Boise State is home to a variety of exciting organizations, and the campus Swing Dancing Club is no exception. Meeting every Monday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Bronco Gym room 215, students throw on their dancing shoes and bond over their love of music and dance.
While it may take a couple of weeks for some clubs to break the ice, the sentiment from club members seemed to be that the laid-back environment and the club’s focus — dance — fast tracks bonding between club members.
This could be due to a concept that was discussed in a 2015 Harvard study regarding movement and positive mental effects.“Dance helps reduce stress, increases levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin, and helps develop new neural connections, especially in regions involved in executive function, long-term memory, and spatial recognition”.
While some students dread Monday and the start of another week, co-presidents Haidyn Jones, a senior majoring in integrated media and strategic communications, and Megan Elder, a senior majoring in criminal justice, start their week off on the right foot.
Elder discussed the various locations in Idaho that are known for swing dance like 127 Saloon in Meridian and Indian Creek Steakhouse in Caldwell.
“Everyone is kind of best friends,” Elder said. “You just know the entire community basically. It’s like a culture, it’s not just here on campus, you’re also going out forty minutes away and you’re seeing the same people.”
Not only is the club a great way to make friends, but other meaningful connections have been made through dance as well.
Don’t worry if the extent of your “country side” is glamping in McCall, Elder shared that this club is a space for everyone.
“We have a little bit of everyone, it’s not a specific group,” Elder said. “When people think about country swing dance they think of a bunch of rednecks, but a lot of the people who come don’t even like country music, they just want to go and meet people.”
If you’ve just started at Boise State, this club is great to know about regardless of whether or not you’re a dancer.
“A lot of the freshmen here don’t have cars so to just be able to walk across campus and hang out for a couple hours, it’s really cool,” Elder said. “It’s something people look forward to.”
The club has not only gotten Boise State students invested, as a wide range of attendees from other schools come out to join in on the fun.
“Some people don’t even go to our school,” Elder said. “There are people who teach dance around here, there are people from NNU, there are people from CWI, people from all different schools around here who come to our club which I think is crazy.”
Mia Nurisio, a senior majoring in communications, shared why she personally enjoys this club as club member and officer.
“It has taught me from an outsider’s perspective, that when you step outside of your comfort zone, amazing things can happen,” Nurisio said. “You can create new friendships and new relationships. You can discover that you love something that you didn’t think you would ever love.”
Nurisio went on to discuss why this club is an important addition to the Boise State community..
“One of the most beautiful things about dance, especially partner dance, is that it brings two people together and it can form such a wonderful chemistry that you didn’t know that you had with somebody else,” Nurisio said. “ It’s an activity that creates such a wonderful connection between two people.”
For students who are looking for a way to spice up their Monday nights, the Boise State Country Swing Dance Club is a great way to make new friends and learn some new moves.
