MIT ballroom dance team sweeps Harvard Beginners
MIT starts season off with strong performance
MIT Ballroom Dance Team started off the ballroom competitive season at the Harvard Beginners Competition this past weekend, taking at least half of all placements in the finals in all events in which we competed.
The teamβs newly minted rookies, only having trained for one month, swept in all the newcomer events. Josh Sherrer β18 and Carolyn Rogan β18 won first in newcomer swing and rumba and placed in both foxtrot and waltz finals; Alexander F. Padron β18 and Amber T. Guo β18 won first in newcomer foxtrot and waltz and placed in both swing and rumba finals. Matthew L. Cavuto β17 and Rachel Schwartz β18 also placed in three of four newcomer finals.
The yearlings β members who have trained for one year β also placed in all their events. Daniel R. Chen β17 and Hao Zhang G placed in all bronze events with their respective partners. Chen and Brittany N. Bautista β17 placed second in bronze Latin, while he and Casey R. Crownhart β17 placed first in both bronze standard and smooth. Zhang and Peggy Zhu β17 placed third in bronze Latin, while he and Vira Semenova G placed fifth in bronze standard. Corey Cleveland β17 and Clio Flikkema β17 placed across all silver events.
Although the competition focuses on beginner competitors, some veterans danced as well. Jorge Valdez G and Laura J. Perovich G placed in both silver rhythm and Latin trips. Vitaly Abdrashitov G placed in both silver Latin, with Arlene Hijara, and silver standard, with Amy S. Ishiguro β16.
At the end of the long competition, the teams participated in a rookie-vet team match. Dressed in ridiculous costumes, a rookie teamed up with a veteran dancer and performed a quick foxtrot, hustle, polka, salsa, or swing. MIT and Northeastern tied for first.