The BG [Bowling Green] Line Dancing Club was formed in the fall of 2025 from a couple of students who found each other through social media and created an environment to enjoy themselves.

Alexandra Zaharinov, Kyle Blakely, Paige Yu and Emma Sweeney were the founding executive members of the BG Line Dancing Club.

Executive Members Got Together

Before Zaharinov transferred to Bowling Green State University (BGSU), she started line dancing around two years ago. She went with her friend, and as a fan of country music, there was already a spark of interest in line dancing. 

“We decided to go [line dancing] to see how it was and it just became so addicting to learn new dances and to be able to go every week and kind of show them off,” said Zaharinov. 

Zaharinov realized that Bowling Green did not have an area designated for line dancing. While she found that upsetting, Blakely encouraged her to start her own student organization where she could continue doing what she was passionate about and get to build her own community on campus.

Zaharinov said, “He [Blakely] was like ‘You don’t know many people at Bowling Green, but you definitely could once you make a line dancing club.’ I don’t know if that’s right for me. I just want to settle in, but he really pushed me to get the idea rolling and just do it now. It’s a now or never type of thing.”

A few days after that conversation, while scrolling through TikTok, Zaharinov came across Sweeney’s video. Sweeney created a video line dancing in her dorm room. That is how Zaharinov and Sweeney first connected. 

Zaharinov said, “I quickly commented and I said, ‘Hey, I’ve actually been thinking about starting this [line dancing club] for a while. Since I started my transfer process, I didn’t really think that anybody else would be interested.’” 

Zaharinov and Sweeney started the collaborative process when Yu contacted Zaharinov through the comment she had left in Sweeney’s video.

Zaharinov said, “She [Yu] saw my comment and DM’d me and said, ‘I’ve been waiting for this in all my years at BGSU. Is there anything I can do?’”

Yu said, “I joined the executive board for BG Line Dancing so I could show BGSU’s campus a part of my life. I have been line dancing for more than three years now. I will always love the atmosphere, the friendships and of course the dances that I have received through this amazing opportunity.”

How BG Line Dancing Club Got to Fall 2025 Campus Fest

Zaharinov wanted to be at fall campus fest knowing that would help get people to learn about her start-up student organization. She took initiative by emailing student engagement and requesting a spot for campus fest. 

“We basically started a week before campus fest, we had nothing. We didn’t have a meeting location. We didn’t have a meeting time. 
Just a few people on our [executive] board and we were like, ‘Do you guys want to do Campus Fest? Who’s available?’” said Zaharinov.

While communicating with an employee in student engagement, they were told the only requirements needed, at the moment, were three executive members which included president, a vice president and treasurer.

Zaharinov became president, Blakely as vice president, Yu as treasurer and Sweeney as social media coordinator. 

“As vice president, I help run things behind the scenes by creating graphics and some promotional materials, DJing during events and helping keep everything organized. My favorite part is seeing the room come alive once the music starts and everyone starts dancing together,” said Blakely.

Challenges Faced 

During the fall of 2025, they had around 400 students interested in joining the BG Line Dancing Club. The executive team understood that once they picked out a time and date, not all 400 students would be able to attend but they believed 25 percent of those students would.

Zaharinov said, “We [had] over 400 people in our GroupMe that are interested; waiting for us to announce when our first meeting [was] going to be. The biggest challenge that we’re facing right now is finding a way to accommodate everybody.”

While looking for a space, they needed to think about a couple of things like floor space and accessibility to all BGSU students. 

“We [needed] to find somewhere we [could] have all of those people, a big open space and wood floors. We’ve had to cut down our options for spaces, and we’re also making sure that it can be on campus; accessible to everybody,” said Zaharinov. 

BG Line Dancing Club was able to secure the multipurpose room in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union on Monday nights from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. They hosted their first ever meeting on Sept. 22, 2025. 

Line Dancing Community

The BG Line Dancing Club became popular because of the uniqueness to other dance groups on campus. Unlike the Falcon Swing Society and BG Falconets, they do not perform for an audience or self choreograph the dances that follow the songs.  

Zaharinov said, “We’re specifically doing country line dancing. So those dances have specific step sheets and we follow those and they go to specific songs. We’re not necessarily choreographing anything. 
We’re just sharing the overall line dancing experience.”

At a general meeting, the executive members take turns teaching different line dances. 

“I will be teaching lessons during our meetings. So we’re gonna be able to have beginners come. 
It’s less coming to practice and doing shows and performances and more of just like a social type of club,” said Zaharinov. 

Everyone is encouraged to participate at the BG Line Dancing Club. They teach dances for students who have never danced and those who have been line dancing for years.

“People can come learn, and if people have line danced before, after lessons, we have open floor,” said Zaharinov.

Currently at BG Line Dancing Club

The BG Line Dancing Club currently has around 60 official members. To be an official member, students are required to get the membership, however it is not required to participate. They grew in the executive team in the spring of 2026. Keelie Langhals as fundraiser coordinator and Emma Weaver as events coordinator.

Langhals joined the BG Line Dancing Club for her passion for line dancing as she has been dancing since she was 9 years old.

Langhals said, “I started line dancing when I was 9, and when I found out that BGSU had a club that line danced I ran. Joining the BG Line Dancing Club was never a second thought. It was a way for me to de-stress at the beginning of my week.”

Anyone is able to join the BG Line Dancing Club. If students are interested in attending a meeting, they host one free night per month that is good for those who are scared to start. A typical meeting is $3 at the door or $10 for the membership. 

For more information about the BG Line Dancing Club or about how to get involved contact them on Instagram @bglinedancing.

TikTok video referenced in the article: https://www.tiktok.com/@secretandcoolandfunny/video/7543081294054296846?_r=1&_t=ZP-94AquAgDFKJ