History 2003-04

The Swingtime Swing Dance Troupe was founded in 2002 by four Stanford students – Andy Huang, Meg Kale, Maria Reese, and Darick Tong – with the help of former Vintage Dance Ensemble Director, Richard Powers, and Dance Captains, Ryan and Monica Shen Knotts. Their goal was to create a student-based swing dance troupe with an emphasis on precision and artistic flair to continue on the tradition of excellence of Vintage.

Swingtime's 2003-2004 saw it maintaining the standards of excellence it set in its first year and growing the group to an unprecedented size of 12 couples. This larger size allowed it to try ambitious larger pieces like professional choreography Back Bay Shuffle by Catrine Ljunggren and to experiment with more duets in its Cat's Corner piece. It also focused on developing its dancers and saw vast improvement in the dancing and performing of its less-experienced members. Swingtime increased the number and variety of its performances, including performing on a fashion-show catwalk as a part of the Hat Walk 2003 fundraiser for the Asian American Cancer Support Network, returning to the 27th Annual Viennese Ball, and appearing in both Stanford Dance Division's annual Spring Migration show and Knotts Dance Company's anniversary Stepping Out show. In addition Artistic Director Meg Kale and member Kari Doyle served as choreographers for Stanford Ram's Head Theatrical Society's Spring production of Kiss Me, Kate, while member Dave Kale joined the chorus as a singer and dancer. Meg and Dave danced in the show-stopping number Too Darn Hot.

Swingtime has established itself as one of the premier swing dance troupes in the Bay Area with its precise, high-energy style of dance yet remains dedicated to its original charter of providing students with amazing opportunities to learn high-quality swing, stuning jazz moves, and awe-inspiring aerials and put it all together to exciting music, great costumes, and cheering crowds, both on and off campus.