Writer puts Hyrum's famous springy dance floor to the test

By Heather Williams

December 8, 2004 | HYRUM -- It's not often that I will fork out $5 to make a fool of myself, and yet that is exactly what I did when I paid my cover charge to swing dance at the Elite Hall.

As I looked around the dance floor my first thought was, "Wow, you can really tell who the beginners are." Unfortunately I am one of those beginners. However, I braved the embarrassment of being a new dancer to find out what was really so special about the spring-loaded dance floor. I often hear how great it is, and how it's one of the very few in Utah.

I started my investigation by speaking to the president of the USU Swing Club, Isaac Ashby. Ashby said the swing club has been using the Elite Hall for about three years now. He said mostly local people enjoy the twice-monthly dances, but occasionally they get a big group from BYU.

Ashby said he got into swing dancing because of "a girl. She dropped me like a rock but I loved it [dancing] so much I kept going. I've only missed twice in two years, and it was due to extreme sickness."

Now, who better than this guy to answer the age old question, "Can you really tell the difference between a spring loaded floor and a regular floor?"

Ashby's answer: "Oh yeah. You can feel it in your knees and joints. It's harder on you when you dance two nights in a row. You can feel the difference in your joints after dancing here [Elite Hall]."

Then came the time that I had to experience it for myself, no more talking, it was time to dance. The brave soul that took me on for a partner was Nathan Johns from Bountiful. He really knew what he was doing, and in my defense I told him that I had no idea what I was doing. I think he decided to make up for my incompetence by a lot of twirling.

I tried to follow his feet, but they just kept moving too fast. So I thought I would fake it and stop trying to dance like him, I just shuffled my feet around and like I said, twirled a lot. In between twirls, he told me that it was his first time at the Elite Hall. He said he's been dancing for a year and a half, and he didn't notice much difference in the floor. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed.

After our dance had ended I tried to regain my dignity and my footing, did I mention that I twirled a lot? I tried to assess if I had felt a spring in my step, I'm sorry to report that I didn't. Luckily, just then the swing club had a presentation of a few lindy hoppers, which I learned was a form of swing. The whole night was redeemed when all the male dancers jumped at the same time. The reason this was so great was when they landed I felt a jolt in my knees, and the CD player skipped for a second. Now that is spring action!

The moral of my experience is as long as everyone jumps at the same time you can feel the effects of the spring loaded dance floor, that is at least to an inexperienced student journalist trying to write a story.

NW MK