I recently asked our dancers if they would like to share how they discovered Wylin’s Swing Euphorium and how it has affected their lives. I received several inspiring letters in response. The letter that follows is one of them:
“Last year, I was working a lot of shifts for my school’s cafe at the Northwest Washington Fair. I looked at the schedule for the day and saw that a dance group was going to be performing that night. After my shift, I dragged my friend to the Banner Bank stage to come watch Wylin’s Swing Euphorium with me. It was the first night of the Fair and very hot. There weren’t many dancers that were able to make it, but what I saw made me immediately fall in love with the art of dancing. After they had finished, they were all gathered in a group off stage. I ventured over there to see if maybe I could join. They were immediately welcoming and a big part of the reason that I came the following week. Words can’t express how this community has changed my life. I have made new, but more importantly real friends here. I’ve reconnected with some old ones. But most importantly, I’ve grown closer to God. Even though I go to a good Christian school, I was having trouble understanding it. The hardest thing for me at this school was the attitude of the people there. At Wylin’s Swing Euphorium, the people have made me understand what it is to live out your faith. This place truly is one of the best communities. Thank you for creating such an amazing place.
Sincerely, ________”
The part of this letter that touched me most deeply was:
“But most importantly, I’ve grown closer to God.”
For all the friendship, art, connection and just shear fantastic fun that partner social dancing provides it is truly just an illustration of the even more beautiful reality of our connection with God. And that, I think, is why social dancing is such a powerful blessing. In a small way it feels like what one experiences when one is exalting and worshiping God.
Truly, we want our young people to enjoy the incredible blessing of social dance and all the amazing benefits and friendship it brings into their lives, but what we want even more for them is that they grow closer to God. That is, by far, a more powerful blessing than all the other benefits of social dance combined.
When we started Wylin’s Swing Euphorium almost eight years ago we never imagined that God would bless our dance kids and us with such a privilege as to be used by Him to draw our precious young people to Himself. I never cease to be amazed at His love and grace to us and to these outstanding young people whom we have grown to love so much.
This project continues until the end of the year so please feel free to share your story with us. Here is the original announcement:
Would you like to share your personal story of how you came to discover Wylin’s Swing Euphorium?
Or maybe something about how your participation in social dancing has affected your life?
Or maybe something unique that you like about dancing with this group of friends?
Or anything else that you think might be interesting or entertaining to us all?
If so, just respond to this email or send your thoughts to us at
wylint@hotmail.com
let us know if you would like us to include your name or not and if you would like us to share your letter on our dance fellowship website, our dance Telegram page or our dance Facebook page
Here are the results of a similar project we did some years ago:
We recently printed up a survey /questionnaire so we could touch base with how our dance club was being received by our dancers. We also queried them for their input on how we could serve them better. We learned a lot through this project and our hearts were truly and deeply warmed by many of their responses. 
What follows is a compilation of their answers to some of the survey questions. I keyboarded in the comments of those who responded in writing on paper and I just cut and pasted those of others who responded by email. Some respondents also included their names:
Question: What do you like most about social dancing? What positive things has it brought into your life?
– “Friendships, by far, and many other things, like relaxation from stress, good exercise, motivation, etc.” (Brett MacNab)
– “Meeting new people”
– “I think that it is fun dancing with people you know. Swing dancing is fun, enjoyable, breathtaking to watch and easy to learn.”
– “It is fun and everyone is on different levels so it’s ok if you dance bad.”
– “Socializing People are different but there are many ways to connect with someone and help them.”
– “I love seeing how happy people are as they dance -> it’s brought a lot of laughter and fun times.” (Grace)
– “Decreases stress.”
– “The community!”
– “Friendly people. Opportunity to learn from others or help others learn.” ( )
– “It’s the most fun Exercise ever, and great at the same time for social interaction. It’s a steady time in the week where I’m guaranteed a break from pressures of studying and I can take my mind off it and just have fun and relax.” (Valerie Flokstra)
– “I love the fellowship with others! We love coming, and it is fun bc we get to look forward to it.. Every Monday night! ” (Savanna)
– “It is fun”
“For me at least, ever since I finally got into social dancing when I was almost 50 years old, it has been a double delight – first and foremost, it has made it possible for me to meet and socialize with SO many nice people, but also, it has also been my primary source of good and regular exercise, which I am sure has been beneficial to my health (at least until I turned up with this flat tire!).” (John)
– “It has given our children a joyful, safe, fun environment to be in and to enjoy the company of other kids and adults. It is so much fun to dance with my kids, and to watch them dance with others. It is a skill they can use through their whole life.” (Shelly)
Question: Could you tell us some things that you really like about the Euphorium?
– “Everything! – People, music, lessons, fun, prayer, atmosphere, the space” (Brett MacNab)
-“High energy”
– “The Euphorium is fun and exciting and you get to meet new people”
– “We get to dance and it is really chill”
– “I love the host family. I like it cuz the girls get to ask the dance so I really appreciate the boys courage to ask”
– “How close-knit the people are/level of friendliness. This is a really fun, positive environment” (Grace)
– “Changing partners for lessons, cost ”
– “The drop-in classes, and the people!”
– “Welcoming, encouraging, opening prayer.” ( )
– “It’s safe, family-oriented, and welcoming. I’m not afraid to invite friends who are new to dancing because I know they’ll feel welcome and encouraged to try.” “I really appreciate that the social dance is only $5.” (Valerie Flokstra)
– “I really appreciate the fellowship and fun with everybody at Wylin’s Swing Euphorium. Everyone is very friendly and it’s a great place to have some wholesome fun, and at a great price! You will not regret coming, and you might even leave with a few new friends! ” (Savannah)
– “How no one cares how experienced you are because everyone just wants to have fun and how it is a very nice and warm environment and everyone is so nice.”
