The team had couples competing in the international waltz, international cha-cha, American rumba, jive, swing, mambo, samba, international rumba, American waltz and American foxtrot. Couples are not allowed to prepare a routine for the competition, explained team member Magdalena Cassel ’12. Instead, the leaders spontaneously combine the specific moves and steps that are allowed for each dance.
Each event had as many as 150 couples competing in the first round, a number reduced to six or eight couples for the final round. In each round, couples dance for a minute and a half, and the judges call back fewer than half of the original couples for the next round. The judges are all accomplished ballroom dancers themselves, said Cassel, and are all certified specifically to adjudicate ballroom dance competitions.
All Amherst team members were called back at least once, and two couples placed. Irina Troconis ’11 and Kwadwo Eck ’08 placed first in the mambo, a formal version of salsa dancing, and Eugene Golubitskiy ’12 and Mount Holyoke Student Ashley Tien ’11 placed third in samba.
A few members of the Swing and Ballroom Dance Club took the initiative to found the team last spring so that they could dance competitively. The club meets informally on Tuesday and Thursday nights and is open to anyone who wants to learn how to swing or salsa dance. On the other hand, the team consists of regular, dedicated members and meets for six hours each week, practicing for competitions and learning many more styles of dancing.
“The school had never had a ballroom dance team before,” said founder, president and co-captain Irina Troconis ’11. “It was hard to get funding for something that was more serious than the club.”
Soon after their founding, the team’s eight members competed at MIT last spring. “We only made it to the quarterfinals in rumba and swing,” said Troconis. “This year, we came out of nowhere when we took first place.”
The Amherst team was the smallest team competing at MIT this year, with only 17 members. Many other schools, where ballroom dancing is considered a varsity sport, have well over 100 members.
The team also competed at a regional competition at Yale University in November. “We only have the money to compete once per semester,” said co-captain Javier Chavez Chacon ’12. “We find ourselves stuck at times; our lack of resources in general is holding us back.”
Each dance has regulations for costumes, which can be expensive, explained Chavez Chacon. “If you are competing with 140 other couples, you need sparkle and shine to make you more noticeable to judges.”
In addition to costumes, the team needs studio time in order to rehearse. “We’re having huge problems getting a place and time to practice,” said Troconis. “We need a studio with mirrors to see how we are doing, but it is impossible for us to get a spot here at the College.” Currently, the team practices in the Alumni Gymnasium and the club meets in the basement of Hamilton House. “We have dancers with amazing potential but until we have at least a space that is suitable for what we are doing, we’re not really going to be able to do as well as we can,” said Chavez Chacon.
Troconis hopes to increase membership significantly over the next few years. “Though we are still dealing with monetary obstacles, hopefully as the number of members increases we’ll get more recognition,” she said. This year, the team recruited 24 members from the Class of 2012 and hopes to continue to expand membership.
This Friday, May 1 at 8:30 p.m., the team will be performing with Amherst Dance in LeFrak Gymnasium.