At 8 p.m., McInnis Lobby usually sits vacant and still, silently awaiting the next morning’s activities. However, on the night of Feb. 25, it was bustling with the spirit of the 1920s.
Every year, the Ethels Swing Dance Club organizes two major dances. This year’s Spring Dance was advertised around campus and attracted over 50 students who crowded into McInnis Lobby attired in fancy dress. The live musical accompaniment featured Drew Nugent and the Midnight Society.
Even with a bad cold, Nugent was excited to perform for Eastern students. “This is my life,” Nugent said. “I do this all the time.”
The students who gathered at McInnis were more than appreciative. “The greatest opportunity for good swing dancing is when you have a live band” said senior Steve Chaffee, one of Ethels’ council members.
The lobby was transformed for the event. Twinkling Christmas lights were strung from the balcony railings, and red curtained partitions blocked off doors, hallways and any hint of the building’s academic purposes. The second floor balcony was supplied with a snack table and chairs for tired dancers to sit and peer down at their friends.
Many of Friday’s dancers were members of the Ethels Swing Dance club which meets Thursday nights in the Gough Great Room. “Swing dancing is a good way to meet people in a not-so-awkward way,” senior Thomas Francovitch said.
First-year Betsy Corbran has been dancing since high school and became involved with Ethels last semester. “It’s great for girls because you are able to learn body language” she said. “It’s one of the few ways a girl can learn to predict what a guy is going to do before he does it!”
Eastern students danced far into the night. It was after midnight when they finally emptied out of lobby, leaving no sign of the night’s activities except their smiling faces and sore feet as they walked around campus the next morning.
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