The Cowboy Country Swing Club (CCSC) at the University of Wyoming sees over 300 participants every Thursday to learn the art of swing dancing.
The club has been seeing record numbers since before COVID-19, even breaking the record for the Guinness World Records for largest swing dance group in April 2015, hosting 1,184 participants.
“I can’t remember the last time we were under, like, 300 [participants],” said Peri Hennigar, a senior political science major and President of the CCSC. “We set the world record and we were at like 800-1,000 people, and then COVID hit, and we dropped.”
“Those two years coming out of COVID, we couldn’t get together and dance and we weren’t allowed to have big gatherings like this,” said Erin Esty, a speech language pathology graduate student. “That made it really hard for a club to survive. But we survived. We made it through.”
Despite the sudden drop in numbers, the club continues to see several hundred participants a night. Throughout the night, students are taught a line dance followed by a swing dance move, which is separated based on skill level. The meetings are typically held in a Union ballroom, although recent reservation issues have forced CCSC to find space elsewhere.
“Honestly, we are outgrowing all of our spaces right now,” Esty said. “The ballroom is still currently holding us in the union. The parking lot dances are great, but we do live in Wyoming and so we cannot do that for very long.”
Many people are hesitant to join at first, but end up making new friends and learning new moves.
“My twin sister was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, we should come to the swing dance club.’ And I was like, no, we shouldn’t. I don’t know what it is. That sounds kind of lame,” Hennigar said. “Now it’s one of my absolute favorite things.”
“I think this takes up the majority of my time here on campus, and I love it. Nothing makes me happier than knowing every Thursday you’re gonna come out here and [dance],” she continued.
With a club so big, the term ‘watch and learn’ plays a big role. Although several dances are taught by instructors throughout the night, a lot of the learning comes from seeing others and trying it out.
“I like line dancing. I think it’s fun to do the same thing as everybody and like, everybody knows [the dances],” said Rachel Kaiser, a freshman studying kinesiology and physiology. “A lot of times, it’s a little bit of confusion.”
“I love it. It’s so much fun. Like, because everyone’s doing the same thing everyone’s having a great time,” said Riley Abart, a zoology and environment natural resources major.
“Especially like the people who run it, they’re really good at coming around and helping,” said Madi Happe, a freshman studying chemistry.
“We [also] learned some new moves from other [participants] a couple weeks ago.” Participants are excited to practice what they’ve learned, even outside of the club.
“This is such a Wyoming thing. It’s so fun, just learning all the dances,” said Jaden Rambo, a sophomore
studying nursing.
“Even though we only come once a week, we still go practice in our rooms, and then whenever the song comes on, we’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is our time to shine.’”
Not only is there an opportunity for everyone to learn, but with a club so big, safety is a number one
priority. “We have a lot of safety rules, a lot of rules against drinking and stuff like that. So it’s just a matter of making sure we’re staying vigilant and have enough instructors who are able to go around,” Hennigar said.
“[We’re always] making sure we have a space big enough. We like to have a lot of fans [and] always have access to water.”
“I think they do a really good job of how they organize it with as many people as they do,” said Rambo.
As one of the largest clubs on campus, CCSC creates an environment for everyone, freshmen and seniors
alike. “Not only do you just have people to dance with whenever you feel like it, but I’ve met some of my best lifelong friends here,” Esty said.
The club’s next meeting will be held at Hanson’s arena, where they’ll host a ‘dirt dance’ following the rodeo in celebration of UW’s 100th Homecoming.
