4 Reasons Why Swing Dancing is the Best

A while back, I wrote a post about why I think dancing is a blast (and why I used to dislike it).

Swing dancing in particular is awesome.  It’s literally the funnest.  Especially in college.  It’s become one of my favorite things to do.  If actually you saw me dance my skills might suggest otherwise.  But I still have fun.

At UGA, Tuesday nights at the Intramural Fields parking deck is the place to be (and swing). Shoutout to Phi Slam.

Are you skeptical about swing dancing?  Let me try to show you why you might actually enjoy it.

You’ll Make Some New Friends

Seriously tho.  The “I won’t know anybody” line won’t work here.  Swing dancing gives you a legitimate reason to talk to randos.  One time, I vividly remember one of my friends putting one hand over his eyes and holding his other arm straight out and moving it around.  He yelled, “Caleb!  Tell me when to stop!”  So I was like, “alright, stop.”  He stopped moving his arm and then he took his hand off his eyes.  He then walked up to the girl who his hand was pointing at and asked her to dance.

Sound risky/awkward/uncomfortable?  Sure it does.  But no one ever told him no so……

Whether you’re single, dating, or married, swing dancing works for all three types of people, and you’ll meet new people in the process.

You’ll Learn a New Skill

Swing dancing is actually semi-challenging.  Especially when you start getting into it.  There’s crazy-sounding and crazy-hard moves like the “Heartbreaker”, “Table Top”, and the famous “Flip”.  It’s not too hard to learn the basics and get going on the right foot (literally), but after that things get tough.   Only pros need apply for the “Flip”.  I tried it once and nearly dropped my dance partner.  When I finally got it right, my wrist was sore for several weeks.  I have video evidence to prove it.  So yeah.  It’s tough.  But it’s always fun to learn new skills and accomplish hard things.

You’ll Hear Some Classic Tunes

A simple reason, but an important one!  Hey, who doesn’t love love a little Chuck Berry or Jackson 5?  Swing dancing tunes are legit.  You can’t swing without them.

You Can Do it Until You’re Old and Decrepit

There’s only a few active skills that you can start when you’re young and take with you forever.  Kinda like golf or tennis.  After college, my flag football career will sadly come to an end.  But swing dancing can go on long after.  As long as you can stand and move around some, you’re pretty much good to go.

So yeah.  Give it a try.  My freshman year, I went to a swing dancing social at the Gamma Phi house.  I had no idea what I was doing.  But…. I made new friends, learned a new skill, enjoyed some classic tunes, and now I’ll probs be doing it forever.

You can too!