From Swing to Austen, the Historical Ballroom Dance Club offers students exciting ways to engage with historical dance scenes.

Founded in 1997, HBDC welcomes students from multiple dance backgrounds to learn various historical dance styles from skilled alumni, Elizabeth Miller, HBDC’s communications and social media director, said. The fourth-year economics student said, the club hosts weekly beginner-friendly dance lessons and usually large Saturday night events. Miller said HBDC is where she first discovered dance due to the parallels between her love for Jane Austen and the club’s Jane Austen-themed event.

“I don’t have a background in dance. (I) never thought I would be joining a dance club at UCLA, and yet, here I am,” Miller said. “(The) Jane Austen style dances – that was what drew me into the club. … Being able to learn about the different stuff that they were doing, back in the Jane Austen time, it helps you visualize what that may have looked like.”

Miller said HBDC is a student-run organization when it comes to logistics and planning, but they have a professional alumni group that teaches students during their weekly meetings, as well as large Saturday ballroom events. Miller added that the lessons are usually based on what participants find the most interesting and cater towards community building by ensuring students are actively rotating dance partners.

As the social media director, Miller said her goal is to create more visibility for the club and continue to promote its welcoming environment. Miller added that the COVID-19 pandemic staggered the club’s momentum, but she hopes people can rediscover the club and enjoy a fun night with their friends.

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Charlie Schmidt, a second-year chemical engineering student and HBDC’s club president and fundraising director, said the point of this club is not to learn a style of dance to perfection, but rather to engage and receive exposure to various forms of dance styles. He added that staying consistent with club meetings allows students to gradually get stronger in stylistic dancing since they build off of what the club taught during previous meetings.

Schmidt added that the club collaborates with other organizations for the enjoyment of the student body. For example, he said HBDC has organized collaborations with the Magic and Illusion Student Team and different a cappella clubs.

“(We) try to have some sort of student group intermission,” Schmidt said. “Last year was spectacular. Having the student body be able to put on (an) impressive performance and give people a break from dancing, because it’s four hours of dancing.”

Schmidt said he really appreciates the work James Zimmer and Cynthia Harper – the UCLA alumni who founded the HBDC club at UCLA – still contribute to the club. He said they come to weekly meetings to teach students about various dance styles, such as swing, and provide opportunities for students to engage with one another.

Olivia Wu, a third-year computational biology student and HBDC outreach director, said the club is a segment of a larger organization. This includes the HBDC, International Folk Dance Club, Social Dance Club and Global Dance Club. Wu added that the clubs come together to host the weekly dance meetings for students.

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Wu said she joined the club last year with her friend for the learning opportunities it provides, allowing her to explore different types of dance styles. She said before joining HBDC, she only participated in community hip hop dance during her childhood and some classes offered at the John Wooden Center.

“My friend and I originally tried the John Wooden Bachata lessons,” Wu said. “But then we realized that Historical Ballroom Dance Club teaches us that for free … and we started doing that weekly, which is really amazing.”

Wu stated that HBDC allows students to gather and interact with one another and build their own community. Additionally, she said many students can feel like this school is too big to meet new people, but HBDC is a great place for students with common interests to gather together.

“I just hope people have a good time, I think that’s the goal,” Schmidt said. “I get a lot of value out of learning new things, and I really hope that’s the way other people get that value out of coming to our events.”