Jonathan Walker/Collegian
Professional swing dancer Mikey Deron spins sophomore Meredith Bogacz as he teaches shag lessons to members of the Swing Club.
Perhaps you didn’t know your arm could double as an inner tube, or maybe even a raft. Mikey Deron, a professional swing dancer, came to campus Dec. 18 to demonstrate these arm techniques as part of a shag dancing workshop. Twenty-three students attended the event, hosted by the college Swing Club.
Deron, 23, started dancing shag in 1998—right as the craze took off—while he was a freshman at Michigan State.
“Nobody did it a lot, or knew [of] it,” Deron said. “So I just tried to practice. I liked the way it felt, the moves. I just tried to pick it up here and there.”
Deron said the highlight of his career was in Los Angeles when he and his dancing partner won second place at Camp Hollywood for dancing shag at one of the largest swing dancing competitions in the nation. Shag is a form of swing dancing where dancers move from one foot to the other quickly.
“For a while we were second in the nation,” Deron said.
Deron is now spreading his love of swing dance by teaching whenever possible. He started teaching three years ago at Central Michigan University.
“My mentor was teaching a class and invited me to help out,” Deron said.
Since then, Deron has visited Hillsdale College twice.
“[Hillsdale alumnus] Nate Zimmer contacted me and asked me to come teach at Hillsdale, which was super fun,” Deron said.
Since the workshop, the Swing Club has gained a new energy and has bounced back from a slump in participation last year.
Sophomore Meredith Bogacz, secretary and dance instructor for the Swing Club, explained that participation in the club fell off last year because its senior leaders lacked enough time to run it.
“They weren’t teaching more then one kind of dance,” Bogacz said. “They were just raw beginner lessons and didn’t offer a lot of room for improvement. So the club has really grown a lot this year.”
Bogacz started swing dancing her freshman year and said dancing served as a replacement for horseback riding.
“I didn’t dance at all before,” Bogacz said, laughing. “I’m the biggest klutz you’ll ever meet.”
Freshmen Thomas Cox and Anna Williams said the club offers many opportunities for fun.
“I have always loved social dance, so I thought swing club would be a great way to meet people and learn new dance moves,” Williams said. “I really love the people that go. Swing dancing brings all types of people together with one goal: to improve their dancing. We all have fun dancing, talking, laughing. It’s such a great experience.”
“I never thought I could dance before I got to college,” Cox said. “I had always wanted to, but I assumed that most white kids were just too uncoordinated or lacked rhythm. I’ve only been dancing since September and already I can walk out there with confidence and lead at least three different styles of dancing and not look bad at it.”
The members of Swing Club encouraged students to get involved and have fun trying something completely new.
“It’s good exercise, it’s a blast, and you will have many ladies that automatically like you just because you show up and you’re a guy,” Cox said. “Give it a try, Fridays in the Snack Bar, and it’s usually over early enough for you to make it to most of the parties.”