Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Here at Swarthmore we seem to have enough clubs to cover almost everyone’s interests, whether they’re into knitting, anime, aikido, or any other number of things. Still, every once in awhile someone has an interest that falls outside of this collection of groups. I remember being told as a spec that if this was the case, I should feel free to try and start my own club. It seems that Eric Christiansen ’08 was given the same advice and took it to heart. His passion? Dance Dance Revolution, a popular dancing video game. The Gazette sat down with Christiansen to discuss his interest in DDR.
Daily Gazette: Why are you trying to start a DDR club?
Eric Christiansen: As you might guess, I love DDR. I want other people to experience the joy that is DDR, but it’s not feasible for lots of people to play together unless there’s a club. See, there are four things you need to play DDR: a TV, a game console like PlayStation 2 or Xbox, one of the games, and a dance pad. I have access to TVs, I may be able to borrow an Xbox or PS2, I have an Xbox game, and I have a pad. The problem is that the pads wear out quickly (mine just fell victim to a stomper), especially with a lot of people using them. Having a club could provide the funding to buy more pads. I’d like to get two pads so more people can play and so we can have tournaments. Funding would also allow us to purchase additional games so that experienced players don’t get bored, and ideally we would like to have either guaranteed access to or ownership of an Xbox and a PS2.
DG: How long have you been playing DDR?
EC: Since the beginning of my senior year in high school, when I became friends with a girl who was really good at it. I hung out with her and her friends, who were all into it, and started doing it pretty seriously.
DG: Other dance clubs, like swing and tango, offer gym credit. Do you have any interest in pursuing that option?
EC: One can always dream…
DG: What’s your favorite DDR song?
EC: The Xbox version of “Candy” is really well choreographed; I like dancing to that.
DG: Have many people expressed interest in joining the club?
EC: The past two weekends I’ve played in Mephistos, and people have come by and joined in. About 75% of people are familiar with DDR and 90% of people understand it if you explain it a bit. There’s been a lot of interest, and I think there would be a lot of involvement in the club. Right now the ball is in the Student Council’s court – I’m waiting for a reply. We probably couldn’t get funding until the new budget in the spring, though. Still, if people are interested, I’d encourage them to contact me.
If you are interested in DDR, you can reach Eric at echrist1@swarthmore.edu.
