The Swing Devils of the Palouse spiced up their weekly swing dance sessions the Thursday before Halloween.
Last Thursday, approximately 82 people attended the annual Swing Devils Halloween Dance night at the Moose Lodge, many of whom sported costumes. The night began with a beginners’ introductory lesson at 8 p.m., followed by social swing dancing at 9 p.m.
“We encourage people to dress up, although they didn’t have to if they didn’t want to,” said Kelsey Stevenson, president of the Swing Devils.
Some costumes were easily recognizable. One group of attendees came dressed as characters from the popular Disney animated franchise, “Winnie The Pooh.” One couple came dressed as characters from another Disney movie, “Up.”
Other costumes were harder to distinguish. Chee Yen Ngeh, a UI senior majoring in English literature was dressed as the character “Frisk” from the video game “Undertale.”
“I bought a short wig, gave it a trim to fit the character’s hairstyle,” Ngeh said. “I bought a plain sweater and painted with fabric paint because that’s the identifier of who my character is.”
Ray Doraisamy, a second-year UI student, came in a skin-colored, skin-tight bodysuit. He also had on moose leg slippers and leaves painted on his face.
“My costume is whatever you think it is,” Doraisamy said. “I got it for cheap at the Hartung Theatre costume sale.”
Then there were those costumes that were in some way difficult to find. One man wore a white shirt with the words ‘ERROR 404: Costume not found’ written on it. Another woman, sporting a red-and-white-striped top with a red beanie, was Waldo from “Where’s Waldo.”
One of the highlights of the event was the Halloween costume contest, where the audience cheered for their favorite costumes. The costume that elicited the loudest cheer won. The winners for the costume contest were a couple dressed as Mary Poppins and Bert from “Mary Poppins.”
Miranda Kent and Greg Beck, as Mary Poppins and Bert, said this was their third year attending the Halloween Dance night, which has become a tradition for them.
“It was our official pre-dating date,” Beck said.
The Jack and Jill dance contest was another part of the event. Attendees could choose to enter the contest by dancing to a particular song. Then the partners were shuffled before continuing to the semi-finals. A third contest was the lucky draw contest.
All winners from all contests won prizes such as swing dancing tickets or Swing Devils T-shirts.
The Swing Devils of the Palouse regularly meets every Thursday night at the Moose Lodge for swing dancing. Advanced and new dancers are welcome for $5. There is a beginner’s lesson at 8 p.m. followed by the social dance at 9 p.m.
May Ng can be reached at [email protected]