Maybe it’s the feeling of being thrown in the air, the excitement of a crowd, or simply the jazz music blaring in the background, but for FHS students swing is back in a big way. “My favorite move is the double handstand,” said senior April Walker. “It is so thrilling to be flipped in the air because you don’t know if you are going to be caught or dropped on the ground.” Swing has made an impact on the dance floors all around the United States and at FHS. “It is better than standing around at dances,” said junior Andrea Swanberg. “It’s really exciting when everyone is doing different moves but they’re all part of the same dance.” From the FHS courtyard to students houses, swing parties are overtaking traditional student pasttimes. “Swing is something fun, it’s where everyone can get together anywhere,” said junior Treavor Gilbert. “All you need is music and room to dance.” At times the parties can accumulate more than 100 people, giving a place for students to gather and socialize. These parties are a melting pot of groups. “There are a lot of people from different cliques that are coming together,” said junior Jerry Clark. “I think it is due to the fact that swing is a median between different groups.” Students have made an effort to make a permanent place for the swingers to go by cleaning out junior Megan Buffington’s old barn and giving it some class. “We are cleaning the barn out and my parents are going to put in a heater and a stereo, said Buffington. “It will give us a place to go during the winter.” Many students have been swing dancing for a year or more and practice on a regular basis. A group of FHS students were influenced by students from Ricks College, who came and taught them how to swing. “We formed a group where we could learn swing and teach it to others,” said senior Jason Moss. “We also invited different people to teach us so we could learn all types of dances.” Music has helped create an atmosphere of fun and liveliness and has kept the dancers moving. It is the biggest aspect of swinging besides the dancing itself— with traditional and more modern music. “I like both types of music,” said junior Cace Hardy. “It is a lot more fun to dance to real jazz because they knew what they were talking about.” Some people prefer the more traditional, old school swing, but some also enjoy the new wave of retro swing. “I like the newer stuff,” said junior Heather Guest. “It’s more up beat and it’s not the stuff my grandparents danced to.” Swing has graced a new generation of listeners and dancers and has made a huge comeback. For those who have been dancing since 1920 or 1998, swing is a place for all types of people to come together and find their own little niche. “Swinging is so much fun,” said senior Jennifer Stebbins. “You can just forget about everything. |
