From the East Coast swing to the Lindy Hop, University of Wisconsin-Stout Swing Dance Club members feel the beat of the music.
Each Wednesday during the academic year in the ballrooms of the Memorial Student Center, members meet at 7:30 p.m. to practice and share their love of the dance. On average about 20 to 30 members attend the weekly events, with new members always welcome no matter if they have never danced a step.
“I definitely got bit by the swing dance bug in high school,” said club president Tayler Gerou.
The senior in graphic design and interactive media from Waterford enjoys meeting a variety of people who also enjoy swing dancing. “There are all these different moves, giving you the ability to create something more,” Gerou said.
Recently the club had two nights of learning aerial maneuvers, where one partner’s feet leave the ground, including flips, lifts and slides.
UW-Stout senior Tyler Elwood, an information and communication technologies major from Lublin, said he loves to swing dance. “It’s a good way to destress,” Elwood said. “Doing aerials like this is a lot of fun. I get to test my balance and strength. It looks flashy.”
Terry Gardner and Stephanie Riley of TC Swing in Minneapolis instructed and demonstrated the aerial dance moves, urging the students to use spotters as they were first learning some of the throws.
The knickerbocker, an aerial where the follower is somersaulted over the forearm of the leader, is a fun maneuver, Gardner said. “It’s really flashy and gets up in the air,” Gardner said.
Grace Davis, a senior interior design major from Cameron, said she joined the club as a first-year student when she saw students dancing at the campus Involvement Fair.
“They were beautiful, and I wanted to do it too,” Davis said. “it is just so fun. It connects me with the past and brings me into the future.
“I think exercise is the worst thing a person can do,” Davis added. “I was excited to find an activity that didn’t feel like exercise. I’m just going to dance.”
The club dances to traditional music from the 1920s, as well as electro swing music where old swing jazz is mixed with techno beats, Gerou said.
“It’s very hodge-podge, but I love it,” Gerou said. “Just about any music with a four-beat works.”
Wyatt Hofius, a first-year biochemistry and molecular biology major from Red Wing, Minn., originally joined the club to learn to dance because he thought it would be an impressive talent. “I just fell in love with it,” Hofius said.
Dancing with a partner develops a bond and trust, even if it is only the length of one song, particularly when aerial moves are involved, he said.
“You’re catching them and throwing them,” Hofius said. “There are times when the follow leads and then the leader leads. It’s like you can read each other’s emotions.”
Hofius said he has seen people continue to dance well into their 80’s. “I’ll probably be doing this the rest of my life,” Hofius said.
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Terry Gardner and Stephanie Riley of TC Swing in Minneapolis instructed and demonstrated swing dance moves to students.
Students were encouraged to use spotters when they are first learning aerial maneuvers. Some students enjoy dancing for the exercise and others to destress.
