It was all the rage when your grandparents were in their zoot
suits and saddle shoes. After countless dance crazes have come and
gone, the enjoyment of the Lindy Hop still hasn’t faded.

A typical night of dancing might involve braving the crowds at
the Laclede Street Bar and Grille, shouting shameless taunts such
as, “my milkshake is better than yours.” Or perhaps it’s holding on
tight to your partner as you raise your glass in a sea of beer,
sloshing in unison to “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” SLUHOPS–short for
Saint Louis University Lindy Hops Society–was conceived with the
intention of offering something a little bit different.

Since its inception in spring 2003, SLU’s swing-dancing club has
hosted dances nearly every month, which have been attended by as
many as 100 people. These events are open to anyone, regardless of
past experience.

“The great thing about swing-dancing is anyone can do it,”
junior Jessica Schutz said. “It’s a lot easier than people
think.”

The event begins with a lesson from Heidi Fite and Charlie
Fuller, who previously owned STL Fusion Dance Studio. The lesson
lasts for about an hour, depending on the skill level of the
participants. After that, everyone is free to try what they
learned.

“We like to say that there are no mistakes, no wrong moves,”
Schutz said. “If you mess up, you’re just making up a new move. We
just sort of go and see what happens.”

SLUHOPS events are attended not just by SLU students, but by
swing-dancers of all ages, coming from all over the St. Louis
area.

“There’s a man in his 70s who comes to all of the dances,” said
Steven Agostino, S.J., the club’s moderator. “He’s very good. The
girls just love dancing with him.”

Although swing-dancing events can be found pretty much anywhere
in St. Louis, aside from the lessons at the Simon Recreation
Center, swing-dancing didn’t have a presence at SLU until SLUHOPS
came along.

“I knew that Washington University had a club,” said Vianello,
who had attended some of their events, “and I decided that SLU
should have one too.”

The Swing Scene

The Lindy Hop Web site (www.gatewaylindyhop.com)
provides a forum for anyone who is interested in St. Louis’ active
swing scene to connect with organizations in the area and access a
calendar of events.

“[SLUHOPS] provides people with the opportunity to get to know
more about the community because they meet people from other parts
of the city at dances, and they have the opportunity to go dancing
at other venues in the city,” Secretary Katie Stoelb said.

As the Web site’s message board demonstrates, it’s not hard to
find a place to go swing-dancing: “There’s a dance almost every
weekend somewhere in St. Louis,” Schutz said.

The Casa Loma Ballroom, for example, has a live band every
weekend, and on the first Saturday of every month, the Lindy Hop
Swing Society holds a dance in the basement of the First Divine
Science Church on Grand Boulevard and Wyoming Street.

The St. Louis Lindy Blues Exchange, which takes place the first
weekend of October, brings hundreds of people to St. Louis from all
over the nation.

“Basically, there are ridiculous amounts of dancing all weekend
long,” Vianello said. For 76 hours, dances are held throughout the
city, including the Missouri History Museum and the Mississippi
River–on a riverboat cruise, that is.

Swing dancers also hold more informal events, in the form of a
phenomenon known as “swing bombs.” A group will crash a public
place that has a decent surface to dance on–parking lots, museums,
the mall–almost anywhere.

“The purpose is to dance in a unique location where you can
raise public interest and hopefully dance to some live music,”
Vianello said.

Styles

East Coast is the most well-known and recognizable type of
swing-dancing. It consists of four basic steps with six beats. Then
there’s Lindy Hop, the style of swing-dancing from which the group
takes their name. It’s the original style of swing-dancing that
originated in Harlem in the 1920s, and is very similar to the
typical East Coast style.

The more experienced participants often break out into the
esoteric forms of swing-dancing, like Blues.

“A lot of people don’t recognize it as swing,” Schutz said. She
went on to say that it’s slow, seductive and subtly choreographed.
“You have to communicate with your partner,” she explained.

Balboa is a style that was developed on the West Coast, easily
recognizable because the footwork is very small and quick, and the
couple must hold each other very close.

“It’s a way of dancing to extremely fast music without falling
over,” Vianello said.

Imperial swing is St. Louis’ distinctive variation of West Coast
swing dancing. This style is offset by its posture, as well as the
music it is characterized by, which almost seems a little bit like
country.

When people think of swing, they generally think of blues and
big band music, like “Jump, Jive and Wail,” Vianello said. In
reality, there is a lot more to swing dancing than one would
expect.

Getting Involved

There are currently 15 SLUHoppers and the group’s main objective
for the future is to develop a larger active member population.

“If we have more members, we can take a group to the Lindy
Competition,” Schutz said. “You get to see a lot of the aerials
that are not seen on the social dance floor,” she added.

SLUHoppers have private lessons at each of their meetings, and
more members mean more opportunities that the group will have to
show off what they’ve been working on at competitions all over the
nation. Anyone interested in becoming a member should attend one of
the club’s weekly meetings, which take place every Tuesday from
7:30-9 p.m. in the basement of McDonnell Douglas Hall.

SLUHOPS will host their next event on Friday, Feb. 13. Lessons
take place from 8-9 p.m., and dancing lasts until around midnight.
Entrance is $3, and as the event is being co-sponsored by Alpha Phi
Omega, participants who donate an unused toy will receive one
dollar off admission.

The open dance events are always fun and never intimidating, and
they’re a great way to meet people, even if you’re stepping on each
other’s feet. As freshman Abby Reiter said, “When you’re dancing
you’re always learning something new.”