Competitions

The London Dancesport Team travels around the country to attend Ballroom and Latin American dance competitions against approximately 35 other university teams, including teams from universities in Scotland and Wales.

University Dancesport competitions are full-day events, and usually follow a standard format. In the first half of the day, couples compete individually, for their own personal merits. Usually the ballroom competitions are run before the latin ones. In the later half of the day, competitors compete in teams, university against university. 16 couples from each team are selected to compete in either Waltz, Quickstep, Cha Cha and Jive. At certain competitions there are extra fun dance events, such as Salsa, or Rock 'n Roll.

In the competition, rounds are divided into heats. In each heat, half of the couples are eliminated by the judges. The survivors then progress to the next round which is combined with surviving dancers from a different heat. This continues until the final round, where the competitors are then placed in rankings by the judges.

Beginners: this section is for people who have never participated in Dancesport competitions before, and have never taken professional lessons before. Steps are restricted to the basic figures, and the main dances are waltz, Quickstep, Chachacha and Jive. More information can be found in the Beginners' section on the Team page.

Novice: this level is for those who have had some dance tuition and therefore do not fulfil the requirements for the beginners category. Steps are still restricted to basic figures in waltz, quickstep, cha cha and jive, but the standard of dancing is usually higher than in the beginners section.

Intermediate: this is the first level which does not have any restriction on steps, and often consists of three latin and three ballroom dances rather than two - usually the main dances mentioned above, plus one other latin and ballroom dance chosen from foxtrot, tango, and Viennese waltz in ballroom, and rumba, samba or paso doble in latin. Dancers in the intermediate category usually have some previous competition experience, so the standard can be quite high.

Advanced: this is highest category at university competitions, and can consist of a four or even five-dance event in latin and ballroom. The level of dancing can be extremely high in this section, as some couples will also compete on the amateur circuit as well as the university one.

Team Match

In the Team Match, competitors are grouped into teams of 4 couples, who are floored against teams from other universities in a bid to become the best dance team on the university circuit! Each couple performs only one dance, and the combined scores all 4 couples are used to place them in the competition rankings. This event is where team spirit becomes really important, for supporting your fellow teammates on the dancefloor!

Variations on the team match format also occur depending on the competition hosts. One such example is the Team Knock-out event, where in every round a couple from 2 randomly selected teams dance off against each other, and the surviving team proceeds to the next round, until the final surviving team is declared the winner!

University Competition List

• Leicester Friendly - first week November at Leicester University. Fun events, ideal for beginners.

• Warwick Varsity Ball - mid November at Kings Hall, Stoke. Most major Unis attend. Typically inclues: opens at advanced, intermediate and beginner levels, ex-student events and mixed team match and warwick 4 dance - basic WQCJ.

• Nottingham Inter Varsity Competition - late November at Portland Leisure Centre, Nottingham. Most major Unis attend. Typically includes: opens at advanced, intermediate and beginners level, basic, ex-student events and salsa events. split team match with unlimited D team.

• Bath Friendly- first weekend of December at bath University. Friendly, by invitation only.

• Manchester winter event - second weekend December at Manchester University. Fun events and a team match, exstudents welcome.

• Edinburgh - A new competition organised by ULU member Caroline Henzell's little sister! Very far away though.

• Keele-Leeds - start of February, alternating between leeds and keele uni as hosts. Fun events.

• Southern Friendly - first weekend February. Only open to Southern unis excl Imperial, Oxford and Cambridge.

• Sheffield Social - mid February at the Octagon, Sheffield. Most major unis attend. Typically includes: basic comps, opens at advanced, intermediate and beginner levels, ex-student events. Mixed team match and team knockout competition. All events except beginner in costume.

• SUDC - hosted by SUDA, last weekend in February at a venue decided by host (bids made previous year). Regional competition - most unis attend. Includes: opens at a beginners, novice, intermediate and advanced level and mixed team match. Offbeat and Rock n Roll. Rules dictated by SUDA/NUDA constitution.

• IVDC - hosted by IVDA - mid March at a venue decided by host (bids made in previous year). national competition - all unis attend. Typically opens at a beginners, novice, intermediate and advanced level and mixed team match. offbeat and Rock n Roll. Rules dictated by IVDA constitution.

• Manchester Spring event - end of April at Manchester uni. fun events. Team match, ex-students welcome

So which ones take your fancy? If you're unsure, feel free to ask Shaz or Ellie which competitions they think would be best for you.