In the Swing of Things

Dan Wallach used to have two left feet, but now he has twinkle toes.

The transformation began about five years ago. “I wanted some sort of hobby that didn’t involve sitting in front of a computer,” recalls Wallach, an assistant professor of computer science and electrical and computer engineering whose studies focus on computer security. Then he saw the infamous Gap advertisements featuring models in khakis doing the Lindy Hop across the screen to “Jump, Jive an’ Wail.”

“When the Gap ad aired, somehow I got it into my head that I wanted to learn how to swing dance.”

Wallach began taking classes and never stopped. What appealed to him most about swing dance was that it was social, athletic, and artistic—all rolled into one. “Swing allows me to express more of who I am,” he explains. “All the same kinds of expression that happen in music, happen in dance. That’s not something I can do in my day job.”

Recently, Wallach has become known for his work with researchers from Johns Hopkins University that criticizes the software in electronic voting machines. Although he’s regularly quoted in the national media about the reliability of these machines, his fancy footwork as a dancer remains relatively unknown among his colleagues.

His abilities are better known by students. As a member of the Houston Swing Dance Society, he met some students from Rice who were members of the campus Social Dance Society. He began working with them—teaching beginning swing classes at Rice and organizing workshops with visiting instructors.

After investing considerable time and sweat, Wallach is proud to say he knows a lot of moves. “But there are some things I just don’t have the physicality to do,” he says. “The things you see in old movies with dancers are pretty wild. For instance, I can’t do the splits. I’ll never be able to do the splits.”

Wallach says swing experience cannot be measured in months; a dancer’s skills are honed over years of practice. No matter how much he already knows about dancing, Wallach is constantly learning from other dancers. “Swing is a social dance,” he notes. “I know all the local dancers, and they know me. Swing dancers dance with everybody.”
The spontaneity that comes from dancing with a new person each time also can lead to mistakes. The upside, Wallace says, is that mistakes can become some of the best new dance moves. However, mistakes also can make apologies necessary, at best, and cause injuries at worst. “Swing is a full-contact sport. I’ve been elbowed, punched, and kicked. I try not to be on the delivering end.”

His interest in swing dance has led to other, less dangerous hobbies. Wallach has cultivated quite a jazz collection over time that he uses to DJ at local swing dances. He’s even been a guest DJ on the “Americana Show” on Rice’s radio station, KTRU.

“I’ve learned a lot about how jazz music works through my experiences on the dance floor,” he says. “It’s fun to be able to carry that over into other areas of my life.”

—Lindsey Fielder