Luke Bryan’s Southern drawl blasted over the speakers as cowboy boots and Converse stomped and slid across a disco-lit dance floor. Rows of dancers, ranging from teenagers to adults, kicked and shuffle-stepped, shifting from the “12 o’clock wall” to the “9 o’clock wall.”
Line and swing dancing evolved into a notable hobby at California Baptist University. Each week, a group of CBU students, ranging from freshmen to upperclassmen, drove to dance halls around Riverside, where instructors led electrifying group dances.
These dance halls became hot spots to meet new people and bond over learning and perfecting dances like “The Wobble” or “American Kids.”
Belle Hatchel, freshman Christian studies and exercise science double major, began line dancing after she joined CBU’s Thursday night swing club. Once Hatchel and her friends discovered dance halls that hosted swing and line dancing, they started going regularly.
“It’s something that’s inexpensive, but it’s fun; it gets you off campus,” Hatchel said.
Line dancing wasn’t just a trend among freshmen. Upperclassmen like Kylee Anker, junior kinesiology major, also enjoyed the hobby. Anker had line danced for four years and had come a long way from her early days.
“Oh, the first time I went, I had no idea what I was doing,” Anker said. After her first experience, a friend invited her and another girl over to her house and taught them dances. Now, she did the same for freshmen on campus, inviting them to her dorm and continuing to grow the community around line dancing.
“… It was nice to … find my own little group that’s interested in the stuff that I like to do, and it was just a lot of fun to hang out with all the girls,” Anker said. “It’s actually made me find a community, really.”
Hatchel, too, formed close friendships through line dancing. “… You’re able to talk to people, and you have an immediate common ground,” Hatchel said. “It kind of feels like a second home at this point.”
Even line instructors found community through this activity. Sami Cohen, kinesiology major at Hope International University, worked as a dance instructor at one of these halls for two months. After a DJ, Leslie Perez, noticed Cohen attending six days a week and executing all the dances fluently, she invited Cohen to learn how to teach line dancing.
“Honestly, for me, the vibe has always been you walk in, and you kind of just feel like home,” Cohen said. “Everyone around you is family.”
Not only had line and swing dancing provided Cohen with a community, but they were also great stress relievers. For those anxious about school, social life or sports, “… you can just grab your eight counts, learn a line dance, and then you can let your brain just like turn off and let your body do what your body’s going to do,” Cohen said.
Whether in the Tower lobby beside the ping-pong table or under disco lights on the dance floor, line dancing was a great mix of fun and cardio for anyone who wanted to try it. Anker, Cohen and Hatchel all encouraged those interested in line dancing to find a group of friends to go with.
“… That always makes it a little bit less intimidating when you’re out there trying to learn with other people,” Anker said. “I always tell the girls, ‘Fake it till you make it.’ You just try to learn, and even if you don’t dance … just being there and watching everyone else dance, it’s still fun.”
To those skeptical or nervous about trying line or swing dancing, Anker, who owned 11 pairs of cowboy boots, advised, “Don’t knock it till you try it.”
