As students busy themselves with classes and work this quarter, the Jitterbug Club gets back into the swing of things.
The Jitterbug Club is Ohio University's only swing dance club. The members meet every Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Baker 240 to learn and practice new moves, and to just have fun, said Brittany Henthorn, a senior who doubles as the club's president and instructor.
The members first learn the steps from student instructors. They then practice the moves on their own, and then get to practice with several different dance partners.
There's something about swing that's youthful and energetic
said Ben Ashman, a junior studying electrical engineering, who has been a member of the club since his freshman year. You can just feel the music and kind of roll with it.
Members learn several different styles of swing: laminu, blues and lindy-blues, which are slower paced; balboa and Charleston, which are faster; and lindy and east-coast, which fall inbetween.
While the lessons include older music from artists such as Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong, newer songs such as Christina Aguilera'sCandyman and Flo Rida'sLow are also incorporated to give the dances more of a hip-hop feel.
I really try to mix it up though. I think it's more fun Henthorn said.
In addition to weekly meetings, students attend events such as the monthly Flying Pig Jitterbug Jamboree, where dancers attend workshops or showcase their skills.
Members of the Jitterbug Club can also join a performance group, which is currently working on a choreographed dance to Michael Jackson'sThriller. The dance combines swing, hip-hop, and jazz, and the group hopes to perform it sometime this quarter.
Dance experience is not a club requirement. Anyone can join, whether or not you have a dance partner, have previously taken dance classes or have any kind of rhythm, said Alicia Gooding, a sophomore studying engineering who has been a member since her freshman year.
Anybody can swing dance
she said.
Anybody
of course, includes guys, Ashman said.
You can meet lots of girls ... and you get to dance with them
she said.
Beyond learning the basics of swing dancing, Jitterbug Club members are enthusiastic about the friendships they have formed through the club.
It's just fun; it's something I can do when I'm overloaded with stuff
said Henthorn. I think it's a great club on campus ....it's social and something you can take with you for a long time.
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Culture
Lynsie Dickerson
