Ballroom Team Grabs Top Spots

The Harvard Ballroom Dance Team competed in the National Collegiate Dancesport Championships in Columbus, Ohio last weekend, earning second-place finishes as a team in both the American and International Style competitions.

“All of our couples made every cut,” said Heather Rigby ’02, current member and former president of the team. “[They] did a fantastic job and are a very committed group of people. This is really a turnaround year.”

Twelve of the team’s 100 members made the trip, and several pairs also earned individual honors.

Emily Wilcox ’03, the team’s president, and Eric Price ’05 won first place in the Gold International Latin competition, and Rigby and graduate students Scott Schnee earned the top spot in the Gold American Rhythm and Smooth competition.

The couples competed in the Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Open levels. Judges based their scores upon a number of criteria, including technique, poise, musicality, expression, connection, floorcraft and stamina.

The team had not performed as well in recent years, Wilcox said, but its showing in Ohio proved heartening.

“This was one event that shows how the team is rejuvanating,” she said. “We are getting back to a peak.”

The Ballroom Dance Team raises much of its own funding, by teaching classes in Adams House, hosting a fundraising ball, and running the largest ballroom dance competition in New England.

In addition, the Undergraduate Council made a special grant to the team to pay for the travel and lodging for the weekend’s competition.

Dancers typically practice from 15 to 30 hours each week and train with professional coaches.

The extensive training and competition experience has created a unique bond among teammates.

“Being a part of the team has been the most inspirational and rewarding experience I’ve had here at Harvard,” Wilcox said.