Swing Club

What is the Swing Club?

The Swing Club was founded to support a growing interest in swing dancing on the Rensselaer Campus back in the Fall of 2006. The group’s first President, Diana Shiroma, along with the first Vice President, Brooks Prumo, wanted to spread their love of the dance and provide a place where others could learn the lost art. Through the past couple of years, the club has grown to around 25 members and has begun holding regular workshops and dances for the campus and community. The club offers lessons in Lindy Hop and other various dances from the 1920s to the 1940s, including the Charleston and Balboa. Lessons and a practice session are held once a week for members to expand their knowledge of the dance.

What Will I Learn?

In the beginner class, you will learn the basics of Lindy! This lesson series will teach Charleston basic, basic in open & sendout to open, underarm turn & tuck turn, swingout, lindy circle.

After you have the basics down, join us for the intermediate class! We will build on what was taught in the Beginner class. We highly encourage you to take this class more than once as our instructor teaches different material each time.

When Do We Dance?

The Swing Club holds its lessons in the Student Activities Room located on the first floor* Wednesday nights at the following times:

• Beginniner Lindy Hop: 8:00-9:00pm
• Intermediate Lindy: 9:00-10:00pm

In addition to lessons, the Swing Club holds practices every Monday night at 8:00pm. Feel free to come practice what you’ve learned, hang out, ask questions, and have some fun!

*The first floor is not to be confused with the ground floor, which is the second floor of the building.

Do I Need a Partner?

You don’t need to bring a partner for any of these classes. We rotate partners so the men dance with all the ladies and the ladies dance with all the men. If there is an unbalanced gender situation, then whichever group has more simply takes turns during the rotation. People are also welcome to learn the opposite part (for example, ladies can learn to lead or men can learn to follow).

What Should I Wear?

• (1) Wear clothes that are comfortable and are not restrictive to your movement (for example, long tight skirts are not recommended).
• (2) Wear shoes with flat soles (high heels are not recommended) that grip your ankle, so they don’t fly off when you kick.
• (3) You also want light shoes without a lot of traction (hiking boots are bad), so you can spin with less strain on your knees.
• (4) For beginners, comfortable dress shoes (like loafters or wing tips) or light gym shoes are fine to start.
• (5) It's a class, not a social event, so you aren’t obligated to dress up. Wear something that won’t make you feel self-conscious. We also recommend that you be aware of hygiene (deodorant and toothpaste are your friends). If you tend to sweat a lot, consider bringing an extra shirt or towel and a bottle of water.

Stay Updated With Our Blog

The Swing Club maintains a blog updated with the latest news and club events. Check it out!