Teach me how to dougie? No, teach me how to swing dance.

An eclectic group of strangers, friends, families and Whitman students with nothing but smiles and spins crowded the wooden floors of Glen Echo’s famous Spanish Ballroom last Saturday night. Only a swing dance could bring together such a wide range of ages, faces and personalities.

The new swing dancing club gives students an opportunity to try something different, make friends and get some exercise by participating in dances at Glen Echo. Swing dancing is an up-beat, partner dance set to anything from jazz to rhythm and blues, to early rock that gained popularity in the U.S. during the 1900s.

Junior Hanna Bouten started the club this year with the support of faculty sponsor and social studies department head Robert Mathis.

For Bouten, this club is an extension of her former swing dancing hobby. When she was 11 years old, her mom and older sister started swing dancing at Glen Echo and would occasionally bring her along. Soon after, Bouten’s mom signed her up for swing dancing classes, which gave her a basic knowledge of the steps.

At age 13, Bouten decided to stop dancing because she found that none of her friends wanted to dance with her and thought it was weird to dance with older strangers.

“I started to realize that dancing with middle-aged men was kind of creepy when I was barely even a teenager,” she said.

In the following years, Bouten occasionally would attend the dances when her mom convinced her to go or her friends agreed to tag along. By sophomore year, Bouten found that her friends wanted to go with her, and dancing with strangers didn’t seem so uncomfortable anymore. So she put her dancing shoes back on and found that swing dancing became one of her passions.

“Many people our age don’t really know what swing dancing is, or they think of it as a dance that only older generations do, but it’s starting to become more popular among younger people,” Bouten said. “I wanted to start something so people in our age group could figure out how fun it is.”

The dances are held once a month on Saturday nights at Glen Echo in the Ballroom Annex, the Bumper Car Pavilion or the Spanish Ballroom. Participants can receive a brief lesson of swing dancing basics before the dance. About 300 people ranging from age seven to 70 attend, Bouten said.  Tickets cost $15 and are sold at the door.

Many people don’t realize how popular Glen Echo is for its dances, which attracts people from across the country.

“We’re lucky because we’re close to Glen Echo, which is known throughout the United States as one of the dance capitals,” Mathis said. “It’s a tremendous resource, and I’m just thrilled to support it in any way I can.”

Aside from learning the steps, one of the hardest but often, most rewarding parts of swing dancing is meeting new people.

“You step outside your comfort zone a little bit, dancing with strangers,” said junior Margaret Gill, an avid member of the club.

Attending a dance is a great way to meet new people and conquer any less-than-adequate dancing skills.

“You don’t need to be a good dancer,” junior Michelle Isaacs said. “Other people will help you out.”

In addition, Mathis said he believes students have nothing to lose if they try swing dancing.

“It doesn’t take that long to get a basic enjoyment,” Mathis said. “Within one night, you can be moving to the music, and if you like it, you go back. If you don’t, you move on.”