– “It is really fun and easy going, and has a nice atmosphere.”
– “Most of all, the friendly and relaxed atmosphere, that makes everybody feel welcome. And at least for me, a captive audience, with some members who are willing to tolerate some of my stories.” (John)
– “I love going to swing dance! It is a time of social meeting and getting to work with others to achieve a common goal, to learn how to dance!” (Taylor)
– “Some of the things we really like about the Euphorium are the wonderful variety of people who come, the instruction is always positive and encouraging, it is affordable, it is a wonderful way for our kids to be social with other kids in a positive, appropriate environment.” (Shelly)
– “Love the instruction and the willingness of people to dance with mixed ages.” (Melissa)
– “I appreciate many things about it: the opportunity to learn a new skill in a non-intimidating atmosphere while making new friends of all ages in a wholesome environment. The venue itself is appealing, affordable and a convenient commute.” (Cori)
Question: Is the Swing Euphorium a place to which you would confidently invite your friends, and why?
– “Yes, because it is a very comfortable, positive environment.” (Brett MacNab)
– “Yes”
– “The Swing Euphorium is a place I would invite my friends because the atmosphere is nice everyone is also respectful and fun to be around”
– “Yes because swing is fun and song choice is good”
– “Yes, I find that it very welcoming. Everyone feel welcome. So far every friend I brought really like it”
– “Yes because I’m sure more of them would love to dance.”
– “Yes, I like that all levels are welcome and encouraged to try new things.”
– “Yes! It’s very beginner-friendly & a great atmosphere.”
– “Yes, fun, friendly.” ( )
– “yes (see Q1)” (Valerie Flokstra)
– “Yes – they would not have to worry about how much experience they have and there is a class where they can learn and it is explained well and simple to learn.”
“Your weekly event is definitely an event that I would recommend to anybody and everybody, and in fact ever since you started it, I have told many people about it and urged them to check it out, and I plan to continue to do so. Among other things, I have told them that the people who attend are VERY nice and friendly; there is a wide age range, and likewise with skill levels, so they will not feel like they are in the midst of a bunch of professionals, but also there will be partners available who have only one left foot; the price is very reasonable; the lessons are quite good; the schedule is convenient; the music is well chosen, and generally an individual number will not go on to the point of exhaustion; and if some raising of the energy level is desired, there are even nice snacks available to ingest, indeed sometimes quite exceptional snacks, all at no extra charge; the floor is in reasonably good condition; and the size of the floor is ample, so there are no awkward encounters between the irresistible force, and the immovable object, especially because people know dance etiquette, and circle the floor properly or at least stay out of each other’s way.
And lastly, you are welcome to use any of my comments for any purpose, if you come across some that you think might be helpful. Thanks for helping so many people, to have so much fun, Wylin! (And of course, Hilda and Tiffany deserve equally enthusiastic commendations, too!) Best regards,” (John)
We also asked if they had any suggestions of improvements or changes they would like to see and we received the following ideas:
– More people
– More new music, more newer pop music, have the birthday person choose their own song for the birthday circle – ( We have added much more and newer music )
– More new dance styles, more line dances, Ballroom dances, country line dances – ( We now offer advanced classes and are teaching other ballroom dances as well )
– Do a masquerade ball
– More partner rotations during class and more practice time for new moves
– More formal events – (More special events are planned )
– More carefully monitor the volume of the music so people can visit more easily – ( We are more carefully monitoring this going forward )
– Have a sign up sheet for different families to bring snacks each week
– More fun lead and follow exercises – ( We will be doing more of these )
– A regular quick review of previously taught dance moves
– Adopt a dress code
– Promote the club as a multi-generational, community dance club rather than a as a youth dance club
Since school has started again our large homeschool families have not been able to make it to dance on our regular Monday night dance evenings due to their participation in the local homeschool debate club (an excellent program by the way) so we asked everyone if a different night of the week would work better for them to come and dance. We tallied one vote for their first choice, ½ a vote for their second choice, and we removed ½ a vote for the days they said would not work for them. The results were as follows:
Monday: 2
Tuesday: 1.5
Wednesday: 2
Thursday: 1
Friday: 5.5
Saturday: 3
Sunday: 0.5
( Having tried being open on Friday nights for about 6 months without success we are now considering Tuesday nights as that is the only night when the venue is available that does not conflict with other local swing dance clubs )
We inquired about whether our current hours of 7 PM for our drop in class followed by 8 PM to 11PM for our social dance party was working well for people.
The great majority of responders stated that they liked our current hours, though many suggested we close at 10 PM instead of 11 PM. A number of others said they would like us to start an hour earlier at 6 PM. – ( We have adopted this idea and so we now close at 10 PM )
We additionally asked what time of the dance evening they would prefer for special 1 hour dance workshops.
The overwhelming response was 6 PM to 7 PM (just before our regular Drop-in class). – (We are now offering our advanced classes from 9 PM to 10 PM as it proved to be to difficult for many of our dancers to make it to the venue by 6 PM )
This survey questionnaire project has proven to be very informative, encouraging, and even endearing at times. We will be enhancing those things that have proven to be the greatest blessing to people, and we will be adopting many of the very helpful ideas that our dancers have offered us as well. If you are new to this website, or have never danced before, we want to welcome you to come and check out our dance club and discover all of this fantasticness for yourselves.
All God’s blessings to all of you, dear friends,
Wylin, Hilda, Stuart and Tiffany