If Glee and Footloose had a lovechild, TCSwing Club would be it. The regulars at the club are energetic, friendly and incredibly welcoming. There are no fees to join the club and you don’t even have to know how to swing dance to get involved. All you need is a positive attitude, and a willingness to learn.
My first encounter with the TCSwing Club was at the National Cherry Festival. I watched the youthful dancers twirl, spin, dip and swing throughout their entire march in the parade, all with a smile on their faces the entire time. I had assumed the group was out of a local dance school but was surprised to find that they’re just a casual club that meets once a week at Clinch Park. My second encounter was meeting a young man named Cole while on the bus. Cole told me that he swing dances every week at Clinch Park and it felt like a sign; I need to go to a TCSwing Club dance.
I attended last week’s dance to meet some of the club’s regulars, and learn a few swing dancing moves. President Kellen Blackburn and Vice President Hannah Haapala told me all about how the swing club grew into the local fixture it is now.
TCSwing Club began four years ago when Connor Cothran moved to Traverse City to attend Northwestern Michigan College. Connor had fallen in love with swing dancing before moving to Traverse City and had noticed that the city didn’t have any swing dance offerings. He decided to host a casual, once a night meeting where he would teach people swing dance basics and give people a space to dance for a couple hours.
“It just slowly started taking off,” Hannah said. “People started inviting their friends and it just grew.”
I can’t help but notice that the group is full of teens. Swing dancing, a true relic of 1920s and 30s Big Band culture, isn’t something that I remember being interested in as a teen. I, and many of my milleniel peers, awkwardly and inappropriately danced too closely and too provocatively to Rihanna and Drake at high school functions. The TCSwing dancers want to approach dancing differently than more recent generations.
“We have our Your Prom, is what we call it, where we allow kids here to have their own prom without having to worry about prom king, prom queen stuff. There’s no pressure, there’s no inappropriate dancing. It’s just about fun and swing dancing,” Kellen said.
Beyond the dancing, the regulars find solace in the clean-cut nature of the club. Many of the regular dancers are Christian and aren’t interested in spending extracurricular time partying. TCSwing Club is a safe haven for all to be in a wholesome and welcoming environment.
“It’s kind of a safe haven for people to come if they want to be out and socialize but don’t want to drink or anything like that,” Kellen said.
The dancing itself is comparable to taking a Zumba class, not in style but in energy. Head dance instructor Tarren Thomas showed me a few basic moves so I could get out on the dancefloor with everyone else. Tarren has a strong dance background but knew nothing about swing when he came to a class two years ago.
“I showed up and said ‘this is amazing.’ Basically I just jumped in, learned the basics and then it was just trial by fire. Two years later, here I am teaching people!” Tarren said.
Once I had enough confidence in my swing dance basics, Kellen insisted on something called a snowball.
A snowball is when a few dancers start off partnered up for a song, and when someone calls ‘snowball!’ everyone is to switch partners and pull someone in from the sidelines who isn’t dancing yet. It’s a great and fun way to get everybody on the dancefloor, especially those who feel shy.
After dancing a full song through a snowball I was smiling, sweating and embarrassingly winded. My heart rate was definitely up and I could only imagine how one would sleep after a full hour of swing dancing.
According to Tarren the night I was there was considered a quieter night. There seemed to be around 20 people, which I thought looked like a good turnout. Local events like National Cherry Festival have drawn more than 100 people to a weekly dance. Even the Ironman Race caused a spike of swing dancers.
There’s nothing to not love about the TCSwing Club. It’s fun, inclusive, free and upbeat. It’s also year-round. As the colder months approach the club will still be held at it’s regular Saturday from 7:30 to 10 p.m., but will be held inside of the NMC gymnasium. Don’t hold back, it really is for everyone.
“People just come out here and have a good time,” Tarren said. “I’ve had a lot of the older generation stop me at events and tell me how much it means to them that we do this. To see the positive impact it has on the community at large. People come out here and have a good time and we love it.”
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