The University of New Mexico Jitterbugs Anonymous is a campus club with the primary goal of continuing swing dance traditions while creating connections with other swing clubs across the county.
The club welcomes interested beginners as well as experienced students and alumni to weekly meetings teaching the Jitterbug, Lindy Hop, Charleston, East Coast and Balboa swing dancing. Additionally, the group teaches specific dances including the beginner-level Shim Sham, intermediate-level Tranky Doo and most recently the Chocolate Shake, a new dance taught at the Intercollegiate Swing Battle this year.
The group meets every Thursday with a lesson from 8 to 9 p.m. and a dance from 9 to 11 p.m. After going through several meeting places at Johnson Center and the Student Union Building, the club hopes to keep their sessions in the Cellar at Hokona Hall, according to Club Sponsor Wendy Hine.
At the time of the interview, Hine and President Salomon Garcia had just returned from the Intercollegiate Swing Battle this year in Denver, Colorado, Hine said.
The club brought 14 students to the competition. In past years, the group attended other swing events like Denver’s Lindy on the Rocks – Vintage Dance Festival and SWINGdepenDANCE in Phoenix, Arizona. These events are also planned for this year, Hine said.
Alumni Brendan Kullback has danced around the country for over 10 years, starting in Colorado, then Virginia and now here, in Albuquerque. Kullback owns a small business that teaches classes in 30s, 40s and 50s era swing called ABQ Loves Lindy, he said.
“(Jitterbugs Anonymous) is a social event. You go and meet lots of cool people, you make new friends and hang out with old friends. It is really part of a true community. A community expands not just at the University; it fingers and spreads out to all the (Albuquerque) area and then the rest of the country,” said Kullback, former club treasurer.
The name, Jitterbugs Anonymous, recognizes the ambivalent place swing dancing has today as well as the history of swing dancing beginning with Prohibition, Hine said.
“There still is kind of a social stigma about dancing. It’s also because jazz in general is a dance of rebellion...Here everyone fits in because we accept everyone and anyone can dance,” she said.
Hine said all are welcome, regardless of skill level.
The club stresses that gender or gender identity does not dictate a participant’s decision to lead or follow, Hine said.
“We have exercises like you are going to be a tree and you are going to be a squirrel, so we don’t even say lead and follow or guys and girls,” she said. “Everybody does every role, because you are a better lead or follow if you know how to do both.”
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“I like the community, and I like the diversity of people — the fact that we can all be so close to each other with different backgrounds and different beliefs,” said Sophomore and Club Secretary Darian Hallbauer.
Hallbauer started swing dancing over a year ago with the club and enjoys the social and musical elements of the club as well as learning new things, she said.
The Intercollegiate Swing Battle brought her out of her comfort zone about closeness with other people, Hallbauer said.
In addition, the club teaches boundary-setting skills with a focus on inclusivity.
“Anyone can ask for a dance,” Hine said. “It does not matter who asks for the dance. What is important is that you ask for the dance, because you have to have permission to dance.”
Maeghan Plaisance, who was the president of the club last year, said, “It is a great community. It is where my best friends are. These are some of the people that I have met that I have no doubt in my mind will be around for the rest of my life. It is the best community that I have ever been involved with, and I am really lucky to have them. It is like a really no pressure way to have fun and exercise. This is my workout every week.”
Aubrie Powell is a culture reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @AubrieMPowell.
