Art and design junior Jade Blessinger had never danced competitively before she got to college. As a freshman, she had always wanted to be a part of something, and not until she joined the Cal Poly DanceSport Team did she feel that she was in the right place.
Now vice president of the club, Blessinger is proud to see the team more than double in size this year and watch club members come out of their shells and onto the floor.
“One of the most rewarding things as an officer is being able to watch people improve,” she said. “It goes from people tripping and not being able to understand a dance to being completely transformed, and it helps their confidence.”
Many of those in the club started with just an interest but now compete because over time, they have developed the confidence, Blessinger said. While she admitted to not being nervous during her first competition because she had a lot of practice, she can sympathize with those now making their first moves.
“It’s nerve-wracking that you are competing, but you are also with all your teammates having a lot of fun, so that really takes the edge off of it, and we always try to make it not so crazy intimidating to people,” Blessinger said.
Mechanical engineering sophomore and club coordinator Brett Hartt also said that while it may be intimidating to beginners to compete, there is no need to be because officers and instructors do a great job at really preparing students.
“I would like to think that I’ll dance for a long time,” said Hartt, who is also Blessinger’s partner. “I learned from a guy who was 70 and taught his son for fun because he wanted to meet girls.”
Hartt admitted that it is common for male members to join the club to meet women.
“Yes, a lot of guys do join for that, but it’s good because usually there is a two-to-one ratio for girls,” Hartt said. “More women are interested in dancing, and there are fewer guys so it works out, and after coming to a class, many of them stick around and actually learn something.”
The club has received several awards since it was first established by Cal Poly alumnus Christopher Ellwood in 2003 as an extension of the Ballroom Dancing Club. He said that he wanted to create something that was more focused on competing and would offer more dance styles to students.
He attributes the DanceSport Team’s booth at Open House as well as the recent success of shows like “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance” with bringing more attention to the club as well as new members.
However, this year the team has been facing difficulties getting practice time because of limited space on campus. They have to practice on wood floor, and because of Rec Center construction, they lost one of their main places to train.
Ellwood said that the construction can sometimes make it difficult for people to find where classes are because the location is always changing and that, sadly, it has already begun to affect their competition schedule.
“We typically have the Cal Poly Mustang Ball Competition, but this year because of construction, we will not be able to hold it,” he said. “It’s unfortunate, because it’s always nice to have the people in the area get to see what we do.”
After watching the club grow to about 50 members this year, Ellwood said that he hopes to see both the team and their skill level grow.
Many of the team members started with little or no experience in dance and have gone on to compete in competitions throughout the country. Tango, waltz and foxtrot are just some of the dances the Cal Poly DanceSport Team practices and offers instructional classes on. The club offers beginner, intermediate and advanced classes meant to prepare students for competition at $4 a class and $10 for three classes.
The club pays for the majority of the competition and accommodation fees for participants. The team is currently focusing on two competitions limited only to people who have been dancing for less than a year. They said that even newcomers have a chance and transportation and accommodations will be arranged for the University of California, Berkeley competition at the end of February and the University of California San Diego competition in March.