When fourth-year visual communications student Lauren Hansborough first came to USC, she knew she wanted to explore dancing.
Hansborough had experience with group choreography through musical theater in High School but didn’t have formal training. She also wasn’t looking to participate in a group where she would have to compete, she said.
Walking down Greene Street during the club fair her freshman year, Hansborough came across the Gamecock Swing Dance Club. Its friendly members, casual atmosphere and the prospect of applying her new skills at local establishments convinced her to give the club a try, she said. And since then, she hasn’t looked back.
“I had not had a lot of dance background, but I wanted to do more of it, but I wasn't looking to do competitions,” Hansborough said. “So I just had all this anxiety around, like, I'm not a professional dancer, but I want to do this.”
Swing dance first arrived on the scene in Harlem during the Jazz Age. It increased in popularity over the years, and with its upbeat rhythm, partnered style and loose restrictions, it remains a well-loved dance style across the country, taking on regional variations.
Gamecock Swing Dance Club meets weekly to give students time to practice their moves and learn new steps. After preliminary conversation, students go through the steps of the particular dance for that week. Depending on the skill level of those present, students can be broken into two groups, one for beginners and another for advanced, before coming together at the end to put together everything they learned.
Like many students who join the club, Hansborough, who is now the club's vice president, didn’t have any experience with swing when she first joined. But the club encouraged and supported her as she progressed, and she now teaches dancers of all levels, she said.
“It didn't matter what level you were on," Hansborough said. "They were always willing to teach you the basics and help you get up on your feet."
Hansborough started attending different swing dancing events around Columbia as she grew in her skills where she was able to put what she’d learned into practice. Local spots, such as Bill's Music Shop & Pickin' Parlor and Tin Roof, open their floors to dancers young and old to show off their moves.
Hansborough has enjoyed sharing her love for swing dance with other USC students since becoming vice president, she said.
One member, second-year statistics student Jackson Harness, first came to Swing Dance Club on the recommendation of a friend and has since attended meetings regularly.
Harness came into the club thinking that dancing wouldn't be for him. But he wanted to try new things in college and has since seen that with some practice, he can dance, he said.
“(The club) is great for people that know about swing dance to practice but also great for people that don't know anything about it, because (the president and vice president) are very beginner-friendly," Harness said.
Harness then recommended it to current first-year mechanical engineering student Ryan Cataldo, who also came in with no prior dance experience.
“It's very welcoming no matter when you join and what level of experience you have,” Cataldo said.
Hansborough said she wants everyone to give swing dancing a try. Dancing, and swing in particular, is very freeing, providing a means of self expression and a way to stay active less methodical than going to the gym or playing a sport, she said. She doesn't want lack of experience to keep anyone from coming.
“We go over basics pretty much every class, because we always have one or two new people show up every class,” Hansborough said. “Don't feel like, ‘Oh, it's late in the semester, I can't show up,’ or ‘Oh, I don't have any dance experience. I can't show up.’ Just show up … It's really fun. It's really easy. I promise. Anyone can learn it.”
Cataldo said that the casual atmosphere of the club is the perfect place to give swing dancing a try. With no dues or minimum hours required, the club does not place an requirements on its members, he said.
“You just show up when you can, and no matter how much experience you have, no matter what point in the year you join, we'll catch you up, and you'll be dancing and laughing and having a good time,” Cataldo said.
Hansborough said she has grown more confident as a result of her time at the Swing Dance Club. It is a shared experience for many of the club’s members, she said.
“It's really cool to just see people who come in super nervous, leave, and open up and come back next week so ready to learn more," Hansborough said. "I watched so many people get so much more confident. And I think that's something that's great about dance — it does make you more confident."
Harness said the club allows for plenty of social interaction, not only between dancing, but also during it since students are paired together, giving them a chance to get to know one another.
"It's a lovely thing to come to on Friday nights," Hansborough said. "To have a group of people that you can just let loose around ... it's very social. We have a lot of people come here and talk about their day, talk about their feelings, and then you get to dance and put that all into it, or leave it all behind and forget about it."
Moving forward, Hansborough said she would love to see the club grow and for members to come consistently so they can learn more advanced skills.
"We can learn more and more advanced stuff — more variations — and then you have all of that under your belt when you want to go out and do an event," Hansborough said. "And the more you practice, the more confident you get and the more you feel like you can go out and do that outside of the club, which is going to be the coolest aspect."
Gamecock Swing Dance Club meets each Friday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Russell Underground.