Southern Utah University accommodates a diverse range of clubs and organizations that cater to a variety of student personalities and interests. For T-Birds interested in moving their feet, one opportunity is the Western Swing Club, where students can learn swing, cowboy cha-cha, two-step and line dancing.
For the instructors, swing has become a home. The interaction between students and instructors produces a warm environment where all can come to dance. With participants coming from different backgrounds, the meetings have become a place where many can interact and make new friends.
Since starting as a sophomore, club Vice President Monica Kauffman has learned a lot. Coming from an athletic background, other instructors and she feel that swing gives them the opportunity to be active and social at the same time.
“I’m into sports, so this was a nice way to transition out of sports but still have something active that I could do while feeling like you have that community that is similar to a team,” Kauffman said. “That was really nice for me, and it’s fun trying to learn a new skill.”
The club meets each week as an open place for students to come and learn how to dance, whether they are a beginner or more experienced.
“[I love] seeing people come and say ‘I can’t dance,’ but then they come and learn because we teach them,” shared Makell Pollock, another instructor. “If you guys want to learn, come talk to us. It’s cool to see people progress weekly and build confidence in themselves.”
Due to the inclusive environment, students can interact one on one with instructors to learn new moves. Throughout the event, instructors can be asked to clarify moves or to teach something new.
While instructors are available to help every week, students gather to learn from the instructors every other week from 8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. This can be a line dance, a new move or a refresher on what was taught in a previous week.
“I think the diversity and openness to teaching everyone and seeing everyone that’s willing to come is awesome,” Pollock shared. “We want everyone to see how fun swing is. This is something that’s going to continue on for years.”
Instructors work each week to ensure that students looking to learn are met with guidance. With support from more experienced instructors, students can learn until they become instructors themselves.
Kauffman shared how she helped teach a current instructor how to dance. He would interact each week to learn a new move, and once he had it, he would go and teach others.
“We would do that, and we created a bond over that. Now, he’s an instructor and probably one of the best ones we have,” said Kauffman. “It’s so fun to see that from the perspective of an instructor because I’ve taught him the things that he knows and now he’s teaching me more than I know.”
During swing nights, instructors can be found across the dance floor in their instructor shirts, making it easy to spot them through the crowd.
“We promote ourselves in a way that we want to help other people learn how to do it,” Kauffman said. “We have opportunities like that where these people all of a sudden have this new-found confidence and love it.”
Not only do instructors focus on teaching, but they share a love for the swing community on campus. Students, instructors and friends can often be found supporting other campus events.
“The best way that I have learned to describe swing is that it’s wholesome. I have never felt unsafe or worried about being here. It’s kind of like my safe haven,” stated Becca Hazzlet. “Everyone came, and we sort of built this community where I would see people on campus and be like, ‘Oh, they come to swing every week.’ I love it.”
With the rise in country swing popularity, more and more people want to see what it’s about. College campuses across Utah, including Brigham Young University, Utah State University and Snow College, have integrated swing into their club environments.
“I’ve been to a lot of other swing dancing places in Utah, and they each have their own little style to it. I like ours because it’s very much Cedar City. It’s an SUU thing,” Kauffman shared. “You can’t find that elsewhere. The other places I’ve been to, I don’t like it as much because it’s not the community I love to dance with; it’s not my people. It doesn’t feel like home.”
With an open door policy, everyone is welcome to come to SUU’s Western Swing Club, experience or no experience.
“I have made so many friends here, and they are friends that I will have forever. They are the type of friends that I could call up for anything, and they would be there,” Kauffman shared. “I think that has probably been the best thing about swing, the friends that I have made and I will have them forever.”
As students come and develop skills, the club environment supports them and fosters inclusion while they try to find their place on campus.
“You feel like these people have your back,” Hazzlet stated. “It’s free. It’s wholesome. All the students are welcome. I don’t care what you do or what you study — you can come to swing. Everyone can do it.”
Author: Anna Mower
Photos courtesy of Makell Pollock and Anna Mower
Editor: Kale Nelson
eic@suunews.net
This article was originally published in the Spring 2024 edition of the University Journal.
