As 2013 rolls in, complete with New Year's resolutions of weight loss and better friendships, there are many opportunities
across Auburn to not only socialize, but also exercise.
The Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center, located at 222 E. Drake Ave., offers a fun alternative to Friday night movies or other normal weeknight and weekend plans.
The JDCAC hosts various dance classes throughout the spring, ranging from swing dancing to square dancing, to Argentine Tango and more.
Taylor Wright, sophomore in exercise science, started out attending the free swing dancing classes offered at the JDCAC during her freshman year. Since then, Taylor has found that the dance lessons evolved beyond simple step learning into a passionate pastime.
The free lessons are taught by instructors of the Auburn Swing Dance Association and held every Friday from 7-9 p.m., with the first hour used as a training course and the latter one a free dance time.
Wright said she and her friends were immediately drawn in by the talent of some members of the AUSDA.
She and a friend, Teddy Childers then spent 2-3 months watching YouTube videos and practicing different steps and moves before they could begin to move more freely and enjoy the fluidness of the dance form.
Wright says the dancing is a fun alternative to other social activities.
"When you're sitting all the time, you get really tired and lethargic, but you can go dance and move around and get active," Wright said.
Wright also moved on to discover other swing dancing venues around town, including those events put on by the SGA. She and her friends frequently go to local parks to put on music and have time to dance, she said.
"Swing dancing's not only at events," Wright said. "It's really, it's all the time. It's something you can do impromptu... it's really diverse at what it's capable of doing."
Wright also said the dance classes are a great way for people to open up in a comfortable atmosphere.
"Because it's a little bit more structured than just a normal dance party, if you're more of an introvert and don't really like meeting new people, it's a great way to meet new people because it's not always the awkward trying to make conversation," Wright said.
President of AUSDA Kathryn Hoerlein, junior in industrial and systems engineering, said she was drawn to dancing because it is fun. She also credits meeting her closest friends through dancing.
"It's a really good social hobby to do that is not super time-consuming," Hoerlein said. "The interactions between people are a lot different. It's just a lot different than going to a bar or something."
Polly Majors, an Auburn resident of more than 50 years, has also found her niche in dancing.
Majors is president of the Auburn Allemanders, a square dancing club that has been in Auburn since the 1960s.
The Allemanders meet at the JDCAC on Thursdays from 7-9 p.m. starting Feb. 7. The classes cost $15 per person per month, however on Feb. 24 and 30, there will be two free sessions for those interested.
Majors became interested in square dancing after she lost her first spouse. She was invited to a class by a friend
and met her second husband, Lawrence while there. They have now been married for 14 years. She is 73 years old and Lawrence is 76.
"When you lose a spouse and you're looking for something to do, then you meet all these friends ... it just brings you back out to living again," Majors said.
Like Wright, Majors has found that community dancing brings not only exercise, but also friendship, she said.
She said that she feels dancing allows one to express their personality more freely.
For those looking for a bolder style of movement, Rick and Lynda Wilson hold Argentine Tango classes on Tuesdays at the Frank Brown Recreation Center in 4-week segments for $50 per person.
The classes start Jan. 8 and run from 6-7 p.m.
Lynda Wilson and her husband Rick have been dancing since they dated and now perform and hold workshops across the U.S. involving the Argentinean dance.
"You can get a taste of Argentina in your backyard," Lynda Wilson said.
Wilson said Argentine Tango is unique in its makeup.
"The figures are close, the movement is calm," Wilson said. "It can be fast, it can be slow. It can be soft, it can be strong. It has such a range of character, depending on the music and the mood of the dancers."
Wilson sees dance as an art form and a new way of understanding those one dances
with.
"You're going to stretch mentally, socially, physically and artistically," Wilson said.
Wilson said each 4-week course will take participants through the foundations, but for those who wish to continue in growth there will be added movement and teaching.
"It's a beautiful vehicle for expression," Wilson said. "And we all need that. Some people garden, some people cook and some people dance."
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