Hello!
We are UoY Swing dance society, raising funds for our annual weekender, Whip-ma Whop-ma Hop on the 20-22nd February, as well as fundraising for future events!
Whip-Ma provides an opportunity for dancers from all over the country to come together, improve their skills and most importantly, have fun, no matter their experience. The funds we raise would go into ensuring we can hire the best qualified teachers and musicians while making it as affordable and as enjoyable as we can.
Who are We?
We are a student-run Swing Dance Society. We offer weekly lessons, mainly on Lindy Hop and Charleston, but our previous classes also included collegiate shag, blues, balboa and solo jazz. We host regular social events and social dances, and organise two big weekend events every year. We encourage students to learn swing dancing by collaborating with other university societies and foster connections with other swing dance communities.
For our effort and contributions last year we were awarded best event of the year (Whip-ma Whop-ma Hop 2025) and the accessibility and inclusivity award by YorkSU and have been shortlisted for Student Group of the Year and Event of the Year in the Love York awards.
why our weekenders?
Both our weekenders, Whip-ma Whop-ma Hop and Jorvik, provide an opportunity for the dancers of all experiences to learn, dance and have fun together.
We are the only student society to put on not only one, but two weekenders each year. Our Jorvik weekender has just passed in October and is usually geared towards beginners. Meanwhile, Whip-ma Whop-ma Hop focuses more on Intermediates, with the opportunity to experience more advanced teaching and meet swing dancers of a higher experience.
This academic at for Whip-ma Whop-ma Hop you can enjoy three days of jazz which include:
- Three streams: beginners, intermediates and solo jazz!
- Tasters on Friday and Sunday - including blues and aerials workshops
- Social dancing every evening of the weekender, and a live band on Saturday
We have different types of tickets to allow people to attend the events they want without additional costs. More details will be released on our Instagram and dancecloud.
We try to make our events and our lessons affordable, especially for students, and would really appreciate any help and contribution towards making it possible.
Where will the money go?
Unfortunately, running national events like these do not come cheap, especially when we already hire two teachers every week for our usual lessons. We need your support!
Our biggest expense are teaching costs - at more than £2000 for Whip-Ma. Accommodation, transport and food for our lovely teachers are paid by the society as well. Our other expenses include hiring bands and photographers, and booking venue for social dancing.
All these costs are mostly covered by selling tickets, so if you'd like to join us for all three days, one full day or just socials - please consider purchasing a ticket here: uoy.dancecloud.com
Raising £500 with YuStart would allow us to make it all happen while keeping our ticket prices low and the quality of our events high. Our YuStart page will remain open for a little while longer after our weekender is over (20-22th February) to ensure that we have time to fundraise the sum we need to pay for the teaching and other expenses.
Help us succeed!
We're extremely grateful for any support you can give! Please...
- Donate if you can! (you'll be in with a chance of winning some rewards)
- Share our fundraiser with your friends! (spread the word of jazz)
- Get your Whip-Ma tickets! (https://uoy.dancecloud.com/dance/38817)
- Come along to our weekly lessons! (Wednesday evenings in Physics building on campus and always beginner-friendly)
- Consider getting a membership! (for £7 you can get discounts on all our lessons and paid events)
Find us here
We'd love to hear from you! Feel free to contact us with any questions or for further information:
Instagram - @uoyswingstagram and @uoyswingdance_events!
Email: swingdance@yorksu.org!
If you want to learn more about our society and past events, check out our website!
