Students celebrate game with new club

The lights flash, the music blares and the arrows scroll up the screen landing on corresponding arrows that show the dancer where to move his feet on the stage. As the student works to keep his footwork in sync with the arrows on the screen, he breaks a sweat. \nIndiana Memorial Union arcade-goers crowd around him to watch his fancy footwork while he focuses on the scrolling arrows before him.\nSome students might already have encountered junior Chad Wagner, president of the new IU Dance Dance Revolution Club, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he heads to class. The recently established DDR Club hopes to make a name for itself as the game increases in popularity. Wagner was chosen as president for his obvious love of the game. \n"We needed a president," Wagner said. "I'm probably the most addicted to the game, so they put me in charge."\nPeople of all abilities showed interest at the call-out meeting last month, and the club has had a few meetings since then. \n"The response was much stronger than we thought," Wagner said. "We are hoping to meet two to three times a week for an hour to give people all kinds of times to come," Wagner said.\nThe DDR Club is waiting for the IU Student Foundation to finalize its paperwork before the club can start purchasing additional DDR machines, Wagner said. A regular location has not been established for the club yet, so meetings are now held in the IMU arcade.\nWagner was playing DDR last year when junior Adrienne Manuel approached him about starting a club. "I was playing, and (Adrienne) was like, 'Why don't you start a club or something?'" Wagner said. "And she helped me start it."\nManuel said she was not surprised by Wagner's willingness to start the club. \n"I was expecting him to say yes," Manuel said. "I was like, 'You're good, I'm obsessed, let's do this.'"\nManuel, Wagner's second-in-command, anticipates finding a room and enough equipment will be the club's only problems. Both Manuel and Wagner plan to have future fund-raisers, as well as DDR competitions.\nDDR originated in Japan in 1998. Konami, the company that produces the video game, produces more than 100 types of games, including computer, arcade and fitness, according to its Web site. Konami makes seven types of DDRs for XBox, PlayStation and other applications.\nThe DDR Club is in the process of setting up contact information for the club, but for more information, contact Chad Wagner at chawagne@indiana.edu. \n-- Contact staff writer Kate Romer at kromer@indiana.edu.