According to historians, dancing has been around for almost as long as mankind. Most commonly used for religious and cultural purposes, it did not become truly social until sometime during the medieval ages. Ballroom dances, such as the waltz, the foxtrot, and the swing, are relatively new additions, which originated in England during the 1700s. Today, such dancing has spread throughout the world and can be found almost everywhere—even in some Christian universities.

However, this has not always been the case.  Only a few months ago, students attending John Brown University (JBU) in Arkansas were forbidden to engage in any form of dancing other than square or folk dancing, or “choreography as a part of a dramatic production[1].”  Even those dances allowed by the university required permission in advance from JBU’s Vice President for Student Development. Students had tried to have the policy changed in years before, but the ruling had remained firm.  This year, when Jennifer Paulsen, the president of the university’s student government, and her cabinet drafted a new proposal and presented it to JBU’s dean, president, and vice-presidents. While the new version still did not allow all dances, it did give students permission to participate in such thematic dances as the swing and salsa. After a few alterations—“hip hop” dancing was deleted—the trustees voted, and JBU officially accepted the new proposal.

The first dance was planned for the first of December, and the three-hour event came off as a huge success as the gymnasium filled with the sights and sounds of swing dancing. Faculty joined students on the dance floor as the band played on, providing songs such as “In the Mood” and “All of Me.” Around 450 dancers showed up, with twenty of the couples competing towards the end of the night to win a dance contest. Many agreed that they were attending one of the best JBU events ever.

In allowing their first on-campus swing dance, JBU joined a growing number of conservative Christian colleges now raising or altering the dancing ban that some Christian denominations have traditionally upheld and supported for generations. In 1996, Baylor University, a Southern Baptist school in Texas, lifted its unwritten policy that had banned dancing for 151 years. Wheaton College in Illinois and Cornerstone University in Michigan have also recently lifted dancing restrictions. This change in perspective regarding dance has not altered all conservative colleges, however. Many, like South Carolina’s Bob Jones University, still maintain that “biblical principles preclude . . . dancing[2].” As the morals of the outside world continue to change, and Christian foreign students continue to bring in the dancing of their own cultures, American Christian universities will be re-evaluating their stance and deciding whether to continue their ban on the waltz or ask the student body, “Shall we dance?”