ACU was not a school that was previously known for dancing. Being a Church of Christ university, it was prohibited and often done in secret. But the times have changed, and dancing has been on campus for quite some time now. Students can participate in student dance organizations at any year and any level. One of which is ACU Swing Cats.
“I heard about Swing Cats my freshman year and really wanted to do it, but I was focused on other stuff freshman year,” said Olivia Cromis, a sophomore multimedia major from Corinth. “Sophomore year was when I decided to get involved on campus, so I decided to join Swing Cats. I immediately loved it, and I’ve been going ever since.”
Student’s first lesson with Swing Cats is free, and the rest are $1 a lesson or $12 for a semester pass. They learn eight basic moves in their first few lessons.
A few times a semester, students have an opportunity to take the Gauntlet, a dance test, to ensure they have all of the basic moves down. The other intermediates and captains will judge the students to see if they have the moves down. If they pass, they become an intermediate.
“I had a friend who was really into it, and I had gone once, but I didn’t enjoy it,” said Yvette Tinius, a junior kinesiology major from Springtown and the chaplain of Swing Cats. “But he kept convincing me to go, so I went a second time, and I just loved it there.”
Performances are fully volunteer-based, and only the intermediates have the opportunity to perform. Swing Cats has participated in events like Fall Stomp, Ethnos, and The Sanctify Showcase.
“Swing Cats is great,” Cromis said. “You can come alone because it’s inherently a social dance, so we switch partners a lot, and you have the opportunity to come and make some new friends.”
Swing Cats meets twice a week. The first time is Sundays at 8 p.m., called Humble Sundays, where they learn any move if they want to learn intermediate moves. The second time is on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. when they have the actual lessons.
“It’s just a safe place to be,” said Tinius. “You can come anytime that you want, learn for the first time. It’s a fun place to be, and you get accepted right off the bat.”
