Gem City Swing was founded in 2015 by a group of swing dancers who were unhappy with the size of the swing dance scene in Dayton and wished to introduce more people to swing music. After an arduous search, we eventually found a home with Ned Peppers Bar in the Oregon District, and started hosting our weekly dance there. We’ve since grown out of that space and have been dancing at the American Czechoslovakian Club on Valley street.

Alex Brown (Treasurer)

Emily Benze

Emily started swing dancing at the University of Dayton in 2010, and immediately fell in love. She has been avidly dancing ever since. She ran the University of Dayton Swing Dance Club the last 2 years of her undergrad, and has also been teaching the beginner lesson series there for the past 2 years. She enjoys teaching, dancing, and travelling, and hopes to get all new dancers to love swing dancing as much as she does!

We expect all attendees at any of our events to follow our Code of Conduct. Failure to obey the code of conduct will result in your being asked to leave the event and never return.

In general, if you behave like a reasonable human being, you’ll probably be okay.

• We DO NOT discriminate at Gem City Swing. Everyone is welcome, regardless of color, gender, orientation, nationality, appearance, disability, religion, political views, favorite sports team, drink preference, whatever. Any kind of discriminatory, racist, or otherwise insulting remarks will not be tolerated.
• Don’t tell other dancers how to dance unless they specifically ask for advice. It’s rude, and you’re probably wrong anyway.
• This is not a club or a speed-dating joint; just because you are touching someone while dancing doesn’t mean they’re flirting with you. People show up to swing dance, not to hook-up. Becoming friends with people is okay, blatantly hitting on everyone in the venue is not.

Safe Spaces