Nicaraguan-Native Dana Creswell Starts a Swing Dancing Club at Olympia High School

swing dancing olympia
Always a fan of dancing, Dana plans to start a swing dancing club at Olympia High School.
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By Tali Haller

dairy queenEvery Tuesday and Sunday, the Eagles Ballroom hosts a Swing Dancing Night, where adventurous Olympians come and lose themselves in the 1920’s-like atmosphere of lively music and old-fashioned spins, dips, and two-steps.

The evening starts with a quick Beginning Swing Dance Lesson at 7:00 p.m., hosted by Christine Corey, with dancing following from 7:30 – 10:30pm.

swing dancing olympia
Always a fan of dancing, Dana plans to start a swing dancing club at Olympia High School.

Dana Creswell, a senior at Olympia High School and a regular at the Eagles Ballroom, hopes to grow the youth attendance at these events by starting a swing dancing club. “I absolutely love swing dancing,” Dana exclaimed. “It’s a part of America’s culture that many teens aren’t familiar with. I think it will be fun to show people what real dancing is like. Plus, when people recognize how fun this type of dancing can be, it might help with some of the inappropriate dancing at Homecoming and Prom.”

Already she’s been talking with the Eagles Ballroom staff, who plan to cut the club a group deal from the regular $5 admission since they want to increase the number of young people who attend.

Along with the actual nights of swing dancing, the OHS club will also practice dancing together during the Wednesday morning “school club” hours. “Hopefully the club will host our own dances as fundraisers,” said Dana. But recognizing that the club isn’t officially formed yet, she doesn’t want to get too far ahead. Instead, she’s leaving the intense brainstorming to club meetings where all the members can contribute ideas.

Fortunately for the club, Dana has plenty of experience with event planning and organizing dances. As of this year, she is officially one of three hosts who run non-school-related dances for the students in the greater Olympia area.

dana creswell
Dana moved to Olympia, Washington when she was 13 and fell in love with the independence this country has to offer.

She first got into the dances her sophomore year. “I thought they were super fun and it was great to see everyone from school come out and let loose a little,” she said. This past year, as a junior, she helped the two previous hosts run the music, even DJ-ing on stage from time to time. When it came time for the previous hosts to pass down the responsibility of running the dances, Dana was an obvious choice.

“My main job is to make all the arrangements: I book the venue, handle the money, greet people at the door, etc.” explained Dana. Not only is she making a nice profit (admission is $5 to $7 depending on the venue), she’s also acquiring a myriad of skills, ranging from managing a small business to customer service and public relations – all while having fun among friends. Read about one of the other hosts, Levi Bisonn, who handles the technology, lights, and sound here.

Dana’s love for dancing stems from her rich cultural history. Born and raised in Nicaragua, Dana moved to Olympia just over four years ago when her family relocated. “Nicaragua and the United States have very different cultures,” she said. “One of my favorite things about the States is being independent. Down in Nicaragua, I would never be able to drive my own car, have my own job, or be able to spend time by myself. It’s very dangerous there so you spend every single second of your life with somebody, whether it’s your maid, your parents, or your friends.”

Coming from a well-off family, she often felt as though she was treated as royalty. “We had drivers, maids, guards, and you never did anything by yourself or for yourself. If you were hungry, someone would cook for you. But the difference between the classes was ginormous. Some people had houses that were washed down by the rain each year because they didn’t have the materials to build a sustainable home,” Dana explained.

dana creswell
Dana (middle) still makes the occasional trip to her home country Nicaragua.

All of this has contributed to her outlook on life today. “I feel like some people complain too much about their conditions and they don’t realize how lucky they are. My family used to be very poor. We used to live in this tiny little house together and struggled to make ends meet. I never had toys when I was little. I remember I used to go out and play with the lime tree, or the sticks, or the rocks. You just had to make do with what you had. But that’s all you knew so you were perfectly fine,” Dana emphasized.

Despite the constant threat of violence, Nicaraguans manage to be some of the happiest people Dana has ever come across. “Down there, people will just pop on some music, put out a lawn chair, and sit outside without a worry in the world,” she said with a smile. “The thing I absolutely hate about here is how stressed out everyone seems to be. It’s almost like you feel guilty if you’re not doing something, if you’re not working for money or going for a run.”

Although Dana wasn’t born in America, she’s quickly adopted our “always-busy” attitude. Aside from running the dances and starting a swing dancing club, Dana is on the Budd Bay Rugby Team, maintains a rigorous academic schedule, and holds down a part-time job with the Department of Revenue. Working as an office assistant, Dana writes up fraud reports and does other secretarial tasks. What’s more, this job is preparation for a future in which she plans to be an accountant. “Accounting is definitely not my biggest passion but I definitely enjoy doing it,” said Dana. “I’ve always had this urge to organize things – even though on the outside, I may seem like a messy person (just look at my room) – and accounting satisfies that feeling. Plus I like being precise and I like money,” she said with a smile.

With all these activities, Dana is extremely busy. But rather than complain, she immediately sought out a solution, one that may even seem overly simple: she bought a planner. “It’s the planner and sleep that I owe my sanity to,” she confessed with a laugh.

 

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