Photo by: Margy RosC)
Nine Division I student-athletes at the University of Denver went to sleep Thursday night with one thing on their minds: victory.
As they drifted off, they thought about all the work they had put in to achieve perfection, visualized their performances and let the butterflies in their stomachs settle for a few hours of rest. They would need all the rest they could get to keep pace in the grueling competition to come the following day.
But when Friday rolled around, they did not suit up in their usual uniforms of leotards, jerseys and swimsuits; instead they donned twirling dresses, flat shoes and Zoot suits. This was no ordinary game or meet-this was a full-fledged swing dance competition in front of nearly 100 people.
When DU’s Big Swing kicked off on Friday evening, they took the hands of their well-studied swing tutors and lit the Driscoll Ballroom dance floor on fire. The ten couples did the Charleston, performed dizzying spins and heart-pounding aerial maneuvers on their way to raising approximately $3,000 to benefit the Kempe Foundation, which works to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect. The competition, judged by several members of the Tri-Delta sorority, capped an evening of dinner, drinks and dancing courtesy of the swooning horns and beating drums of the Lamont School of Music’s swing band.
Basketball player Nate Rohnert, gymnasts Kristina Coccia and Amanda Johanson, swimmers Michele Lowry, Blake Worsley and Eric Wright, lacrosse player Dani Espinosa, volleyball player Alyssa Hampton and myself (on behalf of the hockey team) all competed in the event, many having never swing danced.
Guiding them through the difficult retro steps were DU students and swing enthusiasts Molly Dougherty, Danielle Alkire, Ginger Wolf, event co-chair Seth Alkire, Joshua Morain, Matt Talarico and Josephine Rausch with myself. Longtime swingers Gene Horiatu and Jack LeRoi accompanied Coccia and Lowry, respectively, and Mike Russel and Grace Maxin also competed as a couple, filling out the 10-couple field.
“The key to swing,” the energetic Rausch told me, “is to make your partner look awesome.” With her pizzazz and style, Rausch could make a barren tree look good. But with my greenhorn skills it was no wonder that she grew more nervous as our turn on the floor neared, and so we watched with anxious amazement as the other couples showed their moves.
Coccia and Horiatu led off by going old school, as their smooth moves were only matched by the older Horiatu’s sleek silk tie. Lowry’s beaming smile balanced her more serious and equally stylish partner LeRoi. Like Lowry, Hampton’s smile lit up the room, particularly when Morain dipped her so far her spinal flexibility was surely tested. Wright and Danielle Alkire dressed true to form, with the swimmer in a vibrant orange Zoot suit complete with matching long-brimmed hat and his guide in a twirling dress. Worsley and Wolf had a swimming finish, as the DU water bug carried his partner off-stage as she mimicked a mean breast stroke. Russel and Maxin showed the true magic of two seasoned swing veterans, dancing as if on a cloud. Seth Alkire and Espinosa wowed the audience with the only freestyle routine of the evening, showing their flexibility and crafty footwork.
Rohnert and Dougherty literally bounced across the hardwood, playing off Rohnert’s skills on the other hardwood he frequents, the flooring of the gym, and the couple found themselves in the winner’s circle, taking third in the competition. Talarico and Johanson went big and ended their routine pointedly, with the gymnast going into the full splits. The extra effort earned the couple second place.
As my routine with Rausch started, I remembered the good advice she had imparted on me and tried to keep up as she spun, hopped and jived. And, like any good barren tree, I stood in place as she proceeded to climb all over me with a move called “the clothes hanger,” in which she swung her leg over my head to my shoulder as I held her.
As fate would have it, Rausch and I took first place, but the real winners were more numerous. DU’s Big Swing raised money for a great cause and, with the help of 11 bona fide dancers, made swingers out of nine lucky athletes.
