UCLA’s pioneer Line Dancing club builds community to the beat of its own drum.

Offering bimonthly meetings that are drop-in, the Line Dancing club draws a diversity of experience levels, Ava Raymer, club Co-founder and fourth-year chemical engineering student, said. On Thursdays, members gather in Parking Structure 7, with the open space reflecting the club’s mission of inclusivity, Fio Fabiano, a fourth-year history student, said. The club’s member and photographer said the student group is not restrictive in any way, free of dues or an application process. Welcoming all students, Fabiano added that the club encourages members to find themselves through dance without a competitive element.

“I’ve already talked to some new people who made new friends, who did dance – they were talking like they’d been friends for a long time and it’s only been two meetings,” Rose Finn, club Co-founder and second-year biology student, said.

Inspired to start the club after a run-in at the gym last academic year, the co-presidents, Finn and Raymer, began to workshop the club’s logistics before its take-off this quarter, Raymer said. The meetings feature instruction by co-presidents Finn and Raymer, Finn said. A typical meeting consists of 4-5 line dances, Raymer explained, with a more traditional free dance session wrapping up the night. The choreography is first introduced step-by-step, then joined by music and a group walk-through, Finn added.

Officially established at the beginning of this winter quarter, Finn said she was initially shocked to find UCLA’s club database lacking a line dancing club during her freshman year.

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While the university is home to many dance clubs, participation tends to be competitive and often requires prior experience, she added. In search of a community where she could continue her love for line dancing, Raymer said the club strives to create a safe space for dancers of all levels to learn and grow, without needing to find a partner to join the club.

“Line dancing allows you to come by yourself, and be comfortable because everyone else is by themselves in their own dancing space,” Raymer said. “It’s a really good sense of community because also, once you get comfortable with the choreography, there’s so many little flares you can put on it to make it your own.”

Discovering a passion for line dancing in 2023 while attending a friend’s birthday celebration, Raymer said she came to understand the activity’s innate inclusivity, allowing beginners to walk away with a sense of accomplishment.

Although line dancing is approachable and repetitive, Raymer said it still allows dancers to incorporate their own individual style. Finn added that the activity often is like a workout and allows people to incorporate movement into their day in a way that’s social and gratifying.

Line dancing is an activity heavily linked with a strong community, Fabiano explained, often finding itself rooted in local bar culture and events. The club aims to simulate and mirror the real line dancing experience, incorporating dances of varying difficulties, Raymer said.

“One of the great things about line dancing is when you’re at a bar, and they play a song, a bunch of people – if they know the dance – will go out to the dance floor, and dance together in the community,” Fabiano said.

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The club always makes an effort to include a diversity of music in its instruction, expanding beyond the typical background of country music, Raymer said. In a meeting, members can find themselves moving to multiple genres, from hip-hop to country and pop, with Pitbull being a returning club favorite, Raymer added. For dedicated dancers, she said the meetings open up song requests after the free dance session comes to a close.

“There’s just something for everybody,” Raymer said. “Even for those people who are afraid to dance because they think they don’t have rhythm or they can’t remember the choreography.”

Noting that line dance opportunities are scarce in the Westwood area, Fabiano said the club offers a unique community for students. It provides the resources to learn more about line dance culture and community, creating a space that may otherwise be inaccessible, Fabiano said. For some students, the Line Dancing club even reconnects them with a community they may miss from home, she added.

Beginning her exploration of line dance during winter quarter, like many of the club’s active members, Fabiano described how quickly she was able to make the style of dance her own, feeling less skeptical in the club’s supportive atmosphere.

Though the club is still in its early days, ideas to collaborate with other campus dance clubs are brewing, Finn said. The Line Dancing club is ever-evolving, and lessons catered to more intermediate or advanced line dancers are a possibility for the club’s future, Raymer added. Yet, for now, Raymer said they remain focused on their message of inclusivity, ensuring participants walk away feeling confident in their dancing abilities.

“There’s so many people who are willing to help each other, and teach each other, and learn to dance together – but also to mess up together and make mistakes,” Fabiano said. “It’s a very safe space. I think that’s what makes the club so great, because people from all backgrounds of dance can come and just learn dances and have fun together.”