By day, the quad bustles with busy students rushing to their next class. For one Monday night, however, it was transformed into a country swing dance floor where students spun, swung and dipped underneath the stars.
The Country Swing Dance Club, a popular social group for students interested in country dancing, hosted an “Under The Stars” dance night on Monday, Sept. 22. The club hosts weekly meetings to teach students how to swing and line dance, and attendees have a chance to show off their new skills at dance nights.
“[Swing dancing] is the best thing that you can do in college,” said Juliet McKee, president of the Country Swing Dance Club. “It’s so social — a great little workout, too. I have friends that have met people and gotten married through dancing, and that is so cool. It’s just such a great community.”
McKee, who joined the club as a freshman, quickly grew to love country dancing as a wholesome, fun activity to meet people and learn something new.
“Dancing is such an amazing outlet,” McKee said. “This is a social thing you can do late at night, and you don’t have to drink or pay for anything. It’s awesome.”
Despite having no prior experience in country dancing, McKee said the professional dance teachers and supportive members of the club allowed her to learn quickly.
“I did not dance [before joining the club],” McKee said. “Then I came here and realized, ‘Okay, I know a cupid shuffle, I can spin,’ and now I’m four years in and feel confident. I’ve got plenty of room to improve, but I can have fun with it.”
The club, in addition to its weekly meetings, also hosts a formal dance every semester in collaboration with other schools. Their winter formal will be hosted by Northwest Nazarene University’s swing dance club on its campus.
McKee explained while many members of the club treat it as a casual social activity, some dancers take it on as a serious hobby, dedicating significant time to developing their skills
“You can make it this whole competitive thing where you’re always trying to get better,” McKee said. “There’s so much room for improvement and people you can learn from, and there are incredible instructors nearby that you can get private lessons from. Or, it can just be a fun thing; you go hang out every Monday night for a couple hours and get the free lesson and meet people — it’s super chill.”
Members of the club expressed their appreciation for such a positive and supportive community on campus.
“Country Swing Dance Club is such a great club,” expressed Torvon Onlund, an officer of the club. “They invite everyone from any discipline [and] at any experience level to come dance, have a great night, to meet new people and just have some fun.”
One aspect of the club that members enjoy the most is the wide variety of people who come out to dance, allowing students to make connections with others they might not otherwise connect with.
“You meet people from all sorts of backgrounds,” Onlund said. “You meet old people, young people — especially in country swing. You meet introverts like me, you meet extroverts, you really get exposed to a different crowd that you’re not used to. It’s very exciting.”
Freshmen Jaycee Weadick and Matt Prigmore shared the Country Swing Dance Club inspired their love of country dancing, and they appreciate the opportunity to learn something new while connecting with others.
“We really like it,” Weadick said. “The instructors are really good at teaching, so it’s really nice. I got a little feedback when they’re teaching us at the beginning. That really helped.”
The “Under the Stars” night was a great opportunity for people unfamiliar with the club to discover it for the first time, according to Weadick.
“We’re attracting more people, people just walking up [to the event],” Weadick said. “I think that’s really cool, because it’s kind of hard to find above the SUB. But out in the middle of the quad, we’re attracting people.”
Prigmore also expressed appreciation for the new connections he has made through the club and the unique opportunity of dancing under the stars in the quad.
The club meets every Monday night from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., and students interested in getting involved can find details about the location and theme of meetings on the club’s Instagram page, @csdcboisestate.
“Come check it out,” Prigmore said. “You’ll be surprised at how much fun you’ll have.”
