Students gathered in the Northern Center on March 19 to participate in an evening of line dancing hosted by the Student Leader Fellowship Program (SLFP). The class was hosted by Courtney Larson, a junior at NMU and a member of SLFP, who taught three beginner dances.

Larson believes it is beneficial for students to try new things while in college.

“I just love when we can get a group of people in and try something new. They make mistakes and they fail, but you can see the enjoyment,” Larson said. 

Larson also believes line dancing is great for anyone because it is beginner-friendly, and you don’t need a dance partner.

“I just love the community around dance, and I think that social dancing is so important; you don’t just have to be on a dance team or do it seriously to have fun,” Larson said. “Line dancing is such a perfect dance for people who are scared, because a lot of partner dances really intimidate people.”

Participants agreed that events such as line dancing classes are beneficial to students because it can help them de-stress and get some exercise after a long day of classes.

“I thought this event would be good for me because I’m feeling sick right now, and I thought it’d be good movement, even though it wasn’t intense exercise,” NMU student Abby Martin said. 

Students also agreed that the environment in the class was uplifting, which helped them relax and have fun.

“It felt good to be around people that were just having fun with it. It’s stress relieving,” NMU student Taryn Andersen said. 

Both Martin and Andersen agreed that the class was helpful for beginners.

“I am nothing of a dancer, but they went through each step for us,” Andersen said. 

Students interested in attending the next line dancing class can follow the Marquette Swing Dance page on Facebook or check the Hub for more information.