Launching its week of programmed events for students, the Residential Advisory Board (RAB) hosted a Leap Year Gala on Monday night in the Glass Pavilion in honor of the extra day that comes every four years.
The event, co-sponsored by the Student Government Association (SGA), featured a live traditional big band, JHU Ballroom Dance Club swing dance lessons and a table of upscale refreshments. Students, some dressed in cocktail attire, participated in the 1940s-themed event for two dollars at the door.
RAB was able to book the Olney Big Band with financial assistance from SGA and a personal connection through Daniel Naiman, a professor in the department of applied mathematics and statistics. Naiman plays at a club in the Inner Harbor on Thursday nights, according to RAB member sophomore Thomas Marge, one of his students.
Big band is a music genre often associated with the swing era. These bands usually consist of 15 to 25 members.
Founded in 2004, the Maryland-native Olney Big Band is a non-profit organization of big band music lovers that includes artists, teachers, arrangers and fans. At the event, the musicians played a number of standard swing tunes, like “Sing, Sing, Sing” and “The Lady is a Tramp.”
Freshman Brenda Quesada expressed her excitement about hearing live swing music for the first time and how impressed she was by the talent of the Olney Big Band.
“I was really hesitant because I had never really heard swing dance music before, but they are so good and exciting and keeping a really upbeat atmosphere,” she said. “[The event is] going pretty awesomely. It looks super good, like very aesthetically pleasing, and the band is amazing.”
With the help of the JHU Ballroom Dance Club, attending students had the opportunity to learn simple swing dance routines from RAB directors at the event.
“We got a couple members of the Ballroom Dance Club to show up early and teach some of our RAB members how to do the basics of swing dance, so now our RAB members are out on the floor teaching everybody else,” Residential Life Community Advisors senior Vittorio Loprinzo said. “People inside are having a lot of fun dancing around and changing partners after every song.”
Attending students ranged from swing dance veterans, like freshman Matthias Gompers, to learners trying it out for the first time, like freshman Sarah Crum.
“I’ve been to Mobtown Ballroom a couple of times, so I probably have seven hours of total experience, but that’s still seven hours more experience than mostly everyone here,” Gompers said. “I love swing dancing, so it’s great to get the common student involved too.”
Crum reflected on her experience as a first-time swing dancer.
“It’s going really well and I’ve learned how to swing dance, which was a first,” Crum said. “It’s really swingin’.”
Freshman Karina Rahaman, a member of RAB, thought the gala brought a fun, new atmosphere to Hopkins that she had not seen before.
“I think it’s a nice change of pace from what Hopkins normally offers, and it’s great to see students taking to it so well,” she said.
The next event of RAB Week was Grocery Bingo during Late Night at the FFC on Wednesday night, during which students could win prizes like a 20-pack of Ramen or Easy Mac.
On Thursday evening, there will be a Throwback Thursday event in Charles Commons with childhood-themed candy, a lip-sync battle and other early 2000sinspired activities. Finally, the week will end with Icing on the Cake, a cake-decorating contest held Friday in the AMR I Multi-Purpose Room and featuring prizes and dessert snacks.
Correction: The quote beginning with “I’ve been to Mobtown Ballroom a couple of times..." was said by Matthias Gompers, not Sarah Crum.
