Since 1998, Central High School has held an annual dance called the Swing Dance (or Swing Central) which is being held at the Champaign Country Club on Friday, February 27th. One of the defining factors about this event compared to other school dances, like Homecoming or Prom, is that this dance has all three jazz bands performing instead of a DJ or playlist playing music.
Central’s jazz program has the different levels of jazz split up into three bands: Lab, Stage, and Ensemble. The Lab band usually has beginners to jazz, Stage contains intermediate players, and Ensemble has some of Central’s best players in it. There are also the jazz combos that are much smaller groups of musicians that plan some of their own gigs and events, but would not be at the swing dance. Senior Ensemble Saxophonist player and combo member, Apollo Breg, shared how much his perception of the swing dance has changed across the years with his increased involvement.
“I’ve gained a profound appreciation for the dance each year as I’ve become more involved in the setup process and seeing what it takes to plan and coordinate such a massive event,” said Breg.
Because of how Mr. Currey, band director, has created and organized the dance, he has seen it grow over his years at Central. The dance started in the Champaign Train Station during the day of prom in 1998 and they started moving around and trying out different venues around Champaign after that. They have eventually decided to now hold the dance at the Country Club after a parent at a Music Booster Meeting suggested the idea. “We said that anyone with a good suit or dress could come to the dance so many people came for a bit and went to prom after, and it became such a success we had to do it more” said Currey.
Parent and student involvement became one of the most important reasons this event has become so popular. “The parents and students help make this dance so big, because at some times we had parents putting up banners, streamers, and even old records to help amplify the energy at the dance and students also helping set up the dance for many years” said Currey.
Mr. Currey, the band director and conductor for the jazz bands,is responsible for making the song playlist for the Swing Dance. Mr. Currey explained that there are many songs the bands normally play and some traditions within the bands that they nearly always follow.
“We have some songs we always play like ‘In The Mood’, ‘Sing Sing Sing’ and ‘Apple Honey’ are some charts we normally play, but we normally add some traditional swing songs to the list” Mr. Currey said, “It has been a tradition for a while that we end with the Jazz Ensemble and it is looking to stay that way for a while”
The music is one of the most important aspects of any dance like this and can affect so much of the atmosphere and energy of the dance. Ensemble Saxophonist, Shinjian Song, helped describe his experience with the music chosen over the four years he has been playing jazz.
“I like all the tunes we are playing, but I most enjoy seeing how the audience reacts to us playing our music.” Song said, ”Some of the classics have gotten a bit boring over the years I’ve been playing, but they have all stayed very fun to play”
The jazz bands usually rehearse during the mornings and after school depending on the level. Many people walk by these rehearsals in the mornings to get to their lockers and it is one of the highlights of their morning.
Against what some may believe, the rehearsal schedule hasn’t changed at all even with the nearing swing dance. ”Over the years, I have mostly helped out with moving and setting up things at the country club, but it never really intruded on our school day,” said Breg.
The jazz bands have already done many events over the years varying in location and caliber. One of their most recent events was at the annual Eastern Illinois University Jazz Festival. “I think the music we play at Swing Central is usually pretty simple, given that we have just finished our very difficult and busy festival schedule, but we do still have to play some of the festival tunes during the swing dance” said Song.
The bands still have a few events on their schedule to wrap up this year, like the Central Jazz fest during April 17th and 18th. If you enjoy the swing dance, the jazz fest should be the event for you. You can track Central’s music events on their website calendar and watch out for their jazz, classical, and even marching band performances in the years to come.
Because of how long this event has been going on, the show has grown from just a specifically Central event, and now will be hosting 2 other schools to play during the dance. “In the past we have employed local jazz combos to play, but many people came to see central’s jazz bands besides the other bands so we stopped inviting them. This year, we’ll have our jazz ensemble, stage, and lab bands play, and we have also invited Urbana High School and Jefferson Middle School to play at the dance.” said Currey.
The swing dance across the years has been very popular and loved by many people, and this year, it must not be any different. With how much the jazz band has prepared, and how good it has been in past years, it is definitely worth the while. “Even though I haven’t been the biggest fan of big social events, I have found Swing Central to be one of my favorite events because of its unique atmosphere and energy,” said Song.