Dance, Dance, Devolution

The stairs leading to “Studio 74” at the Office for the Arts are already packed with a peculiar crowd by 8 p.m., when the Harvard Ballroom Dance Team swing lesson is scheduled to begin. Local community members of every age—Baby Boomer couples looking to spice up married life, graduate students fine-tuning their skillz on the dance floor, and a motley of others—mingle with students as we wait awkwardly for the previous class to vacate the room.

Undergraduates are the clear minority in the pack of would-be-swingers, and so are girls. Even the dance team member checking people in is surprised by the number of boys––including a few athletes––who have to wait along the side of the room for partners.

One of six dance classes the team offers (along with Salsa, Waltz/Tango, Lindy/Blues, Latin Medley, and Ballroom Intro), the group is on their third session and a few dedicated regulars are already reviewing the basic steps in the cramped stairway. When the time comes (inadvertently, it seems, at seven minutes past the hour), we all file in and everyone removes their shoes to don dance-floor appropriate socks.

Except FM. FM didn’t bring socks. FM brought fun flats. Oops.

The lesson begins with a surprise: the instructor announces that partners will be mixed together randomly, and two seconds later a quick and confident woman named Angela has split us up. She is unfazed by our attempt to scare her off by saying it’s our first lesson.

“Just swing it!” she says.

We did. The instructor moved quickly, and the steps were complicated––the “hip bump” and “cuddle position” were comically problematic––but by the final song FM was among the best and actually started to have fun.

If you’re feeling stressed out by work, busting a move in dance class is a good study break. Don’t be intimidated if you see that kid from section or people as old as your parents. Just swing it.