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Bridget Veltri
arts@mustangdaily.net
Although the dancers were students instead of stars, amateurs instead of professionals, their passion and pride in ballroom dancing was evident in the way they moved.
It was a long day of ballroom dancing in Mott Gym on Saturday, at the third annual competition. This year’s Cal Poly Mustang Ball came with both triumph and trial for the Cal Poly DanceSport Club.
“We had a really hard time getting a facility we could use,” said business administration senior Eily Murphy, who both organized and danced in the competition. “This usually happens in February. We had one month to plan the competition this year.”
On a more positive note, the event served as somewhat of a celebratory ball for the new Cal Poly DanceSport Club, which has transformed from just a club and to a SportClub.
“We’ve actually been a club for a long time on campus but this is the first year we’ve become a SportClub,” aerospace engineering senior Sean Stavropoulos said. “The college has recognized us as a SportClub that competes and that now represents Cal Poly.”
Stavropoulos and his partner Ashley Moraes placed first in the silver cha cha, jive, advanced hustle, salsa and nightclub two-step.
Instead of an elegant dance floor, Mott Gym resembled a 1950s prom adorned with gold and green balloons only with cleaner dance moves, classier music and judges and spectators instead of chaperones.
The competition was a little chaotic for someone unfamiliar with the sport. Several couples danced on the floor at once while judges paced about along the sides.
“When you want to cheer someone on, the thing to do is yell out their number so the judges will look for them,” Murphy explained.
“I really like ballroom dancing because you can share your dancing love with some one else,” Murphy said. “And it is a whole different dynamic when you have to follow what someone else is doing.”
Ten collegiate teams and studios from all over California competed in the competition ranging from first time or “new comers” to more advanced athletes able to compete in the open-level. While their abilities and technique varied, all of the competitors had a distinct reverence and seriousness about the sport.
Each different dance, whether it be the cha cha, fox trot, waltz or the tango, allowed couples to shine, proving their competence with every step they took.
Whether it was the feisty black dress Murphy wore when she tangoed with her partner, architecture engineering senior Eduardo Lopez, or the comfort that comes from dancing with the same person for three years. The couple placed first in the newcomer/ beginner salsa, merengue, hustle and nightclub two-step.
“I think the tango is a good match for us,” Murphy said. “Because it is one of the smooth dances but it has the edge and attitude too.”
The competition began at noon and went on into the night with the professional showcase starting around 8:30 p.m. Ten $50 dollar scholarships were given to winning couples.
“The scholarship money allows each couple to attend a dance camp that is on the East coast,” alumni Christopher Ellwood said.
Ellwood and his partner, liberal studies student Jennifer Davis placed first in the advanced rhythm cha cha/rumba and swing/bolero.
In the professional showcase the couple performs three dances.
“The showcase is designed to inspire people and show them what they can become,” Stavropoulos said.
The competition was on a much smaller scale then expected with a small audience of die hard ballroom fans from the area.
“I think it is great,
I wish they had stuff like this when we were younger, I think its great that the college students get out here and dance and shake their booties,” Paso Robles registered nurse Sheila Baters said.
Ellwood credits the growing interest in the sport to shows like “Dancing with the Stars.”
“It highlights the popularity,” he said.
And while the Cal Poly Mustang Ball comes in second to the over-the-top tawdry glamour that is “Dancing with the Stars” and the students are still learning and nowhere near professional, what they lack in skill they make up for in heart. And with they SportClub’s new official status these students are well on their way and may find themselves dancing with a star… one day.