Instead of driving 40 minutes away, Cobbers now can experience the barn dance atmosphere on campus
College students, and people from the community, swing dance and line dance on the shiny floors of the restored barn. The mood is set with a live country band playing in the front, and a bar in the back, where people are socializing over drinks. This is how sophomore Michael Miguel described his night at the Arthur Barn Dance.
Wanting to bring this type of atmosphere to Concordia, CEC invites all cobbers to country it up on Nov. 21, at Concordia’s first Barn Dance.
Reyna Bergstrom also went to the barn dance and said there was a lot of partner dancing unless someone was participating in a line dance. Bergstrom really enjoyed the atmosphere in Arthur.
“It was very high energy,” Bergstrom, member of Dances and Concerts committee in CEC said. “It was very fun, energized and upbeat and people were just having a good time.”
Emily Erickson, member of CEC and Concerts and Dances Commissioner said barn dances are not the typical dances that are seen on campus. In the past, dances have had more pop music and techno, and there hasn’t really been any country.
“We are going to try and make it feel as barnlike as possible,” Bergstrom said. The dance will be going from 9-10:30 p.m.
The dance will feature live music by Mockingbird Sun.
Erickson said that Mockingbird Sun is not a well-known country band. CEC found out about the band when they went to their annual spring conference, National Association for Campus Activities. When CEC heard the band there, Erickson said CEC really liked Mockingbird Sun’s sound. Erickson said their sound is a lot like Florida Georgia Line or Randy Houser.
“Having a country band is something unique for Concordia,” Erickson said. “They are currently touring on the college level now, but are looking to break into a bigger scene,” Erickson said.
Unlike Miguel and Bergstrom, Erickson has never been to any local barn dances, but knows they have become quite popular. She knows a lot of people who really enjoy them. Some students drive 30 to 40 minutes to Arthur, where the barn dances at Johnson’s Barn are always packed.
“People just like the atmosphere there,” Erickson said. “People [go] where it is fun.”
Miguel, has gone to the Arthur barn dance twice with his girlfriend. He said that people mostly swing dance there and an occasional line dance.
According to Miguel, you need some sort of background in swing dancing or any other type of dance. He was informally taught how to swing dance, so he knew enough to where he felt he fit in at Arthur.
“I really enjoyed showing them I could swing dance, that I fit in and looked normal,” Miguel said.
Despite swing dancing being the popular dance of choice at Arthur, according to Erickson, CEC encourages all students to dance however they see fit to country music at the Concordia barn dance.
The Arthur barn dance also follows a certain dress code that will be adopted at the CEC event.
“My girlfriend said,’I heard that if you don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb, wear a plaid shirt,” said Miguel.
Bergstrom thinks having the barn dance here will be successful. So many people already enjoy the dancing scene, and living in North Dakota and Minn., Bergstrom said we are all familiar with country. She thought, why not bring the country scene here instead of having students driving 40 minutes to get there.
According to Erickson, the main challenge with organizing the barn dance event has been getting the word out. It is a new twist on what CEC usually does for Concordia dances, so it is hard to get people excited about it.
Bergstrom said that going to the Arthur barn dance was a new adventure for her and she is really excited that CEC is deciding to add a new twist to their dance scene, and introduce some country.
“It’s a new experience if you haven’t been to a barn dance,” Bergstrom said. “I hope we can recreate the experience.”
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