The Campus Activities Board and swing dancing club collaborated to host the Barn Dance on Aug. 27 in Washburn A/B from 7:30-9 p.m.This event drew 50 to 70 students dressed in cowboy hats, boots and jeans.
The night was filled with upbeat music, colorful lights and line dancing that had students stomping along to the rhythm.
Jadyn Falley, president of the swing dancing club, expressed that the club’s goal is to build a welcoming community of dancers where members feel accepted and free from judgment.
“As long as I can get people out of the dorm rooms and at least see them smile, get them out of their comfort zones, sometimes they can develop skills that they truly love,” Falley said.
Falley mentioned that the club just celebrated its first year at Washburn and hopes to eventually take members to competitions in Kansas City.
“Last barn dance I dressed up [as] Zach Top, famous country singer. Honestly, this one’s a lot bigger than it was last year. So, this is making me happy,” Falley said.
Grady Hemsley, sophomore exploratory major and member of the swing dancing club, said the event was about showcasing the group and helping newcomers try something new.
“[Our Purpose is] just to bring a bunch of new people in, show what we do, what kind of group we are and just kind of how the club goes, what kind of dance we do demonstrate and help teach some of the newcomers and just provide a space for people to dance so they can see if they want to continue,” Hemsley said. “I hope attendees take away a really fun evening with a lot of good socialization.”
The Swing Dancing Club will continue to meet every other Thursday starting Sept. 4 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Meetings are open to all students and no prior dance experience is required.
Christina Bailey, junior forensic investigations major and CAB director, mentioned that the collaboration aimed to bring more student organizations into campus events.
“The purpose would be to involve other clubs and organizations in campus activities, board and try to get more involved, money on campus, with other organizations,” Bailey said. “Pretty much, we reached out to the swim dance club because we thought it would be fundamental to get people who don’t know about the swim dance club to try to join.They usually go to bars and stuff like that. So, we were like, we’ll bring it to campus that way. People who don’t know about it can come dance too.”
Bailey said events like the barn dance allow students to socialize in a different way than traditional campus activities.
“It’s a different type of dance than homecoming. It’s more interactive, like people can ask each other to dance and all that,” Bailey said.
CAB plans to gather student feedback to decide whether the barn dance should become a recurring event. Students interested in joining the Swing Dancing Club can follow its Instagram page at @wusd_bods. Students can take a barn quiz to give their feedback to the club.
Edited by Bidhya Sapkota and Anushma Dahal
