DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY

Green velvet, black silk, silver spandex and tweed jackets flash as 30 men and women line up by team outside the shiny wooden dance floor.

Competing in the first ballroom dance competition of the year, the participants exchange nervous glances with one another, as women find the arms of their partners and move onto the floor of the Currier Fish Bowl. Classical waltz music begins pumping through the speakers and the dancers take the floor. The competition, sponsored by the Harvard-Radcliffe Ballroom Dancing team, begins.

The evening's event features five teams from New England--Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Northeastern and Yale. Each school fields a team of four couples, dancing in three categories--team, international and individual.

The team competition consists of four (of a possible 19) dances--waltz, tango, rhumba and swing--with each couple being scored on a three to five scale by dance. At the end of the night, the team with the highest total wins. Harvard's team, consisting of 30-35 undergraduates, competes on both the club and intercollegiate levels. It is currently ranked third in the country (first in New England) and hopes to attend an international competition in England over spring break.

Dancers say they are competing tonight for both personal enjoyment and practical experience. "I just think it's really beautiful. I think it's really exciting socially. You can do it your whole life," Yale student Tracy Benedict says.

Exiting the dance floor, sophomore Diep Nguyen says she's here to learn. "I didn't want to go to a cocktail party and be totally inadequate."

As the classical Viennese chords of the waltz competition fade away, a new set of 20 dancers step onto the floor and begin moving in pairs to the 60's swing-favorite, "It's in His Kiss." According to judge Shawn Smith, the keys to this dance are timing and degree of enjoyment. Smith, an amateur dancer himself, stands at the edge of the dance floor and, holding his clipboard and detailed score-sheet, observes the motions of the couples, each pair labeled by letter.

In the refined, articulate voice of a true dancing expert, Smith offers his assessment of the competitors:

We can see from their hesitation that couple X seems to be a little bit out of step with the music. The man in couple Z seems to be a little more with it. He's displaying excellent hip action and a genuine passion for the sport and his partner. Couple Y is having a little trouble with their toe leads--they're not pointing their toes into each step. They'll surely lose some points for that.

After the swing comes a short free-dancing section and the international and individual competitions. Before these dancers take the floor, however, the team results are announced: Yale first, Harvard second.

For its elegant performance, Yale receives the evening's big bounty: a package of Smartfood. Harvard may have just missed out on the tasty treat, but most dancers say they came to the Fish Bowl for something more than all-natural munchies.

"I just thought [the competition] was the most beautiful thing in the world," says junior Juliet McMains, who's been dancing for 10 years.

And for freshman Samantha Thibodeau, who danced for the first time Friday, says she's now hooked. "It's an amazing rush," Thibodeau says. "You don't have to think about what's coming next. You just dance."