Dancing shoes

Every Monday night from 8 to 11 p.m., Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union is transformed by an endless number of feet moving in rhythm as the IU Swing Dance Club holds its weekly meetings.\nThe club may be relatively new on campus, but swing dancing has existed in the United States for more than 80 years. The Lindy Hop is one of the popular swing dances that the club teaches. The Lindy Hop, which actually has roots in African tribal music, European social dancing and jazz, was founded at the Savoy Ballroom in New York City during the 1920s. Other popular dances include the East Coast Swing and the Push.\n"Every big city in the United States has a swing scene," said Natalie Anderson, one of the instructors of IU Swing. \nAnderson and fellow instructor Paul Rodibaugh have been dancing for about four years. The club's organizers also include President Andy Kurtz and Secretary Sarah Reiter. \nMeetings often begin with the performance of a short warm-up exercise and an analysis of the previous week's lessons. Once the music starts, Rodibaugh and Anderson teach new movements and dances in the middle of the room while members routinely rotate partners and learn the dances. Both veterans and newcomers are able to work together and have fun.\nKurtz, a graduate student, said there are around 80 to 100 members of the group, with roughly 40 of them not affiliated with IU. Ten lessons cost $40 per semester and $45 for non-students. If a student took lessons during the previous semester, the due is only $20. While there is a minimum age requirement of 18, the majority of the members are freshmen, including Alex Kucharski, whose sister Veronika co-founded the club in 1998. \n"(We) wanted to learn how to dance and swing dance sounded like fun," said junior Clara Gonzalez, who came with her boyfriend, junior Russ Addis.\nNot all of the club time is based on instructional dance. Free dance, which follows instructional dance, allows people to dance to classical jazz musicians like Ella Fitzgerald. \nSeveral public dances are performed throughout the year. The Big Red Swing Weekend, held Nov. 14-15, brings professional instructors from around the world to teach the students new skills. This year the instructors will come from Germany. The annual Hoosier Hills Food Bank Dance Dec. 5 raises money for the charity. Last year, $317 was raised. \nGraduate student Liz Greene commutes from Cincinnati to attend the lessons. \n"People are here just for fun," Greene said. "(The) club is nice because of the good mass of people and because they are from different levels."\nEven for a experienced dancer like Rodibaugh the passion for dancing does not change. \n"I enjoy swing dancing because I love the music," Rodibaugh said. "It just makes you want to move. I like the dance because it's a great way to relax, have fun, be creative, and express yourself. I enjoy the improvisational component of swing dancing. It is amazing sometimes when you and your partner achieve this form of communication that you never knew was possible; this interaction that just happens when you both let go and listen to the music and to leading and following." \nRodibaugh said dancing can also be a very social event.\n"It is a ton of fun to be able to dance with other people that you don't even know, but can understand in a dancing, musical sense," he said. \nFor more information about the club, contact Kurtz at iuswing@indiana.edu or stop by from 8 to 11 p.m. Monday nights.\n-- Contact staff writer Andrew Smith at asmithii@indiana.edu.