About AUSDA
Who we are
The AU Swing Dance Association (AUSDA) is a charted student non-profit organization at Auburn University. Our mission is to teach and promote swing dance in the Auburn/Opelika area to both Auburn University students and the community. While our main focus is on Lindy Hop, Charleston, and East Coast Swing, we encourage all types of swing dancing and have various opportunities throughout the year to learn other styles of swing dance, such as Balboa and Blues. All of our officers and instructors work on a volunteer basis, except for special requested lessons.
What We Do
Swing Dance Lessons
Private & Group Lessons
Workshops
We offer FREE swing dance lessons every Friday night at the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center from 7-8 pm. Our lessons are great for beginners—even if you’ve never danced before!
In addition to our FREE swing dance lessons every Friday night, AUSDA offers private and group lessons for events and individuals.
We host various swing dance workshops throughout the semester to provide more in-depth learning opportunities to our members.
OUR history
The AU Swing Dance Association first started in June of 1997 when six people were inspired to learn swing dancing after watching the Gap Khaki Swing Commercial. Between the pure joy on the dancers’ faces as they hit the dance floor and the high-flying aerials, it was hard not to catch the lindy bug. Soon, with the help of an older gentleman, they were able to starting learning the dance that they saw in the commercial at Books-a-Million (currently Tuesday Mornings).
Later that July, those same six people went on to show off what they had learned at the Auburn Knights Reunion. Their swing dancing became so popular that AUSDA had to move their lessons outside in order to accommodate the fifty people that wanted to learn. After realizing that the noise from the train made it difficult to teach, they relocated to the bottom of the Haley Center, near the TakeTen restaurant. Unfortunately, after a deep fryer accident, AUSDA was once again forced to move locations. However, this did not hinder their growth and in 2002, they became an official student organization. Since then, the organization has continued to prosper and grow.
Today, the AU Swing Dance Association continues their tradition in the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center where they are currently mastering 8-count Lindy Hop.