On the quiet street where Happy Valley ends and Fairhaven begins one can find Western students and 70-year-old couples socializing, laughing and dancing the night away as one community.
In an old firehouse on a Tuesday night, Top 40 songs are playing and people are West Coast swing dancing. It is a partner dance with its roots in lindy hop. The dance relies heavily on the connection between partners and allows for improvised dance moves. It’s a slotted dance, meaning that participants dance within a long, thin slotted area, about eight feet long if a slow song, shorter if the song is more upbeat.
That night, Mike Posner’s “Please Don’t Go” was among the featured music, and it’s not uncommon for popular songs to play during West Coast swing dancing sessions. At the Firehouse Performing Arts Center, the Happy Valley community comes together every Tuesday night to learn about and experience West Coast swing dancing. This unique form of swing has followers of every generation.
“West Coast swing as opposed to East Coast swing is what I like to call the slinkier dance of the two,” Michelle Bruncks, a Western Washington University student and dancer, said. “It’s a very linear dance. You make a line with your partner.”
People from many different areas of Bellingham and of all ages come to the West Coast swing classes at the Firehouse. There are people who come to the lessons in their 20s all the way up to their 70s, according to Whitacre.
In a community where students and permanent residents often disagree, the Firehouse dance sessions offer a place where all the Happy Valley residents can come together for a night of fun.
Some West Coast swing classes at the Firehouse offer a lesson with a professional West Coast swing dancer, which costs $10. Other classes, which simply offer space for community members to come practice with one another, cost $5. The Firehouse is a recently renovated 1927 Historic Fire Station, which is now a café and performing arts center. Julie Whitacre and Paul Olmstead founded Bellingham West Coast Swing, and had been struggling for years to find a nearby venue for the classes. At first, they would travel as far as Seattle every week to dance, but with the recent renovation of the firehouse, dancers have had less of a commute.
“It was so hard to find a place to dance in Bellingham. But look at this floor; this is a beautiful dance floor,” Whitacre said.
Older residents who have seen Happy Valley transform from a small community to a densely populated college town have had some issues with noisy college students who want to be able to throw parties at their apartments. The community of Happy Valley changes drastically from summer to the school year, when students come back to Bellingham. But all differences are set aside on Tuesday nights at the Firehouse.
“There was a 12-year-old boy once who wanted to dance with me and then there will be people in their 70s that just had hip replacements that are still there wanting to dance and its great!” Bruncks said.
The street outside is dark, except for the firehouse, which is aglow and bustling with dancers. Two large, wooden doors are propped open and the sounds of upbeat music and shuffling feet drift outside.
Inside, dancers of all ages mingle, sip drinks and socialize. Whitacre stands in the back DJing and chatting with dancers. The atmosphere is carefree, warm and welcoming.
“They have a coffee shop and events. I went to one where poets read their poetry while dancers danced to it,” Jennifer Wilke, a middle-aged Happy Valley resident, said.
In addition to its classes, workshops and performances, the Firehouse also offers film showings and is home to a café and space for massage therapy.
“Tell people to come and dance because no one is going to make fun of them,” Bruncks said.
