Susan Elrod fell in love with swing dancing in 2004. A year later she fell for her instructor.

“I’ve always loved swing music. I heard it from my aunt, who used to sing with a big band orchestra,” said Elrod, a pharmacy graduate student from Mount Airy and co-instructor of the University Swing Club. “Once I started learning how to swing dance, I wanted to go to every event. And that’s how Erik and I met.”

That’s Erik Hofmeister, assistant professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Elrod’s dance partner and fiancé.

Hofmeister said the best thing about swing dancing is that it allows you to meet and befriend new people.

“Originally, I got in to swing dancing because the vet school was very insular and I wanted to meet other people,” he said. “And through it I have met a lot of incredible people, including, of course, my fiancé.”

Every Monday, the two dancers guide tenderfoots through the steps, hops, spins and turns at the weekly swing dance class.

It’s not easy, and the learning curve is a bit steep, but it’s something that gets easier with practice, Hofmeister said. “It’s sometimes daunting for beginners, I know, but the best way to get better is to come out and dance.”

For Taryn Mecher, a dietetics and exercise and sports science major from Roswell, her first swing dancing experience was both familiar and nothing like she expected it to be.

“It actually reminds me of ice skating – well except it’s on a floor and there’s no ice, but the footwork and turns feel similar,” Mecher said.

What surprised her was the music she danced to.

“I thought coming in that we’d dance to these old, boring songs – but we danced to modern music,” she said. “It’s more enjoyable dancing to music you can recognize, I think.”

Kyle Krafka, a computer science and math major from Kennesaw, is also a first-timer.

“I’ve never danced before, so all this is new to me and it’s been fun,” Krafka said. “It’s different from anything else on campus.”

It’s also useful that swing moves can be used in most modern pop music, like OutKast’s “Hey Ya,” Krafka added.

Swing dancing has existed since the 1920s, but it’s something new to most students. It’s a social dance, which makes meeting people so easy, Elrod said.

“Everyone always talks about how dancing is a really fun way to meet people, and I have to say it’s absolutely true,” she said. “It’s hard to imagine how Erik and I would have met if we hadn’t both been dancing.”