UW Gears Up to Reclaim Swing Dance World Record
The University of Wyoming Cowboy Country Swing Club is hoping Laramie residents come dance for a good cause as they try to reclaim the Guinness world record for the largest number of swing dance participants dancing at one time on Saturday, April 29.
Yahsmin Gorji, Cowboy Country Swing Club president, says the event is free and open to the public, but a $5 donation to United Way is suggested.
“I figured that this would be the perfect opportunity, since we will have so many people come to our event, to get money to United Way for whatever they need to use it for,” Gorji said. “All of the proceeds and all of our sponsorship goes directly to United Way in Albany County.”
Gorji said UW had broken the record before back in 2015 with 1,184 participants. She said Grand Rapids, Mich., then broke the record with about 50 more participants in 2016.
“After they broke the record they sent us a message saying that the ball was in our court to break it again,” Gorji said. “We were like, okay, game on! We are going to break it but we are going to just blow it out of the water so you can’t break it.”
Gorji said the UW CCSC is hoping to get 2,500 participants to join them at the War Memorial Fieldhouse to break the record. According to the Guinness world record rulebook, participants have to be swing dancing simultaneously for 5 minutes in order to break the record. Gorji said they will give dancers six minutes just to make sure everyone is ready.
Gorji said Tris Munsick and the Innocents, a Wyoming band, will be playing at the event. Check in will begin at 6:45 p.m. and go until 7:45 p.m.
Gorji said this is a great opportunity and any dancers available should come join the effort.
“How many times are you going to be able to look at somebody and say, yes I was part of breaking the world record?” she said.