For swing-dance zealots, Ella Fitzgerald said it best: “It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing.”

North End Swing has kept the red-hot embers of swing dancing smoldering in the Flathead Valley over the past few years, and come the end of June Kalispell will be ablaze with dancers from far and wide as they gather for the Big Sky Weekend dance camp.

It’s difficult to say exactly why swing — first popular in the 1920s — has resurfaced to become one of the hottest dance scenes. Maybe it’s the influence of TV shows such as “So You Think You Can Dance” or “Dancing with the Stars.” Or maybe it’s because the moves are just so cool.

“A lot of people are interested in the vintage aspect of it,” said Galen King of Bozeman, who’s making the trip to Kalispell for Big Sky Weekend. “It’s really cool social interaction.”

King, 19, said she’s drawn by a “really great scene” in Kalispell, but also by instructors Ben White and Peter Flahiff of Eastside Stomp, a group of swing-dance teachers and dance aficionados who put on dance workshops throughout the Northwest.

“Peter and Ben are amazing instructors,” King said.

White said teaching swing dancing is his “favorite thing in the world to do.

“It’s kind of fantastic to come to Montana, which a lot of people think of as the least likely place in the U.S. maybe to have

swing dancing and to have one of the better social scenes as far as people being friendly and welcoming,” he said.

Flahif agreed, noting they come to Montana three or four times a year “because there are people here that want to learn.

“I like to teach it as much as I can wherever I can because it changed my life,” Flahif continued. “I stumbled into this world and it completely changed the trajectory of my life, for the better.”

It’s not uncommon for dancers to travel great distances for the opportunity to cut the rug with their swing peers. Dancers are invited to stay overnight with other dancers to cut travel expenses; camaraderie looms large among them.

“The dancer community is generally very friendly,” King said.

And as the Eastside Stomp instructors will tell you, swing dancing is “about more than flashy moves and steps, but rather about good connection, great lead-and-follow skills and above all else, having ridiculous amounts of fun.”

 Ethan Olson, another Bozeman dancer coming to Kalispell for the upcoming dance camp, said he prefers swing dancing to modern dancing because perfecting the moves is much more satisfying.

“I prefer more work for a greater reward,” Olson said. “I’ve devoted myself very religiously. Swing dance is the first hobby I’ve been passionate about.”

Olson, 20, a computer science major at Montana State University, said the swing-dance scene tends to “attract nerds.”

“I’m a nerd. I boast of my nerdiness. I remember watching Star Wars Episode VI at age 4,” he said. “I’m pretty loud and talkative. Some [dancers] are shy and quiet. It’s an easygoing atmosphere. We enjoy getting together.”

King said she’s also observed the tendency for swing dancing to attract “a lot of sciencey people, those who aren’t always socially adept.”

The dance floor is a great equalizer, they agreed.

The hobby sucks you in bigtime, Olson said, both with time and money, and always leaves you wanting more.

“I want to be amazing at this,” Olson said about his quest to perfect his swing-dance moves. “I grew up the average American dude. ... Now I’ve almost completely abandoned video games. I just don’t have time for them.”

Gavin Lommatsch, 22, a West Glacier native who is an electrical engineering major at MSU, said he’s been swing dancing for three years and can’t get enough of it. Lucky for him, he’s an intern at Boeing in the Seattle area this summer and has myriad swing-dance opportunities.

“I can dance to my heart’s content,” he said, adding that he’ll likely seek out a city with a solid swing-dance scene such as Seattle once he graduates and starts looking for a job.

“I like the different sort of parts of my brain it exercises,” Lommatsch said. “It’s creative, but structured.”

And, he added, swing dancers are “genuinely great people.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at [email protected].