I felt like a clumsy tugboat amid a sea of grace as dance club faculty advisor Christa Wellhausen guided us through the steps of her modern dance combination. I went up when she said down. I shifted left instead of right. I stepped on toes, knocked knees, made a complete fool out of myself, and I enjoyed every awkward moment.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t very enthusiastic about attending my first dance club meeting. Eating Ramen and watching the same movie I’d seen the night before sounded like a much better way of spending my Thursday evening.

But after a little encouragement from friends and a moment of temporary insanity, I laced up my dance shoes (Adidas shell tops) and made my way over to King hall.

I was taken in like a sick puppy. Any apprehension I had was left behind at the studio door.

“We want to have a place for any person who wants to dance,” said junior and

Dance Club secretary Erin Walker-McMullen, “not just someone who is taking (dance) classes.”

The club officers are true to their word. They didn’t care that I was a wrecking ball with legs. All they cared about was that I was there to have a good time and respect their love for the craft.

This is the dance club’s fourth and biggest year yet. In the past, their numbers were lacking, to put it nicely.

“We were lucky to get five to eight people tops,” said junior and club president Sara Brigham.

This year is much more promising. Now there’s not even enough room on the dance floor for everyone to run through a routine at the same time. They had to form three separate groups.

Enthusiasm is the catalyst for the leaps and bounds that the dance club has made this year. Anyone who is a member (includeing three males) truly loves what thesy are doing.

They live by the saying “dance like nobody’s watching”, but they also like it when someone does. The club is planning on having a student-choreographed concert Dec. 8, at 7 p.m.

When I realized that I was a danger to myself and everyone else around me, I decided to sit back and watch them work. I saw an entire dance routine unfold, step by step, in one hour.

Ben Harper’s “Ground on Down” was the song used for the combination. An up-roar of applause came from the group after they’d nailed it.

The upbeat bluesy style of the Harper’s song exemplified the mood of the evening, but his lyrics were a little off. “You’re working your way from the ground on down,” sang harper. He obviously wasn’t referring to the dance club.

The dance club meets every Thursday night at 8:30. They plan on exploring many genres of dance including salsa and hip hop. Everyone is welcome to attend.