I sat down with Amelia Reaume, the President of The Swing and Social Dance Club, to learn more about her organization. The club was informal last year, consisting mostly of students from Ursinus heading over to the local Fred Astaire Dance Studio to participate in their dances. This year, the club’s board includes Amelia Reaume ‘27 as President, Tovah Tolub ‘27 as Vice President, Len Posivak ‘27 as Secretary, Keelyn Fitzgerald as Treasurer, Advertising, & Social Media, and Dr. Karen Celemete as faculty advisor. The friends and founders wanted a place where Ursinus students could spend their weekends doing a fun and safe activity that allowed them to be active and meet new people. Reaume made it very clear that the club is an environment that encourages acceptance and community. The club encourages people who have never danced before to come out to learn and have fun. There are multiple events every month, and larger dances planned for the future.
The club plans on meeting bi-weekly for students to learn swinging and social dances, as well as the rich history behind these dances. While Reaume assured me the club will not feel like homework, there are still plenty of wonderful lessons to learn about Swing and its rich queer and black history. On the second Saturday of the month, the club will head to the Fred Astaire Dance Studio to have group lessons. Some of the teachers from the studio will potentially come to campus to give lessons some time in the future. Most meetings will last for about 2 to 3 hours and include the opportunity to dance with different partners or stay with one person. The club is committed to being very gender inclusive and uses gender neutral terminology, like lead and follow instead of more gendered terms. Additionally, Reaume shared a common phrase said in both the club and the studio, “if you can go up stairs you can swing dance,” which really drives home how accessible the dance is to beginners. Even if you don’t want to dance, you are encouraged to just come listen to the music and have a good time. The mission statement of the club stated in the Swing and Social Dance Club Constitution is to: “…create a supportive and inclusive environment that fosters self-expression and self-fulfillment while exploring the history and culture of swing and other dance styles. We will do this by hosting events where we share the experience and style of swing dance. While we will also explore techniques, our primary focus will be on the community and social aspects of swing dance.”
Reaume also remarked on Philly Jazz Attack, a dance group that helped inspire her to start the club. She hopes to one day be able to invite the group to campus to hold an event similar to the Swing Dance event that happened last year, or the Latin Jazz event that happened recently. Reaume and the rest of the board encourages everyone to participate in their events and to reach out to them with any questions. Again, they encourage everyone to participate, even if you have never danced before, or just want to come to enjoy good music and great company. You can get in contact with them on Instagram at @uc_swingandsocialdance or email them at ucswing@ ursinus.edu if interested.