“Do you wanna dance and hold my hand? Baby, do you wanna dance?”

Students at Iowa State may want to dance, but not everyone may know about the free socials held every Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union.

This year-round program is designed to offer students and central Iowa residents a chance to get out and dance.

Mark Mehl, treasurer of the ISU Ballroom Dance Club, said the Friday night event can bring in a crowd of 15 to 20 people in the summer and 25 or more dancers in the fall, winter and spring.

Mehl said they try to publicize the dance events as best they can to get the word out to interested students. One way to find out about the dance events is to check out Usenet on the Internet under categories isu.events and rec.arts.dance.

When asked about the music, Mehl said he often finds himself being the disc jockey for the dances. He said they also try to provide a live band from the central Iowa area at least once or twice a year, usually in the spring.

Mehl said the majority of the music played at the open socials includes top 40 hits. He said one key to a great evening is to dress casually.

The ISU Ballroom Dance Club does offer special dance lessons to those interested in learning a particular type of dance, including instructions for ballroom dancing, American Rumba and many more. The price range for these lessons is between $5 and $13 for either three or four week lessons.

Besides the Friday night socials, there is another dance club waltzing its way to campus, the ISU Ballroom Dance Company. This company was not organized for social dancing though. It is a “strictly ballroom” type of organization.

The second dance company is different from the Friday night dancing. It provides ISU with its own official dance team.

The team performs and competes in many competitions in and around Iowa.

The dance club is in full swing. It is a year-round activity and ISU encourages you to join. See you on the dance floor.

Contact the Memorial Union to find out where the dances are held.