The U of M’s Swing dance club (UMSwing) hosted its biannual winter open house in the EITC Atrium on Jan. 29 to celebrate the club’s 25th anniversary. 

UMSwing president Irena Bilynskyy stated that the open house is hosted each term to promote the club and give attendees a glimpse of what the club has to offer. 

Participants of the open house had the opportunity to partake in a free swing dance lesson instructed by Emily Sinclair and other members, engage in a social dance activity, win prizes and enjoy live music from the Dixie Beats band.

Sinclair voiced her love for teaching and dancing stating, “I just love teaching people how to dance, and it’s really nice having this club still at the university.”

Vice-president internal of UMSwing Evander De Guzman expressed his gratitude to past members of the club for setting up the choreography for the event.

UMSwing is a student-run organization founded in 2000 — advertised as the oldest club on campus under the University of Manitoba Students’ Union. 

UMSwing’s mission is to provide affordable dance lessons to students. The club teaches swing dancing, a popular form of dance that originated in Harlem, New York City in the late 1920s.

Bilynskyy specified that the dance variant Lindy Hop is primarily taught, as well as the Charleston and occasionally the Balboa. 

Angel Aibangbe, a volunteer at the open house and a former member of UMSwing signed up after last year’s open house. She spoke about her experiences in the club and how it helped her develop social and dance skills. “It’s been really fun,” said Aibangbe. 

Sinclair stated that UMSwing will be hosting lots of live music throughout 2025, and that she would love to see people continue to participate and enjoy the live music.

“In June, we’ve got a huge event with a bunch of people coming in and live music for four days straight and tons of dancing,” said Sinclair. 

“If people could come today and keep on taking classes and then come out to that event, I think that would be amazing.”

UMSwing invites everyone to join regardless of their dance experience.

Bilynskyy and De Guzman’s goal for the open house was to receive as much attention and interest from the community as possible to keep the club alive.

“Without the members, without the community, we wouldn’t be here,” said De Guzman.