So you think you can dance old school and take it all the way back to Camelot? One University group can dance a Rufty Tufty that would win any knight’s heart.

Alexander Medina and MARS president Jennifer Leyting practice medieval dances they will teach tonight at Tate. Photo by: Ashley Strickland

“You’re the kids on Myers Quad that hit each other” is something the Medieval and Renaissance Society members hear often. While fighting with broadswords in full armor is something that MARS participants enjoy, it is only a small part of the club.

MARS members engage in all kinds of activities such as dancing, feasting and armor-making. The banging and clanging of the fighting is just the only activity that gets a lot of attention.

“It’s a lot of fun, a little bit of history and it makes us a family,” Alexander Medina, local Marshall for the Society of Creative Anachronisms Barony, said.

Medina, a 32-year-old University alumna, says that no matter what they do, MARS just wants to have fun. The dancing is simply another way to invite more people to join in.

Tonight in Tate room 139, dance mistress Susan Wilson — also affiliated with local SCA chapter Bryn Madoc — will be teaching popular medieval dances like the Rufty Tufty from England and the Black Almond from Germany.

Don’t worry if you don’t know anything about medieval dancing or regret not picking up that 12th Century gown at Party City on clearance after Halloween. The MARS members like to keep it casual during dance practice, and the main focus — besides fun — is on learning the dances. No dance experience is needed to have a good time.

Most modern dances have evolved from these classic dances that originated in the Renaissance and medieval periods. The Rufty Tufty, considered to be an old English country dance, is the ancestor of square dancing.

Medina believes that the basic ideas behind dancing haven’t changed much either. Rather than facing down an opponent in battle, it is a social way to connect with the person across from you, be it a friend or stranger, he said.

“We’re trying to show that we’re well-rounded,” Jennifer Leihting, club president, said. “Just seeing people have fun is the ultimate goal of MARS.”

Leihting said that she found a home amongst MARS when she discovered it during her sophomore year at the University. Now, she can’t imagine her college experience without it.

On weekends, it’s not uncommon to hear hammering or the constant thrum of a sewing machine coming from the house on Jefferson Circle. The members of MARS can spend hours shaping and crafting handmade armor and sewing historically accurate garb. The finished products are impressive, the results of an honest effort and dedication to history.

Whether the idea, the history, the exercise or the social aspect attracts you, medieval dancing is just one of the many myriad things to discover on this campus. For MARS, it is all about being a family, a family they hope others will discover and join.

“Dance enables you to put on your finest garb and make some of your best friends on the dance floor,” Medina said. “There’s something inherently joyous about dancing.”

WHAT: Medieval Dance Practice

WHERE: Tate room 139

WHEN: Tonight, 7:30-9:30

COST: Free

HOST: Medieval and Renaissance Society, instructor Susan Wilson