Ballroom dance club team to hold weekend competition

As a member of Cal Poly’s “dancesport” team, you have to earn your team jacket. Team member Amy Leung earned her jacket after catching dance fever during a competition at San Jose State University.

“I was so nervous and scared,” Leung said. “I didn’t even have a partner. I was like, ‘I’m just going to go watch my friends. I’m not going to compete ever.’ I watched it and I was so hooked. I was like, ‘I want to go dance.’”

Leung left the sidelines and twirled her way on stage at the next competition to merit a jacket, a symbol of earning one’s spot on the team.

The green dancesport jacket Leung and her teammates wear shows off their unconventional sport of choice: ballroom dancing. Just like the popular television show “Dancing with the Stars,” this competitive style of ballroom dance showcases different styles and techniques. From the Cha Cha to the Waltz, each style of dance has a set of moves that partners learn to master together. The dancers combine those moves to form routines and enter competitions to dance against other couples.

Cal Poly’s dancesport team will host its own competition on Feb. 5 in Chumash Auditorium. Newcomers will have a chance to earn their jacket at the fourth annual Mustang Ball, which will feature ballroom dances from college teams as well as other competitors from all over California.

Being a university club team allows members to enter competitions under Cal Poly’s name. The dancesport team officially reached club sport team status in 2009. They are like any other club sport team at Cal Poly: they receive funding and participate in events all over the state. As a result, Leung’s dance partner, mathematics sophomore Khoa Nguyen, said dancers are competitive athletes too.

“The reason they call it a sport is because we actually train like athletes,” Nguyen said. “We train, we practice and we go and compete.”

Traveling to northern and southern California as a club sport has allowed the team to get to know dancers at other universities, team coach and Cal Poly computer science alumnus Christopher Ellwood said. One thing Ellwood looks forward to is bringing the northern and southern California college teams together to raise the level of competition.

Participating schools include San Diego State University, UC Santa Cruz, University of Southern California, UC Santa Barbara and Arizona State University. With the amount of participants coming to Cal Poly, this competition exceeds registration numbers from past dances. In 2007, the Mustang Ball held about 700 dances. This year, 136 competitors have registered and will participate in 848 dances. A dance qualifies as one couple in an event.

Starting at noon, the ball will host several events. Each event has a level and a dance style. The level ranges from “newcomer” to “open” and each level has certain dance techniques partners can use to earn points with the judges. Several couples dance on the floor at once and as the dance progresses, couples are cut from the floor until there are six couples. From there, they are ranked from first to sixth.

Though many of the couples on the dance floor will be college-aged students, Ellwood said competitive dance duos of any age can register to participate. For those who are not ready to participate but enjoy social dancing, there will be periods of free dance throughout the day at the Mustang Ball. Cal Poly students can watch for free with their ID card.

“Even if you’ve never danced before, we’ll get you dancing,” Ellwood said. “That’s how we give to the community — we teach them how to dance.”

Many club members join with no dance experience. Such was the case of Leung and Nguyen. They started dancing for the ballroom club team last year with minimal dance experience. Since then, they have accelerated quickly into becoming advanced dancers.

“Amy and Khoa are our up-and-coming couple that’s doing really well,” Ellwood said. “In the San Jose competition they did really well. They got a bunch of firsts.”

At the San Jose State University Ballroom Classic competition in November 2010, the couple took first place in several of the bronze and silver categories.

Just like Nguyen and Leung, art and design senior and president of the dancesport team Jade Blessinger hadn’t placed a toe on the dance floor before trying the sport.

“I was a waterpolo player and a rower and a jock in high school,” Blessinger said. “I wanted to try something new. The reason I’ve been able to succeed faster is because I was in band when I was in high school. Attention to rhythm in music is a big thing you need to know when you’re in dance.”

What Blessinger is looking forward to most at the Mustang Ball is the last dance number, which will feature “Dancing with the Stars” choreographer and world-renowned ballroom dancer Steve Vasco and his partner, Joanna Siekierska.

“We’ve had showcase couples that were outstanding but in terms of how high he is on the totem pole of dance he’s just perfect,” Blessinger said. “I’m so excited to see his performance. It’s going to be awesome.”