The myth of no dancing on Point Loma’s campus no longer stands.
For years Point Loma has had a select group of students who love the art of swing dancing, and after being unknown and unofficial the group has finally found new hope that this is the year they will achieve official club status.
A dance genre of more physical demand, swing dancing has become an interest of many Point Loma men, as well as women.
Senior Darryl Galope serves as the “official president of the official unofficial underground swing club” at PLNU and says that being a male in a dance club is not as bad as one might think.
“The girl to guy ratio is usually the same as Loma itself, about 3 girls to every one guy,” he said. “If anything, you (guys) are a rare commodity – own it. Besides, ladies love a guy that can move.”
Every Thursday night Galope is joined by a core group of about eight people as well as a general attendance that fluctuates between 20 and 30 members. They dance to the music of a portable radio atop the roof of the athletic building overlooking the baseball field and will continue to do so as long as the weather is on their side, starlight skies adding to the ambiance.
Elaine White has been in the swing club for a year now and loves it. She used to swing dance in her hometown of Acton, CA and says she was excited to hear of the club when transferring to PLNU. White says one of the things she loves most about the group is the fact that almost every week new people come to learn and grow in their skill.
“I have been able to help out with the teaching this year,” she says. “And we are very excited about pursuing a club statue by the school this year.”
If this group is granted club status White will have been present for the transition and says she believes that with the school’s support they will be able to grow and get more people involved.
The swing dance group has been at PLNU for over 5 years, and was established when the university still held a strict no dancing policy, which has made their struggle towards official club status rather difficult.
Christa Davis, a recent alum of PLNU, has seen the evolution of the group since her freshman year in 2009.
“During my senior year Point Loma dance fanatics made an incredible amount of progress toward the acceptance of dance on campus,” she says. “There were several ASB sponsored dance events which leads me to believe that the administration at Loma might be ready to accept and sponsor a swing dancing club.”
The process to becoming an official club includes several steps, many of which the group’s leaders have already been working through. Though still in the process of filing paperwork, signing documents, and writing a constitution, the group will not receive an official charter until four weeks into the school year, per ASB policies. Dancers in the group are hopeful that even more progress and growth will happen soon so as to continue the tradition of dancing away the night.
Katie Kepler 
Steve Anderson 
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