The LSU Ballroom Dance Club gives students a space to decompress, meet new friends and learn ballroom style dances from professionals.
Every Tuesday evening, the club invites a new dance instructor from the Baton Rouge area to teach one of three styles of dance: swing, Latin or smooth.
For the first hour, members learn the basic footwork and rhythm of a particular style of dance. Then, there is a social hour where members can play music, freestyle dance and catch up with each other.
Whether they are learning the Rumba, the Argentine Tango or the Walz, members look forward to every meeting. The club is a safe space, where they can express themselves without fear of judgement and take their minds off the stress of school.
“Our whole thing is ‘You’re in your head. You need to be in your feet,’” said Nestis Theriot, secretary of the club.
Theriot explained how ballroom dancing is not only a fun physical workout but also a mental stimulant. When she is focused on following the beat of the music or matching her feet with her partner’s, it is impossible for her to worry about anything else. It has become an outlet for her stress.
The club also enables students to make deep connections with other members. President Brookelyn Thompson described the club as an organization that welcomes everyone. Students who feel uncomfortable or out-of-place in other social clubs are embraced in this one.
“I love making people feel comfortable and bringing people closer into this space,” Thompson said. “No matter where you’re from or what you look like, you can dance and nobody will judge you.”
Thompson was drawn to the organization’s sense of friendship and family between the members, which is something she is working to uphold as president.
“… as soon as I stepped into that room [I felt] that feeling of being home despite being surrounded by strangers,” Thompson said, recalling the first time she came to a practice. “That’s what brought me here today because I want to continue that feeling.”
This is one of the reasons Thompson works as hard as she does–contacting instructors and staying an extra hour to make sure the members have time to relax and bond with one another.
She has also been working closely with James Heath, a certified ballroom dancing coach, judge and performer in the Baton Rouge area, to offer members the chance to compete.
This is a new initiative and completely optional for members, but Thompson hopes to guide more dancers to the competitive level in the future.
She wants this organization to feel fun and exciting, and she wants to give members the chance to be creative without the confines of a lesson.
“That just makes me so happy because it’s like they’re absorbing it. They’re loving it. And they want to be here. I love people confiding in each other,” Thompson said.
