club president and country swing instructor at the Cache Valley Fun Park, said that the turn out is anywhere between 500 to 700 people on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
“We get hundreds of people a year that have no idea what we’re even about, which is pretty fun,” Martino said.
In fact, it can be tough to find someone who hasn’t tried swing dancing.
“I feel like everyone around here that you talk to has gone at least once in their college career,” said Eric Lyman, a volunteer swing instructor at the Fun Park.
The turnout provides students with a means to meet new people.
“I like to dance to be social, and when I moved up here, some of my friends decided to go,” said Jeanann Blake, a junior in animal, dairy and veterinary science. “It was really awesome going up there because I could meet a ton of new people every time I went out, and it was a super friendly environment to be around.”
Blake adds that when you’re packed with many people, it’s hard not to socialize.
“It makes it hard to dance, to do like all the fancy turns and lifts and stuff, but at the same time it brings everybody together,” Blake said. “You’re like, I don’t want to say forced to talk to people, but you get the chance and opportunity to talk to people.”
The main draw for others, like Lyman, is simply the dancing.
“A lot of people do go for the social experience as well. Me, not so much — I like to dance,” Lyman said. “But it is a great place to meet people.”
No matter the reason for starting, the friendly environment and approachable instructors keep many people coming back.
“Everybody is super willing to teach whatever they know. That’s how I learned everything. I started from knowing absolutely nothing,” Martino said. “That’s what kept me coming back, because I could ask people, and I could keep learning.”
There are many opportunities to learn swing dance, including USU classes, swing dance club meetings and dance events, Martino said.
Two types of swing dancing, country and big band, provide options between music and dancing styles.
“Culturally, demographically, we’re in an area where we have a lot of cowboys and a lot of agriculture and a lot of people who love the land,” Martino said. “And I think country dancing and country music tends to feed their souls, and that’s their music.”
Joseph Mellen a senior in mechanical and aerospace engineering, was personally drawn to jazz.
“First of all it’s jazz music, which I’ve always been able to appreciate a little bit more than country,” Mellen said, who is a big band swing instructor. “Big band just drives you. Jazz music makes you feel like moving.”
Mellen added whether it’s country or big band, swing dance is a stress reliever.
“There are very few things as effective as dancing to relieve stress, especially during the school year,” Mellen said.
Blake agrees. She uses country swing night to escape from the daily grind.
“For me, I’m going to school full time and I also work full time,” Blake said. “So it’s just a night that I can go and guarantee I’m going to have a good time.”
Lyman finds swing dance, compared to dancing in a club, to be a much more fulfilling experience.
“As opposed to club dancing, or a lot of the school dancing — where you’re just up and down, waving your arms, jumping around — it’s a lot more fun,” Lyman said, “because you actually dance with your partner, and you lead and follow.”
Many who swing dance have a hard time not having fun, including Blake.
“It really just puts a smile on my face the entire time,” Blake said. “You can’t dance and not have a smile on your face.”
—whitney.howard@aggiemail.usu.edu