According to senior Caroline Garland, swing dancing at the Ukrainian American Community Center is a fun activity where you can connect with new people.

“The best part is that it’s a really social event and the people that you dance with really just want to have fun and help you get better at dancing,” Garland said.

According to Garland, she tries to attend swing dancing the weeks she is not busy.

“I try to go every week but I can’t always go because of school activities and studying,” Garland said.

Senior Katie Christiansen said she appreciates the many different types and ages of people who come together to swing dance.

“There are a lot of people from different age groups. There are people anywhere from other high schoolers to college students as far as seniors and people who are middle-aged,” Christiansen said. “People that wouldn’t interact usually.”

Garland said she appreciates the variety in music they swing dance to.

“When you arrive you pay to get in and then there is a stage with either a DJ or live band. They play songs ranging from Disney favorites to the classic blues and swing stuff,” Garland said.

According to Garland, the majority of her learning was from the other participants.

“I would say I learned the most from just dancing with people who were better than me and could show me how to do new things and how to dance better,” Garland said.

Christiansen said most people are friendly and open to dance, even if you don’t know them.

“It was hard initially going in and not really knowing what you’re doing, but people there are really welcoming and it’s a really welcoming environment,” Christiansen said.

Christiansen said she recommends everyone to try swing dancing at least once.

“Go once. Everyone that I’ve convinced to go have just loved it. You don’t have to go every time. Just give it a try, if you don’t like it you don’t have to go again,” Christiansen said. “You get to meet people even if you don’t like the dancing, so that’s fun.”