The swing craze has hit Rideau District High School and the "pre-froshers" are "happenin'."

Mr. Edge, a Queen's University student teacher, has been instructing numerous students the basics of swing dancing since early in the semester.

"I find the fun aspect of the dance to be the most rewarding," said Mr. Edge.

The teacher of math has been swinging for several years now.  He became intrigued when swing was gathering momentum, but had not reached the popularity it is at today.

"It was getting big again in the United States and Canadian cities,"  Mr. Edge explained. "With the Internet coming into the house, I was able to contact the Toronto Swing Society which has actually been going for ten years now."

Because he was living near Brockville, he and his wife had to wait until an instructional course came to the area. When classes were set up, they jumped at the chance to learn swing.  The instructors, who came from Santa Barbara, had learned from one of the original innovators of the dance back in the 1930s. 

"I am teaching a fairly pure version of the dance," Mr. Edge said.

The class at Rideau is somewhat an experiment for Mr. Edge.  By providing free lessons, his wife and him are discovering what pace and level they should proceed when teaching new students.  Their goal is to include swing as one of the styles of dance taught at their studio.

It seems that the exhaustive hours of dance instruction have inhibited Mr. Edge's ability to enjoy swing on a personal level.  When asked where he goes to swing, he said, "nowhere.  My wife and I get enough dance.  We usually want to do something different when we get out."

The students however, can't seem to get enough.  The swing practices spill out into the halls where couples rehearse the Lindy Hop and other steps they have been introduced to. 

"There's a personal challenge to get good at it," relates Mr. Edge.

The teacher agrees somewhat with critics that say that the resurgence of swing in the 1990s is just a passing fad.  But fresh music by Brian Setzer, Johnny Favourite, and Colin James has made swing attractive to younger audiences.

With people like Mr. Edge passing on the steps, swing should outlast the hype.