Swing in Utah

Utah is a strange place – a study in contrasts: the wildness of the Rockies and the conservativeness of Salt Lake City blending under the western sky. The first time I traveled to SLC it caught me by surprise with its size, the city is a lot like LA…it goes on for mile after mile, washing up against the Wasatch Range and steeping itself in the Great Salt Lake before rolling on toward Nevada and Idaho. It’s the sort of place where you can drive for an hour in nearly any direction without getting out of the ‘burbs and, at the same time, the kind of place where liquor can only be obtained through state run liquor stores and in some places you’re asked to buy a ‘private license’ to drink in a bar.

So, when Kelly told me about the Murray Arts Center (MAC) and their weekly swing nights I was skeptical. Maybe you can’t blame me for envisioning a room with a big swing set as the only kind of swinging that could possible go on in SLC. I stand corrected.

The MAC isn’t the historic building I always hope for. The fellow who took our entry fee told us that the building had been there ‘a long time’ but the signage indicated otherwise – to me ‘founded in 1986’ doesn’t qualify for a long time after I’ve danced at the Indiana Roof and the Paramount Theatre. Inside, though, was a quality hardwood floor that was well maintained and well used. The music was more modern than I like but then again the swing wasn’t the sort that I’m used to doing back here in the Midwest either. See, somehow I’d managed to forget that Utah was out west – and that meant that the swing would be of the West Coast persuasion. This meant I got to see a lot of smooth moves and a few really good dancers – but I spent a good deal of time playing wallflower too.

We did get to try our hustle a few times – that’s progressing nicely but I’m still having a hard time getting to really like a dance that came about when I was in grade school and can claim ‘Disco Duck’ as one of its memorable pieces of music. I’m trying to mount a recovery, though – it’s a slow process.

I also should be clear about the venue – the MAC actually hosts ballroom dances and is across the street from The Dance Center, which is the swing venue. The great thing is that for one price ($7.00 apiece) you get access to both venues (on the nights that both have dances). The MAC has a live band (though the night we were there calling the band ‘live’ was a stretch) while The Dance Center has a DJ (on the night we were there he was dedicated to WC music with the odd exception of tossing in a waltz once in awhile…don’t ask me). Do I recommend a visit if you’re in Utah? I’d say yes – especially if you love WC swing…but if you’re looking for some good big band music, hot jive, and maybe a lindy or two…well, maybe you should try Idaho.