Swing Out Nowhere 2009 a Major Success

Erin Sargent
Feature Story
April 7, 2009
Swing Out Nowhere 2009 a Major Success

As your eyes adjust to the dim orange lighting in the Moscow Social Club (MSC), they fall upon a dusty disco ball hanging from the ceiling, torn and duct-taped bench seats, and a small stage at the front of the room. You’d never guess by its shabby appearance that the MSC, above CJ’s in Moscow, is the sight for one of the most well known dance events in the Pacific Northwest, Swing Out Nowhere (SON) 2009.

Dancing, workshops and live music combined March 26-29 to kick of the eighth semi-annual SON. The event, put on by the Swing Devils of the Palouse, Inc., featured live music and world famous dance instructors.

SON 2009 began with a dance on Thursday night with D.J.’d music from 8 p.m. until midnight where dancers shuffled and shimmied to the best of their abilities. Dancers reconvened Friday night to “cut a rug” to live music by Solomon Douglas and Pete Petersen. Dancers who were out on the floor beyond the wee hours of the night showed up at the MSC again on Saturday morning at 9 a.m., sleepy-eyed but anxious in anticipation of all that was in store for them that day. Dancers worked tirelessly throughout the day to improve their skills, and took only short breaks before meeting again on Saturday night when Solomon Douglas and Pete Petersen joined forces again to keep the dancers energized until midnight, with a cameo appearance by Heather O’Brien, the lead singer of 6 Foot Swing. Sleepy dancers met again Sunday morning for their last day of sweating and panting to keep up with the effort required from their instructors.

The weekend itself would not have been complete without the world-renown instructors. Dance partners Peter Loggins and Mia Goldsmith and partners Michael Faltesek and Casey Schneider all trekked out to the Palouse from the Seattle area to be part of SON. Loggins, Goldsmith, Faltesek and Schneider collaborated to teach a total of 16 classes over the weekend.

Loggins, widely known as the foremost historians on American Jazz Dance, and Goldsmith teamed up to teach St. Louis Shag, partner Charleston, and “Stops”, a nearly forgotten routine of the early dance scene. They also taught enthusiastic dancers Bal-Swing, a combination between “Balboa” dancing and swing dancing, and some of the history of swing itself.

Meanwhile, in the other dance studio at MSC, Faltesek and Schnieder worked together to teach dancers how to Lindy Hop to songs with a fast beat, slow dance to down-tempo music, and teach the Tranky Doo, a choreographed dance that first appeared in the 1940s at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. Additionally they taught tricks and dips to spice up dancers’ repertoires, and a workshop called “silliosity” designed to help students keep their dancing fun and creative.

“The instructors were awesome,” said Geoffrey L. Keller, member of the Swing Devils Board of Directors. “They’re pretty much four of my favorite people.”

Keller, instructor of the American Social Dance classes at Washington State University said he learned a lot at SON. “I picked up a lot more than I originally thought I was going to. I think the classes were well catered to the level of dancers in this area. I definitely see a lot of improvement in my students that took classes at SON,” he said.

Students of the American Social Dance (ASD) class also said they enjoyed SON. Brian M. I. Hansen, and Advanced ASD student said he liked how Faltesek took time to talk to the students as equals, and, “passed on his wisdom that above all, dancing should be fun.”

The Swing Devils Board of Directors works hard to find instructors who will be a good match with the people in the area.

“We look for good dancers of course, but we pick for the best instructors, people that will fit in the best,” said B. Alex Boughamer, Swing Devils president. Boughamer also said the Swing Devils try to change who the instructors are every few years, but who ends up coming to the event depends on availability and cost. “When you run an event and you charge as little as we charge, which is one half to one third of what other major dance camps charge, you have to also look for budget considerations,” said Boughamer. “There’s no other place that I know of that offers classes that cheap with that great of instructors. We’re not Herräng [Dance Camp in Sweden], but for the bang for the buck I don’t know that there’s any other dance camp that beats us.”

Boughamer also said the event this year was a massive success, and said it was the smoothest running SON yet, with possibly the best attendance. However Boughamer admits it likely would not have been as successful without the hard work of the Swing Devils or the passion of the instructors.

“I want to bring in people who have a desire to advance the scene, to spread the love of dance,” said Boughamer. “I want to bring in instructors who want to dance with beginners and help keep those people in the [dancing] community. We want people who are going to represent the best of dancing. Not necessarily the dance itself, but what it should be about, socially.”

Boughamer said he hopes the Swing Devils will be able to finance SON again next year. Keller agreed, saying that he is looking forward to having another event next year and spreading the word to make SON even bigger.

Though the tattered benches of the Moscow Social Club may not seem to have much in store for them, they serve their function once a week to let tired dancers rest their feet. If you wish to experience swing dancing, show up to the MSC on any Thursday for Swing Night. People of all ages and dance experience are welcome, and partners are not required. Lessons start at 8 p.m. and from 9 p.m. until midnight or later you will find dancers out on the floor showing off their moves. Admission is $3, and if you go on the first Thursday of the month, be sure to don your best outfit for “dress up night.” If you enjoy dancing, the Swing Devils will always welcome you to Swing Night, and encourage you to come out for what will hopefully be SON 2010.