Did you know?

a monthly tidbit about the history of Swing Des Moines

November is a time that many people set aside a few minutes (or days) to consider the reasons they have to be thankful. Most of us have been so very blessed with nice homes, family and friends, jobs, enough food to eat, and of course a completely awesome pastime - swing dancing - and an equally awesome organization devoted to bringing you the very best in instruction and opportunities to dance. (pardon the shameless plug.)

As you may know, Swing Des Moines is a charitable, nonprofit organization. From the beginning, we've wanted to not only promote dancing and support the swing dance community here in central Iowa, but we also wanted to do more - to be a part of the larger central Iowa community, and to give back to that community.

One of the ways we accomplish this is through our annual "Give Thanks For What We've Got" food drive at our November Jive Junction. Take a minute to look through your cupboards for extra canned goods, or toss a few boxes of nonperishable items into your grocery cart next time you shop, and bring them to the next Jive Junction. (We will also accept cash, and you can visit the Food Bank's website for a complete list of items they want/need.)

After the dance, we load all the donated items into our car and drop them off at the Food Bank of Central Iowa. I (Sarah) have made this drop-off myself every year, and the staff are always so grateful for our donation.

Did you know?

A monthly bit about the history of Swing Des Moines

Whatever happened with Crave?

Some recent statements have been made that are forcing me to revisit this topic, which I know has been explained ad nauseum.

Last fall, Crave approached DJ Swingin' Goat to see if he would DJ a weekly swing dance at their location. The Goat said he would only consider it if they would allow us to promote it through Swing Des Moines. It would remain their event, but we'd use both logos and both company names in the promotion. Sure thing, they said.

As anyone who went to Swing Night at Crave knows, the location was far from ideal from a dancing standpoint. The drinks and food were expensive, the dance area was somewhat lacking, etc. From a management standpoint, though, it was, in a way, ideal. We had no risk. Another business wanted to do a swing night and they just wanted us to facilitate it.

We discussed it among ourselves and decided that we were in for however long it lasted.

Which was several months, until Crave underwent a change of management and decided to focus on being a restaurant and not a bar, so they got rid of a lot of the activities that detracted from the restaurant aspect.

The event was Crave's all along. Their idea, their event, their decisions.

Swing Des Moines has been looking around for a suitable location for a weekly event since, but to be honest, we've been distracted by other happenings, both within the organization as well as in my own personal life, and it hasn't taken top priority. Our standards for a weekly event would include affordable drinks and food, a nicer dance floor, etc.

We would have never picked Crave as the ideal spot for a dance, but it landed in our laps. It would have been irresponsible to turn it down, when there was literally no risk for us!

Unfortunately, after the managerial changes at Crave, certain Swing Des Moines detractors have taken it upon themselves to persist in saying that Swing Des Moines failed at a weekly event. While Swing DSM has had its share of failures (as will happen with any organization that is taking risks and trying out new things), this is just not one of them. I'm not sure of the motivations of this person, who I used to consider to be a friend.

(Dancing Downtown - now THAT was a failure!)

Anyway, I hope that sets the record straight.

Did you Know?

A monthly blurb about our organization.

Jive Junction, Swing Des Moines' monthly swing dance, is Iowa's longest-running (and most consistently fun) swing dance event. We have, at this point, even surpassed Swing Night at the Val Air Ballroom!

Swing Des Moines had held swing dances on a rather irregular basis for a few years before establishing Jive Junction as a monthly dance in December 2003. That first Jive Junction had an attendance of fewer than 50, but we were completely thrilled! We were even more thrilled when attendance climbed regularly throughout the next several months - and it continues to climb to this day.

Jive Junction did not always have a name. At first, we merely called it a "monthly swing dance." We quickly decided it needed to have a good name, though, and held a contest to name the dance. We actually ended up not choosing ANY of the entries, but combining a few of the suggestions to come up with Jive Junction.

Jive Junction is also the name of a song and a movie from the 40s, as well as one of the most popular swing dance bulletin boards in the nation (now closed).

Did you Know?

A monthly blurb about our Organization

Swing Des Moines has relied upon the input and contributions of many individuals over its 10-year history. Notable among these individuals is the great Malcolm Wells, who fronts up the Soul Searchers, which is arguably the best blues band in town.

Malcolm started dancing back in the late 1990s at the Val Air, and was among the first Iowa residents to take up Lindy. (Mostly everyone just danced East Coast back then!) As Swing Des Moines started to take shape, Malcolm was one of the four founding members, and also served on the Board of Directors for a time.

Shortly after he joined the Board, though, Mal's old band (The Soul Searchers) decided to get back together. Malcolm resigned from the Board in order to focus on his music, but he continues to dance to this day!

Did you Know?

A monthly blurb about our organization.

Swing Des Moines was formed for the purpose of being Educational in our community. Our mission statement is:

Swing Des Moines is a nonprofit organization with an educational purpose of promoting and expanding the education and enjoyment of vintage swing dances in the central Iowa area. The organization will achieve this purpose through teaching classes and workshops, giving demonstrations and presentations to area schools and organizations, uniting central Iowa dancers who are interested in swing dance, and educating the public about swing dancing as America’s folk dance.