While recent celebrities and YouTube sensations have endorsed "twerking" as an acceptable dance to do in public, Auburn students have brought back an entirely different type of dancing.
Swing dancing has become a common pastime for many Auburn students.
Swing originated in the late '20s, but has recently made a comeback.
Chris Olds, co-founder of the Auburn Swing Dance Association, said he wanted to learn how to swing dance after a Gap khaki commercial came out.
"There was a Gap commercial that kind of had swing, then there was this big comeback," said Kathryn Hoerlein, senior in industrial and systems engineering and swing dance instructor.
"(There was) a big comeback because everyone thought it was really cool, and it looked really fun."
Hoerlein said swing dancing can be a challenge for non-dancers at the beginning, but the basic steps aren't that difficult.
Hoerlein also said swing dancing is a relaxed dance, and it's good for people that have dance backgrounds or that don't.
Olds has been learning and teaching swing dancing for many years.
"We thought it would be fun to learn," Olds said. "We took [classes] from a guy who was teaching ballroom here, and he knew the basics of it, so we started to learn the basics and we went on from there."
The instructors teach multiple types of swing dancing every Friday night during the school semesters at the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center.
Lessons are free and open to the public.
"Anybody can learn how to [swing dance]," Olds said. "There's a pattern to the dance, but there are not set-in-stone rules. A lot of the younger generations tend to, not rebel against, but like the freedom of being able to play with stuff and make up stuff on their own."
The three types of dance focused on are six-count, eight-count, or the lindy hop, and the Charleston.
Olds said his favorite part of swing dancing is meeting different people.
"I actually met my wife through swing dancing, that's where we really got to know each other," Olds said.
Guests who do not have partners are still welcome to take the classes.
The Auburn University Swing Dance Association is a student run, non-profit organization.
From 7-9 p.m. each Friday, attendees can receive free lessons for the first hour, and participate in a dance during the second hour.
"Welcome Week is usually our biggest week and we can have 100 people pretty easily," Olds said. "We've been up to 250 (people) before."
On slower nights, approximately 50-75 people attend the classes.
Virginia Lewis, senior in apparel merchandising, said she doesn't know much about swing dancing, but said she thinks it looks like fun.
"My sister did it at YoungLife camp and she said it's really fun," Lewis said. "She'll always try to get people to do it when she's out at the bars, I guess not really many people know how."
Students can join classes at any time during the semester, and no experience is necessary.
The Auburn University Swing Dancing Association also hosts community-wide dances and workshops throughout the year.
For more information and updates about the Auburn University Swing Dance Association, visit auburn.edu/student_info/swing.
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