The annual Dancesport Reunion Match, also known as Old Team – New Team, was held this year on November 14th at the Cambridge University Sports Centre. This was the first time that CUDT held our internal competition at this venue, and we were delighted to see such an incredible atmosphere throughout the day.

The day started with the Beginners and Open events. These are individual competitions where couples dance for their own titles. For our beginners, this is their first taste of a dancesport competition. Many were understandably nervous, but most managed to put out very good performances. The hard work some beginners have put in so far was visible through their marked improvement. The competition for the top spot was tough, with three different couples winning the four beginners’ events: Harry Kingdon and Abi Malins won the Beginners Waltz and Beginners Cha-Cha, while Chris May-Miller and Rachel Cummings won the Beginners Quickstep and Sam Rowe and Chaka Laguerre won the Beginners Jive title. Overall, Harry and Abi deservingly won the Best Beginners Couple trophy.

The Open events saw the return of many CUDT alumni. Some of these couples have gone on and achieved great success on the open circuit, so the standard of the competition was very high. The ballroom dances (Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Quickstep and Viennese Waltz) were dominated by siblings Joe and Eva Johnson, both of whom started as complete beginners at Cambridge. In the latin categories, Captain Kien Trinh and his partner Kirsty Mary Davies won all five dances (Cha-Cha, Rumba, Samba, Pasodoble and Jive), although not without considerable challenge from other couples.

The highlight of the day was no doubt the Team Match. Following the format of the National Championship, teams of four couples at different levels were put together to compete in Waltz, Quickstep, Cha-Cha and Jive. Each couple can only represent their team in one of the four dances, and the scores from the judges are added up for each team. After two rounds of great dancing, team 2, led by our CUDT Captain Kien Trinh, was announced the winners. The prizes for the Team Match were awarded by our lovely sponsor, Mrs Vanessa Burkitt from Catherine Jones of Cambridge. The day finished with a dinner where our dancers relaxed after a long day of competing and caught up with friends.

After a great day of dancing, CUDT dancers are now turning their attention to the first Inter-Varsity competition of the year, the Nottingham Varsity Ball on November 29th.