On sunny Friday afternoons, members of a little-known student group take an hour to gyrate and groove to the beat of a stereo on the lawn south of the Knight Library.
Dancers from the 3-year-old Boogie Club are quick to solicit passersby to stop and dance to all types of music, and they often draw quizzical stares from nearby students.
The group is reaching out for the first time to get more students to take time out of their busy schedules to come and dance, club members said.
Mandee Bish said the club is a reason to do something fun.
“We’re trying to make time in this stressed and pressed world to dance for one hour a week,” she said.
Club members dance to an eclectic mix of music and invite new members to bring their own “boogie mix.” They play games such as “boogie tag,” a game similar to freeze tag.
“We’re trying to spend time to spread joy,” said member Pearl Rasmussen, who emphasized that the dancing is non-sexual and that members should be sober.
The club is about “celebrating yourself,” she said.
The Boogie Club meets Friday afternoons from 3 to 4 p.m. Members dance outside on nice days, and interested students can check the group’s MySpace page at www.myspace.com/boogieclub for its weekly schedule.
The group is similar to one formed at Wesleyan University.
“I feel like there are boogiers out there waiting for someone to say, ‘Let’s dance,’” Rasmussen said.