Athens Jitterbug Club swing their hearts out.
Whether you’re into the Lindy Hop or the Blues, the Jitterbug Club swings it all.
Jitterbug Club is the swing dance club on Ohio University’s campus that teaches a variety of dance styles. The club is described as a diverse group united by the love of swing dance.
“It’s dancing and it’s dancing in a way that a lot of people don’t dance now; it’s something different and it’s fun to dance like this. You can do all kinds of cool things that a lot of people don’t know and don’t understand,” said Laura Minnich, the president of Jitterbug Club and a senior studying mechanical engineering.
During the group’s practices, a few members take the time to teach newcomers and other members what they know about their favorite types of swing dance. The group meets every Wednesday in Baker University Center Room 240.
Minnich has been a part of Jitterbug Club for a year and is hoping to help the club grow in size.
“I just saw that our numbers were small,” Minnich said. “Now we’re building our group up and I thought that I could help us get a bigger standing at OU, which is something I would really like to see: to see us become something more than just a club to actually be performing a little bit, showing people what we do.”
As of now, the club has 20 consistent members. As the club grows and gets new members, performances may become a thing in the future.
Minnich said that she hopes to organize performances for all to see the talent that the swing dance brings.
“We actually don’t give performances now,” Minnich said. “We have a couple of events. We normally have one big event each semester where we’ll put on a large dance and have people from out of the college come from Columbus, Cincinnati and whoever wants to come can come.”
Alina Raulinaitis, a new member to the club and a graduate student studying master science and environmental studies, said that she fell in love with swing dance at first sight.
Raulinaitis said that during her time at Bowling Green State University, she had been to a few swing dance classes but didn’t become active until she came to OU. She added that she loves it just as much as she thought she would.
“I love it; I’ve been doing it for three years now,” said Katelyn Grenier, the public relations agent for Jitterbug Club and a junior studying fine arts. “I’ve always been attracted to dance and I used to be a cheerleader as well, so I picked up on it super easily. My friend kind of dragged me to the first (practice) and I was like, ‘I love this and I want to keep doing it, and I’ve been doing it ever since freshman year.”
The club is open to anyone and everyone and is making events to make sure that no one feels left out.
The club brings fond memories to students’ days at OU.
“My best memory and the most fun one would be getting to travel to different schools that have swing clubs all over the place, so we get to travel there,” Minnich said. “And the friendships I’ve created as well.”
@annachristine38
ag836912@ohio.edu
