Line dancing, swing dancing, salsa dancing, and other student dancing clubs offer Michigan Tech students the chance to learn new skills, meet other students, and step out of their comfort zones. Whether you are a beginner wanting to learn dance skills or just want to have fun, members of the dance clubs say that newcomers are welcome.
MTU’s Swing Club, officially formed in the fall of 2000, meets every Wednesday and Sunday in the DHH ballroom from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., followed by an open dance until 9 p.m. Students are welcomed at any point in the semester, and there are always experienced members eager to teach the basics.
Although getting involved may seem intimidating, Swing Club President Zoë Dobbins recommends jumping right in. “We don’t care if you aren’t amazing at dancing or if you make mistakes, we’re all just there to have fun.”
Swing dancing is social in nature, with an important part of the experience being nonverbal communication. Dobbins said that one of her favorite aspects of swing is being able to connect with someone though dance without needing to know them beforehand.
MTU’s Line Dancing Club is more recent. The group began with only four people dancing for fun once a week in the basement of Wadsworth Hall. They officially became registered as a student organization in Spring 2025. Like Swing Club, the group encourages students with no previous experience to participate. “There is no pressure to be ‘good’ or to know everything when you first start,” said Lauren Podman, the current Line Dancing Club President.
Meetings began with Just Dance before members learned a new line dance or practiced old favorites. The club also tries to learn popular line dances that members can use outside of club meetings, and occasionally attends events or gets dinner together.
For Podman, helping form the club also renewed a personal interest in dance after feeling burned out. “When I was asked to help form this club, it lit a fire in me and made me love [dance] all over again,” she said.
Students interested in trying another style of dance will have an opportunity through the Spanish Club and Latin Dance Club. The organizations will host a Salsa Dance Workshop on Oct. 1 from 5 to 6 p.m. in EERC 216, led by Natasha Farias. According to the event announcement, no Spanish or previous dance experience is required and students can simply show up.
Despite their different styles, the clubs share an emphasis on making dance accessible in a modernized world where so much social interaction happens through screens. “Learning a new dance is way more fun than doom scrolling for hours,” says Podman.
For Dobbins,“dancing helps build and maintain connections, and they’re built on shared experiences. I also think it’s important to embrace the human side of art, especially in the face of growing AI. Dancing is intrinsically human, and that’s a wonderful thing!”
