For many students at Grinnell, the daily demands of coursework and campus life can feel overwhelming. Enter Contra Club, Swing Society and Salsa Club.
These dance clubs have provided students a joyful social outlet, offering not only unique styles of dance and beginner-friendly lessons, but also the opportunity to build community.
Contra club involves a group style of dance with a folk tradition often compared to square and cotillion dances. Led by a caller, dancers work in pairs, moving in sets of four to fiddle tunes and bluegrass music. As one of the Contra Club leaders Clara Bode ‘26 explained, “Contra is more about … a group dynamic and a group engagement where everyone is focused on doing the same structured thing.”
“It’s a way for me to expel physical energy, socialize, have a good time,” Mathew Davis ’27, a second year member of Contra Club, said. “Such a great break from homework.”
In contrast, Swing Society emphasizes the connection between dance partners rather than the group as a whole. Swing dance, set to jazz music, has a lead and a follow role, with one partner leading and the other responding to nonverbal cues.
At each meeting of the Society, participants learn at least one new move, then partner up for a song incorporating these moves into each dance. “It’s kind of like adding to an arsenal of moves. It’s a lot more improvisation and just going with the flow, going with the swing of things,” said Abby Fantz `26, one of the leaders of the group.
“The vibe, it’s very high energy, but supportive. I’m not on an athletic team or anything, so it’s a nice, like way to get some exercise,” Susannah Keiser ‘27, a second year member of Swing Society, said. “I’ve met so many cool people through swing and just a fun study break, fun break within my week.”
Salsa, like swing, is a partnered dance with lead and follow roles set to its own style of music, with unique steps and moves. It is the most globally practiced of these three social dances. President and founder Nina Ranalli ‘26 who has a background in teaching Salsa wanted to bring a little piece of her world to campus.
“It’s the greatest type of dance, if you ask me, but I might be a little biased,” Ranalli said. “It’s danced all over the world. There’s a really strong appeal to the music, and it’s super energizing, and it’s a great way to experience human connection.”
As different as these styles of dance are, they are all centered on the idea of community engagement. For the Salsa club, the focus of the club is engaging with the larger global culture of salsa by taking weekend field trips to salsa events across Iowa. Contra and Swing, similarly, aim to create a gateway into the larger social dance communities, a place where students can be introduced to the basics of the dance styles before entering the larger communities.
Apart from engaging burgeoning and flourishing lovers of social dance, all three clubs seek to create spaces that allow for a break from the daily college grind.
“I think it [Salsa] is also like, just exactly what you need,” Margaret Morey ‘25, vice president of Salsa club said. “After a week of sitting and studying and being on the grind, to let it all out of your body through the music.”
Most social dancers seem to agree, adding that it is a great form of exercise and medium for meeting people.
“It was just casual, you know a bunch of people who are interested in it, we were kind of having fun,” Ramy Elagha ‘28 said after his first Society meeting. “I was terrible at it. And I was just kind of randomly switched between lead, and oh my goodness … it was just kind of fun.”
“It’s just such a relaxed environment and like, people can come in and like, everything is given to you, and it’s a good way to dance and, like, do something with other people,” Lillian Tuai ‘27 said after her fourth Contra Club meeting. “I’ve always wanted to learn to dance. So this is a really nice way to learn how to do that.”
Grinnell College’s Contra Club meets on Mondays from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the first floor Main Hall Lounge. Swing Society gathers on Thursdays from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts Dance Studio. Salsa Club meets every other weekend, with times and locations that vary. To stay up to date with each of the club events join their email lists: [swing@studentorg.grinnell.edu], [contradance@studentorg.grinnell.edu], and [salsa@studentorg.grinnell.edu].
