Wednesday, July 13, 2005

UGA Ballroom Dancing Swing Night

Every Tuesday night the UGA Swing club holds a swing dancing night in the upstairs ballroom of Memorial Hall. As soon as I got to the building I could tell something was going on because I could hear the music.

It's helpful to have some idea of what your doing, but they are open and welcoming to anyone. Many of the guys (and some of the girls) are perfectly willing to teach beginners. Last night there were about 20-30 people there, so it was a fairly large crowd. The event is open to both UGA students and non-UGA students, but most of the people there are in their early to mid 20's. The event is free but they accept donations.

I was really impressed with the talent of some of the people there. I had never tried swing dancing before and quickly realized how much harder it is than it looks. It's not something you can pick up quickly unlike square dancing or contra dancing or the waltz.

There was a wide veriety of music, including tradtional swing music, but also things like Outkast and the B-52's, which was very interesting. One of the things I found the most difficult was that because of the wide veriety of varations on the steps, every time I had one down the song would end and I'd end up learning a differnt dance from a differnt guy (some of whom were good teachers and some who were not). There were actually quite a few beginners there. All in all its a good thing and if you like swing dancing or are up for something new I suggest you check it out.

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