Jumping, jiving and wailing into the spotlight, the MSU State Swing Society has tried its best to create a new niche on campus for music that was popular five decades ago.
The group was created in 2000 by members of the Lansing and MSU communities who hoped to "get a group of people together who wanted to have fun while sharing a common interest and dancing to a different type of music," said group co-founder Bryan Grochowski, a 1998 MSU alumnus.
Once founded, the group members set their sites on a statewide competition created by a Detroit-based group called All Night Entertainment.
In 2000, swing clubs from cities throughout Michigan and Canada came to the Masonic Temple in Detroit to compete for the "Velvet Cup" of swing dancing.
In its inaugural year, the MSU group didn't place, but the members did not let that discourage them.
From the seed the competition sprouted, the members gathered larger numbers and eventually became formally known as the State Swing Society.
The group now has about 60 members, but co-founder and interdisciplinary humanities senior Mikey Deron said new participants always are welcome.
"Swing dancing is just really something everyone should try," he said. "We encourage anyone in the community to come out and see what it's all about."
The group continued to enter the annual "Battle of the Swing Cities" each year, and at the 2004 competition held Saturday, it finally got the recognition members said they were looking for.
Seven members from the group competed, along with Liz Winnen, a University of Akron student.
Grochowski and English junior Devon Grice, competed as a dance pair, and Deron and Winnen paired up for another dance number.
After the pairs' performances, other members of the group performed a self-choreographed dance to a medley of OutKast songs.
Microbiology senior and group president Carole Kuehl said it took the two couples 10 hours to choreograph and practice their dances.
"As part of the contest's rules, the two-pair number had to be danced to a non-swing song," Kuehl said. "We really liked the OutKast songs and thought they would be fun to dance to."
When the winners were announced and the group found out they won first place, members said they were in shock.
"We were really seen as the underdogs," Deron said. "The past couple of years, big cities like Detroit and Windsor have won, so for us to win, especially among so many experienced dancers, was just great."
After their win last week, group members said they hope to improve their skills by hosting weekend swing dance workshops.
Deron and Kuehl said the purpose of the workshops is to help everyone become more experienced.
"There are a lot of us in the group who are seniors this year," Deron said. "Hopefully, by doing these workshops, we can help other members to gain experience and next year we will be able to go back to the 'Battle of Swing Cities' and defend our title."
The first workshop will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the Union Ballroom. The cost is $10 to the general public.
The group also teaches swing lessons beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays in the Union Ballroom.
The cost is $2 to the general public.
"Swing dancing may look hard, but it is really something everyone can do," microbiology freshman Audrey Butcher said. "I never thought I would be able to do it. But you can catch on so fast, and it really is just a lot of fun."
For more information about the State Swing Society, visit the group's Web site at www.msu.edu/~swingers, or e-mail the group at swingers@msu.edu.
