Dancing club hosts ‘Sting Swing’ in place of formal
Waynesburg University’s resident swing dancing club, Sting Swing, held a special dance on Friday, April 11 at 9:30 p.m. in the old gym.
“When we heard that the formal might be canceled, the other officers and I got together and decided that since we already had the gym reserved for that night, we could have our own dance,” said student Angel Berkey and Sting Swing secretary. “We scheduled it for 9:30 so that people could go to the Spring Fling the school was having then have time to get changed before heading down to the gym.
Since we have dances like this at least once a week, nothing changed except this time everyone was dressed up.”
Sting Swing holds their monthly dances usually on the second Friday of every month in the old gym.
At these meetings, members learn and practice west coast swing dancing techniques.
“Our president, Robert Cronkhite, made up a playlist of appropriate songs to west coast swing to, along with some classics like the electric slide,” said Cassie Gates, sophomore biochemistry major and Sting Swing vice president. “I brought a French vanilla and strawberry cake that I prepared and a few new faces showed to make it a wonderfully fun evening together.”
The evening began with a few warm-up songs to get people ready to dance.
Gates taught those new people the basics, while Cronkhite offered practice time with the other dancers to offer help and advice.
The party really picked up where the guests joined together in the cha-cha slide.
Attendees continued into social dancing where everyone is encouraged to dance with a new dance partner each song.
Towards the middle of the night, they gathered in a group where Dalton Troutman beat boxed while Gates sang.
The group then joined Gates and Troutman by singing or adding more to the beat.
After that, a spotlight dance took place where two dancers started dancing and an outside dancer comes in and “steals” one of the spotlight dancers and then they dance together.
This continued throughout a “Let Her Go/Let It Go” mix-up song.
The night ended with a few final songs and everyone turned in for the evening.
“I really enjoy the Friday night social dances, they’re a lot of fun and it is a nice way to relax at the end of a long week,” said Taylor Garrett, freshman secondary mathematics major. “The music was great, I got to hang out with good friends, and I always meet someone new when I go to the social dances. Even though I am not the greatest dancer, there is no pressure when I participate in swing dancing because everyone is learning the steps and patterns together in a fun environment.”
Newcomers had equally pleasant experiences.
“I tried out swing dancing for the first time on Friday,” said Northe Cambell-Escalante, senior public relations major. “I had a wonderful time. They welcomed me with open arms and allowed me to conquer my fear of dancing.”
If anyone is interested in learning to swing dance, Sting Swing practices every Wednesday evening from 8:30 to 11 p.m. in the old gym.