About

What can you learn?

Well, the dances that are taught right now are as follows:

All Format Dance, Blues, Argentinian Tango, Ballroom Tango, East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing, Waltz, Rumba, Charleston, The Collegiate Shag, Basic Heel Shag, Night Club 2, Two Tone Jive, Lindy Basics, Slowdance, Merengue, Salsa, Bachata Basics, Polka, and some other various dances.

Environment

It is a humble atmosphere and is ready to accept beginners at any time. We teach with an open arms policy, which means that if you come to learn and someone knows it, then someone will teach it to you if you ask.

Initial lessons will happen every couple of other dance times, and may range in difficulty, but if you ask for us to slow down, we will do so. There are no worries about any of the teaching, if you don’t get something down, we will sit down with you until you get it right.

Not only that, but we work hard to break up cliquish ballroom snobbery and try to keep the dancing as fresh as possible. If for some reason a guy or girl doesn’t get asked to dance all night long, then take it up with the president, they will take care of it personally. The main point is for everyone to socialize and have fun!

How did this club come to be?

Well, we started out as a sunday time for the MTU Swing Club. We only had four to ten people come within the first three weeks, so the club gave the time the boot in a all to 1 vote. So, Chuck Hill decided to take another route and keep the time going since 60 some people had requested it in the summer of 2006.

It was a good decision since we knew MTU’s campus was lacking in dance diversity in 2006; all we had was Latin and Swing, there was no Ballroom or other ethnic dances that were focused into student organizations. So, after rounding up our stalwart friends, we set up the time on a Sunday at the MUB from 6 to 9pm. It went pretty slow for the first four weeks, but then it began to really pick up speed. After we started to teach Slow Dance, Agentinian Tango, and Swing Dance, people began to come.

Then, what really set the ball rolling, was the incorporation of Nosotros, Aerials, and some Ballroom along with other dances. People began to flock and ask questions via email and phone almost every other day. Then, on the first weekend after winter break, Chuck Hill managed to pull off a dance up at the Calumet Theater. We had an attendance of about 42 people and we managed to create enough funds to get the ball rolling for some workshops.

Founding Members

The founding members of the club consisted of Chuck Hill, Jenna Dahlstrom, Michael White, Braden Giacobazzi, Lauren Wiza, and Duane Campbell. Chuck Hill founded the club in December of 2006 under the help of the DDR Club and guidance of Marg Rohrer.

DANCE ETTIQUITTE and RULES!

There are only a few things that are expected of everyone that comes to the club.

1) Try and dance with as many people as you can each night.

2) If you are able, dance as much as you can and try not to say no even if the person you are dancing with is inexperienced.

3) Always be polite and respectful of the teachers, we are only simple folk.

4) Just try and have fun.

5) Aerials are to only be done in confidence, but if someone gets hurt, it is only to blame on inexperience and carelessness. Don’t do them if you don’t know them properly, they take time and practice to get down, so please ask about them and learn them first instead of just trying them.

6) If we rent a place for a dance be respectful of all of the furniture and fixtures, we will get fined if they are destroyed. And remember, you only get treated as good as you treat others, so treat them well!