Going for a swing

Students Joe McGrath and Gayle Nanninga try out some cool moves. (Bruce Bottomley Photo)

Guys took out their sharpest fedoras while girls slipped into their nicest dresses for a huge gathering of hep cats. It was called Swing with the Fishes, a night out on the town organized by the Dalhousie Swing Dance Society on Saturday, Nov. 27.

As people trickled into the Kenneth C. Rowe Memorial Hall at Pier 21, experienced dancers were already warming up the floor. But the night really kicked off when the society presented a large-scale beginner lesson in East Coast swing. Many had never tried swing before.

To begin the lesson, the huge crowd of eager dancers, young and old, were divided into groups: leads and follows. They started by just rocking back and forth to the beat to warm up, before pairing up to learn some moves. Within the first five minutes, many were enthusiastically smiling and clapping.

“People are friendly and tolerant of you stepping on their feet,” joked transfer student Bella Lamb, after the lesson.

The dancing continued well after the lesson was over — to the groovy, live music of the Shirley Jackson Band. Shirley Jackson, in her bass-low, cool cat voice, shouted out to the swing society for throwing the event. “They got the moves, I gotta say,” she said, right before the band broke out into the explosive first song.

The society got really into their theme, with strings of fish origami draped around the dance floor and fishbowls with real goldfish decorating the surrounding tables.

DSDS President, Michael Forrester, was happy with the event. “It’s gone great. We’re happy to see a lot of new faces, a lot of community members, who hopefully will now go tell their friends about us.”

Ben Diepeveen, a second-year political science student, is one of those people who’ll be spreading the word about the Dalhousie Swing Dance Society.  “I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn something that I hadn’t done before.”

Mr. Forrester says DSDS hopes to make Swing With the Fishes an annual event. “We’re looking to expand our community presence. We really want to involve the broader HRM community in our activities,” he said.

Swing With the Fishes, along with the actual swing society, is open to all community members and not just students. The society meets every Saturday in the Baptist Church on Oxford Street to learn new moves and practice old ones. Lessons will start up again in the winter term on January 9.

Cameron Roberts, 22, has been taking swing lessons with the DSDS for two semesters now. “It’s a very energetic, social way to have a good time,” he saidd.

“What do I like most about swing dancing?” said Mr. Forrester. “It’s very relaxed. It encourages creativity. It encourages you to bring out your personality.”