Texas Tech Country Swing Dance Compep

 Texas Tech Country Swing Dance Competition

For the first time, the Texas Tech Country Swing Dance Club will be having a traveling team and will be hosting a country swing dance competition at Rodeo 4 on October 24. The competition is open to the public and will start at 9:00 P.M.

 

Mason Smith is the head instructor of the swing dance team, says that he began the swing dance team because of how much he enjoyed competing in high school.

 

“I got into it in high school,” Smith said, “I joined our country performance dance team as a joke, and it turned out I really liked it, so when I got to college, and there were no country swing dancers here, that is when I started the club.”

 

The Texas Tech Swing Dance Club was founded by Mason Smith in the fall of 2023 and has grown in numbers and team members.

 

“I did not think it was going to work.” Smith said, “after a few classes, things went well; it started to grow and confidence rose, awareness rose, and it started to become a community.”

 

The club now has four coaches and two separate classes with an Instagram account that has 500+ followers and a competition team that will compete in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio later this year.

“I am very excited about the competitions; we are going to see all of our students show out and see what they can do, and I hope to be shocked and awed and inspired.”

 

This is the first competition that the team will host outside of the rec center, the first coming in the spring semester. The competition will be open to the public as the team hopes to grow their club even more.

 

According to the Texas Tech rec website, to join the club, or any club that is at the rec, you must be a student at Texas Tech or pay for the membership to use the rec facilities.

 

The Texas Tech rec center website describes the country swing dance club as a dynamic fusion of two iconic dance styles- the smoothness of western swing and the vivacity of country dance. The club is open to all those who want to learn to swing dance.

 

“We meet every Tuesday and Thursday at the Rec Center room 114 at 7 PM, and there is no signup,” Smith said, “just show up to beginners, and we will get you going on the fast track to swing dance competence.”