by ALLISON CASEY
Lifestyles Editor

When the Swing Dancing Club became frustrated with a lack of male members, Vice President Mark D. Arendas created a sign that said, “If you want to meet cute chicks, ask me how.” 

The group is teaching beginners how to dance, often spontaneously.

It’s called “Lindy-Bombing” and it’s turning heads. 

“We’ll go to jazz nights at Crossroads or take a boombox to the middle of the library, well, maybe not the library, but a well populated area on campus,” James L. Posedel, club president and sophomore psychology and Spanish majors said.

Photo by Christy Bullins.

Members of the club will set up a boombox somewhere on campus, like Duck Pond Field, break out in dance for a few songs and run away.

The club will host a dance in Crossroads Friday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Admission is $3 and no partner is necessary.

Comfortable shoes are recommended.

The group also meets Wednesdays from 8 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. at the Quinn Recreation Center.

Anyone is encouraged to attend meetings and no experience is necessary.

Posedel became interested in dancing when current club historian and sophomore history and secondary education majors Sonya R. Laws dragged him to a dance.

“I didn’t want to go at all, I thought, swing dancing, dancing, that’s for girls,” Posedel said. “I went to my first lesson and about 10 minutes in, I fell in love. It was instant passion for me.”

The group teaches five main styles of swing dancing including blues, lindy, Charleston, East Coast and balboa.

“It’s basically because they’re from the Big Band jazz era of the 20s and 30s, and early 40s,” Laws said.

Each style of dancing has its own basic step and speed.

East Coast swing dancing starts with a basic rock step and side-to-side motion.

From there, dancers add their own styles, Karen E. Bullock, dance teacher and sophomore English major said.

“That’s the real basic dance,” Posedel said. “You start from there with a partner and add spins and whatever other funky moves, its improv from there.”

Photo by Christy Bullins.

Each dance offers a variety of styles and moves that provide group members enjoyment and experience.

“What makes East Coast fun is there are a lot of moves, there is the basic step, but there are a ton of other flips that you add in,” Laws said. “That’s where you see most of the aerials.”

Swing dancing is performed through a combination of rigid footwork and improvisational moves.

“It’s like jazz, it came about at the same time as jazz,” Laws said. “Jazz has specifics that you have to stick to, but once you’re good at, you don’t have to stick to it at all and people think you’re great.”

However, even though jazz is most commonly associated with big band era jazz, the dance is broken down by beat and therefore can be done to any type of music.

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