ASHLAND, Ore.– The weekend was in full swing at the Ashland Hills Hotel and Suites as hundreds gathered to dance and even learn how to perform a little West Coast Swing.
“We have a great community and we come together and we do this thing that we love all weekend long,” said Dave Kahn, event director for the SOswing Convention.
Fro three days, everyone was swinging, twirling and learning all they could about the West Coast Swing.
In what was it’s seventh year, organizers of the SOswing Convention have no plans of slowing down anytime soon – unless it happens to be for one or two songs.
“We’ll be coming back but before we leave we’ll be dancing 24 hours,” said Kahn. “People don’t believe it when I say we dance until the sun comes up.”
Kahn wasn’t lying. Well into the second night of swinging, it didn’t seem like most people, young or old, were wearing out.
Rather it seemed to liven everyone as new classes and new competitions took place.
“The connection,” said Rich Jorgensen and Melanie Vallee in unison. The two came as a pair to dance in the competitions on Friday and described the connection dancers feel as what they loved the most.
“Can you move to music in a cool way, together,” said Jorgensen, about the competitive dances. “With someone you don’t know. Can you interpret the music in the same way?”
With a variety of classes offered for beginners to masters, as well seven levels of competition, plenty of people from across the West Coast came to find that connection through swing.
“It can be really organic and natural and just what I’m feeling in the moment through the music and the communication between the partner and myself,” said Arianna Steinberg-Hunter, a volunteer.”
Through it all though, the ultimate goal was to have fun and learn how to swing.
“We compete, we learn and we enjoy each others amazing friendship,” said Kahn.
The convention will be back again next year.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.