Inter-Varsity Dance Competition
Saturday 10th March 2007 : Winter Gardens, Blackpool
Update... Thanks to Laura for sending some videos of Pete and Bec dancing at IVDC.
Match Report
Last weekend the National University Dance Championships (IVDC) took place at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. Although there was no-one from Wright Rhythm competing in the main events, former Sheffield University students, Pete and Bec, were there to fly the flag in the ex-students competition. As with all student competitions, there was a huge range of abilities from beginners to top amateur competitors. During the day were the couples competitions including the ex-students and congratulations must go to Pete and Bec who came second in the 5-dance ballroom and sixth in the 5-dance Latin, making an IVDC Latin final for the first time.
University competitions also come with some 'added extras' - there was an Offbeat competition, where each university puts together a 3 minute dance show, usually based around a theme, this year there was everything from 'Ghostbusters' to 'Phantom of The Opera' with routines ranging from stunning to hilarious! There was also the acrobatic rock 'n' roll where couples perform death-defying stunts to the rock 'n' roll beat with some amazing lifts, jumps and throws keeping everyone watching the floor.
The demonstration consisted of what we are told is a traditional 'Team Match' with two teams made up of some of the top Junior and Juvenile Latin couples in the country battled it out it was very different from the usual single couple demonstration and a superb way of involving everyone in the 'action' as half the room was cheering for one team and the other half for the other. Rather predictably the end result was a draw but that gave the opportunity for a 'dance off' and a bit of fun with the 'competitors' swapping partners and getting the audience up to dance. All in all I think this was an excellent alternative to the traditional demonstration.
The day finished with the most important event on the University calendar - the team match where each university enters teams of four couples to compete over the Waltz, Quickstep, Cha cha and Jive. As usual the 'big' dance universities (ie Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial College) dominated this event with Cambridge being victorious. unfortunately the competition over-ran and we weren't collecting the final trophies until 1am the next morning but that was the only real hiccup in an otherwise fun day.
Finally, special thanks must go to Kieran for his tireless efforts with the camera - you can see some of the fruits of his labour below...
Videos
Photos