Before joining the Iowa West Coast Swing club, Kristine Pinter had only taken a few ballet classes and had little experience with social dancing. A few months later, she is now an active part of the dance community by attending classes, learning moves, and socializing with new dancers.
“Dancing is a very new skill for me,” Pinter said. “I’m quite surprised how much I’ve liked it with my background in swimming. I swam growing up because I was quite clumsy and uncoordinated.”
Pinter is one of many who have entered the dance community during their time in Iowa City.
Some clubs active in Iowa City include the Social Dance Club, Iowa City Swing Dance, Iowa West Coast Swing, the UI Dance Company, and the Dance Club at the University of Iowa.
Pinter, a graduate of the UI, gravitated toward West Coast Swing due to their approach to welcoming new members. Each lesson takes place with the club beginning with members, new and experienced, introducing themselves and their skill level. Because of this, Pinter didn’t feel it was scary to partner up with people she didn’t know.
“What sets them apart from other groups is that, from the outset, it felt like I at least knew everybody’s name,” Pinter said. “The instructor did a really good job of explaining the moves and steps in a way that was easy to understand.”
West Coast Swing is a modern, contemporary form of dance that has achieved popularity on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Adam Hammes helps out as an instructor for both the West Coast form and the more classical form, which is practiced by Iowa City Swing Dance.
Hammes describes the classical form as similar to the old jazz music of the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘40s. The two dance clubs often overlap but are led by different people.
“West Coast tends to include a lot more people who want to compete. They want to win prizes and move up levels,” Hammes said. “Swing Dance is often for people who want to hear live music and bands and maybe take classes. But there’s a mix for both dances.”
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To make a place for everyone in the club, the swing dance clubs hold different levels. There’s a beginning lesson, which helps out people who have never danced before, and an intermediate lesson that skews more experienced dancers.
“The main goal in the class isn’t really to teach people to dance but to get them to have fun moving so they come back,” Hammes said. “Nobody is going to learn how to dance in a single hour, but if they have fun that first lesson, they might come back.”
Alongside the opportunities to dance in Iowa City, there are also dance clubs at the UI itself. Neely Goerlinger is the Hip-Hop Captain at the Dance Club at the UI and has been involved with dancing all her life.
Goerlinger chose the UI in part because of its active dance scene and welcoming club community.
“I went to a couple of classes my first semester freshman year in hip-hop because that was what I was most confident in, and I just fell in love with the people I was dancing with,” Goerlinger said.
Goerlinger and the Dance Club perform at different places around Iowa City and have partnered with various Iowa City businesses, such as Applebees, Texas Roadhouse, and most recently Yotopia.
The Club will hold a fundraiser at Yotopia on April 18, the night before their benefit show, which will take place on April 19 at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts.
“Our motto for the club is that it’s for everyone. It’s not for dancers, it’s for people who want to dance,” Goerlinger said. “We try to encourage everyone to come. We have people on our leadership team who have zero years of dance experience prior to being in the club.”