VCU’s Lindy Bombers swing club members learn to cut a rug
On Thursday nights, between 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m, one might walk by the West Grace multi-purpose room to see a group of people dancing as if they were unaware that the Roaring ’20s have been over for decades. These people are members of the swing club at VCU, called the Lindy Bombers.
On Thursday nights, between 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m, one might walk by the West Grace multi-purpose room to see a group of people dancing as if they were unaware that the Roaring ’20s have been over for decades. These people are members of the swing club at VCU, called the Lindy Bombers. With music of the 1920s blaring, they dance the Lindy Hop and Charleston with the help of instructors Trey Gomes and VCU alum Lauren Carriker.
Lauren Carriker was the first to bring a swing club to VCU before she graduated in 2003.
“In the swing scene around Richmond, there were no college-aged people, so Trey and I wanted to get a younger crowd involved,” said Carriker. “I’d like to say that the Lindy Bombers have changed the scene and made it younger.”
Each Thursday night meeting, Gomes and Carriker teach a new lesson and after practicing and sharing moves for a while, most of the swingers head to the Upper East Side Jazz Lounge and Sports Bar on 7103 Brook Rd. to dance to music performed by a live jazz band. Dances are also held in the Commons Ballroom on Friday nights, where students can exchange moves and ideas with each other. Brittney Fells is a VCU sophomore and recent member of the club.
“Everyone’s really nice and willing to teach you new things,” she said. ” No one’s going to shun you if you don’t know how to dance, because that’s why you’re there.”
This year’s swing club president is senior Edward Bouton, who began swing dancing after meeting Carriker in one of his classes. Since then, the club has grown and meshed with many swing dancing residents around Richmond through different events. The Lindy Bombers also participate with swing clubs from other schools such as the College of William and Mary, University of Virginia and James Madison University, through workshops and dances at the different schools.
The most recent upcoming event, “Jammin’ on the James,” will be Oct. 15-17 at the Lewis Ginter Recreation Center in Richmond. Dancers from Richmond, and other universities are welcome to attend the weekend of workshops and dances taught by Sylvia Sykes and Erik Robison. The Dance Space, located on 6004-A W. Broad Street, also sponsors swing dances every Saturday night with beginner lessons at 7:30 p.m. Members of the swing club use these workshops and dances as a great opportunity to learn new moves, socialize and exchange styles with each other.
Whether it’s a workshop, dance or another Thursday night in the multi-purpose room, the Lindy Bombers can prove that swing dancing isn’t trapped in the past. The members’ favorite artists to dance to include Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller and Outkast, as they put a modern spin on an old-fashioned style of dancing.
