As holiday celebrations fade into memory and students readjust to the stress of a new academic term, the winter doldrums threaten to claim further victims. But don’t lose heart. One way to shake off winter semester anxiety is to hit dance floors across Eugene. Whether it’s an evening of salsa lessons at the Rumba Room or a free-for-all at Diablo’s Downtown Lounge, there is no shortage of places to catch that Saturday night fever.
Dancing is an age-old pastime that crosses cultural boundaries and almost always delivers a remedy for the daily pressures of life. But the activity serves purposes far beyond simple stress relief.
According to Eugene Swing Club board member Greg Shaver, dance is perfect exercise for those who can’t muster the motivation to hit the gym.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to make exercise a priority,” Shaver said. “But if I can fool myself into exercising on a dance floor, it’s wonderful.”
The Swing Dance Club meets every Monday with concurrent lessons for dancers of all skill levels. The club specializes in West Coast Swing, a style that gained huge popularity in California over the past seven years. Shaver said this genre is a little slower than East Coast Swing and translates to a wide variety of music that includes everything from rhythm and blues classics to modern pop radio standards.
Shaver said he loves the challenge of West Coast Swing, and there’s always room for improvement.
“I’m so much better now than I was a year ago, and a year ago, I was much better than I had been a year before that,” Shaver said.
An open dance session follows the lesson.
Dancing has also become a classic ice-breaker for singles. Though plenty of couples take part in the Swing Club, Shaver said he knows at least three people who met their significant others while swing dancing. And the club rotates partners frequently, ensuring a social atmosphere where everyone gets to know one another.
Shaver also said he believes in the healing power of dance. He fell off a roof while painting almost a year and a half ago, and he has used the club as a makeshift rehab center.
Perhaps some tastes run farther south of the border. In that case, movers and shakers can check out salsa night at the Rumba Room. Emilio Menendez offers lessons every Wednesday at 7 p.m. The two-hour lesson includes coverage of 10 basic salsa moves. Menendez encourages anyone to attend and said that the intensive lesson can make even the novice a relative expert in a short amount of time.
“You’d be surprised how much you can learn in that two hours,” Menendez said.
Menendez, who moved to the U.S. from Guatemala 12 years ago, said he likes the idea of spreading his native culture in Eugene and credits a rise in immigration to the Northwest for an increased interest in Latin dance styles.
Menendez also encourages partner-swapping in his lessons and said the ratio of couples to single dancers is roughly 50/50.
The Rumba Room also offers lessons Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. It is hosting a six-week salsa contest starting Jan. 18.
For those not interested in lessons, or those who just want to sweat out their troubles, a number of downtown establishments offer plenty of non-instructional dancing.
Diablo’s Downtown Lounge is one of the local venues known for its dance offerings. The club hosts various weekly dance theme nights, and Diablo’s owner Troy Slavkovsky said his club presents a unique experience.
“The atmosphere here is not typical of Eugene,” Slavkovsky said. “We try to supply more of a city-like atmosphere.” He added that his deejays offer styles that stay ahead of the trends.
Boot-scootin’ boogiers can check out Rock N’ Rodeo’s line dancing lessons on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.
Of course, there’s one final option that deserves mention. If you’re rained-in and find yourself gathered around a television with friends, turn it off and hit the play button on the stereo. Simple, but it’ll do the trick.