Dancers gearing up for landmark Tufts ballroom event

With a successful spring campaign culminating in a team win at the MIT competition last year, the Tufts ballroom team went into this fall's season with high hopes and expectations. So far this semester, their expectations have been met and exceeded. Backed by a strong senior contingent and bolstered by a surge of newcomers, this club sport has taken huge strides in gaining respect in the collegiate ballroom dancing world

The team consists of 60 students, of which 40 are new members. "The newcomers are extremely dedicated, showing up to all the practices and immersing themselves," co-captain Megan Sullivan said. "It's one of the main reasons we're doing so well this year, it's a great building year."

The first test of the newcomers came in October at the Harvard Beginner competition. Hosted by Harvard University, the event is unique in that of the five possible levels offered in the sport _ newcomer, bronze, silver, gold, and open _ only those classified as newcomers are eligible to compete.

"It allows the new dancers to get a feel for ballroom," Stephanie Chin said. "It's essentially for those who have never danced before to ease them into competition, like an orientation of sorts into the world of ballroom."

Those dancing left a lasting mark on the competition, faring well in their first collegiate ballroom event. There were two categories of dance offered: swing and foxtrot. With close to 100 couples squaring off in the swing portion, the final round was whittled down to a mere seven couples. Within those seven, four were Tufts couples, far exceeding the number of pairs that any other team was able to advance to the finals. In the foxtrot, one couple made it to the final round, capping off an impressive overall initial showing.

November brought with it a chance for the whole team to engage in competition at an event held at Brown University . All 19 levels of dance were offered, and Tufts students competed in each of the five skill levels. First and second place team finishes in the newcomer competition were highlights of the contest. Each team was composed of four couples, and Tufts was allowed to enter two teams, who ended up claiming the top two spots.

Duncan Cheung and Brindusa Negritoiu were a part of that first place team, taking fifth and two sixth places in three American Rhythm dances. Roman Rubinshteyn and Sarah Linsday were also members of the winning team, garnering one third and two fourth place finishes in dances within the American Smooth category. Ryan Sopelsa and Kate Sklar were also on the first place team, and they placed first and third in their American Rhythm dances. The fourth couple of the winning team consisted of Michael Hadley and Emily Mangone, who placed third and fifth in American Rhythm dances.

The Brown competition produced impressive results across the board. In the gold level, Henry Myint and partner Kirsten Linder twirled and stomped to two first places and a second place finish within the American Rhythm category, as well as two third places in the International Latin dances. Linder is only a freshman, but has earned a spot in the gold division with four years of ballroom experience. Within the highly competitive open level, Chin and Brian Frasier managed to win the American Rhythm dance, as well as placing fourth in the International Latin group.

"We are a talented group and the judges noticed it and rewarded us in competition," Chin said. "They look for skill, posture, presentation, and style, and present ourselves well on the floor. They can also tell when people are having a good time, that really factors into it, and we love what we do."

Given the progress that the team has made since its inception in 1995, this year's seniors decided that it was an appropriate time for Tufts to host its own competition.

The event has drawn interest from local schools such as Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Yale, and Brown, as well as teams as far away as Columbia and SUNY. Playing host to over 400 competitors, the event will be the biggest put on this semester, and will rival the major competition put on in the spring by MIT.

Aside from being the first competition of its type held at Tufts, the event is also unique in that it is featuring a collegiate championship. This is parallel to the open level of competition that occurs at ballroom competitions, but will only allow those who are college students to compete. Elsewhere, the open dances are available to non-collegiate dancers, some of whom spend much of their time dancing, giving them an edge over their collegiate counterparts.

"It's not a standard event, it's completely new," Chin said. "We offered it as an opportunity to showcase the best that college dancers have to offer. We want to show how far people can advance after four years of experience."

The big event will take place this Sunday, Dec. 8 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Cousens Gym and will be open to the public free of charge.