At Swing Bums, Trinity’s swing dance student organization, beginners and pros alike can dance, socialize and build confidence.
Swing Bums hosts a myriad of social events for students on campus. One of the biggest ones is the Yule Ball, held at the end of the fall semester. However, Swing Bums has open rehearsals every Friday that are specifically aimed at beginners. The organization also holds smaller socials year-round. Katherine Willcockson, senior sociology and urban studies double-major and president of Swing Bums, said that the smaller socials are her favorite events that the club hosts.
“It’s just about getting people together, playing music and dancing. I think that those smaller socials are a lot of fun because it’s just like, ‘Everybody come, let’s dance,’” Willcockson said. “And a lot of times we have people come who have never danced before, which is also a lot of fun because it’s a really great time to talk to people.”
Regardless of experience, students can meet to learn a new style of dance and participate in physical activity. Cate Shaffer, earth and environmental science major and social chair of Swing Bums, said when she feels down, she likes to practice dance by herself to make herself feel better.
“Swing Bums is a way for me to hang out with friends and meet some really awesome people,” Shaffer said. “It has helped me grow more comfortable with my body and confidence in myself.”
According to Willcockson, the main goal of Swing Bums is to get people involved in the wider swing dance community by teaching them to dance and introducing them to other dancers in San Antonio. Every other week, part of the club joins the San Antonio Swing Dance Society.
“I feel like swing dancing is the gateway drug to dancing in San Antonio,” Shaffer said.
Shaffer and Gemma Prince, junior psychology major and secretary of Swing Bums, practice what they have coined ‘chaos dances.’ According to them, the improvised dances are a fond memory they share.
“Because we’ve both learned a wide variety of dances, we like to throw moves and techniques from other styles into our swing dancing. On a technical level, it’s all wrong, but at its heart, swing is about having fun and enjoying movement through connection with another person, and that’s what chaos dancing is to me,” Shaffer said. “We also enjoy doing three-person dances with a fellow Swing Bum. That is pure chaos.”
Not only is Swing Bums beginner-friendly, but the club focuses on cultivating a casual culture. Prince said that once dancers get out of a closed mindset, dance can allow them to stop overthinking and become close to another person.
“The intimacy is strange at first, but it’s just another form of communication,” Prince said.
Willcockson and Shaffer shared similar sentiments about dancing as a form of intimacy. They have become close friends through Swing Bums. However, all of the officers agree that the bond that dancing brings does not have to be romantic in any way.
“I’ve literally never been hit on while swing dancing. People swing dance with their parents. People swing dance with their siblings. It’s a very casual, normal feeling once you start to do it,” Willcockson said. “It almost just feels like talking to somebody.”
Willcockson and Shaffer also agreed that dance is one way to broaden one’s horizons and get more comfortable with other people. Although they dance with partners, there are no expectations involved.
“At our cores, humans crave physical contact and connection with others. I feel like we’ve forgotten that amidst all the purity culture and idea that touching is a non-platonic thing,” Shaffer said. “When I was first starting, I reminded myself that I was learning to dance because I wanted to learn a new, fun skill, and that helped me get over the intimidation.”
