May 2nd 2015 marked the 42nd Varsity Dancesport match, and the final fixture of the season for the Cambridge University Dancesport Team (CUDT). Each university put forward two teams of nine couples, split into three heats. The B teams faced off in the Challenge Match in the morning, and the Blues Team competed in the Varsity match in the afternoon. Within a match, each heat danced against the three opposition’s heats. A panel of five judges marked the competitors in descending order from first to sixth place in four dances: Waltz, Quickstep, Cha-cha-cha, and Jive. These placings were converted to marks (six marks for a sixth placing and one mark for a sixth placing), to be added to the team’s total score.

The Cambridge B team performed well from the beginning, with strong performances in Waltz, and an impressive demonstration of quality in Quickstep. After 30-40 minutes of near-continuous dancing, both teams were showing early signs of fatigue, although Cambridge appeared to be coping much better on this front. After a brief break to change costumes, the Latin part of the match began, and Cambridge’s quality really shone through here. Oxford did have some couples performing well with the Oxford Captain and Vice-Captain both in this match, but overall, the Cambridge side dominated, winning all four dances.

After lunch, the top nine couples from both teams took to the floor. Whilst the Dark Blues again demonstrated their traditional strength in Ballroom with strong performances from the top couples, the Light Blues displayed much greater depths across their line-up. Once changed into Latin costumes for the second half, the Home team completely dominated the competition. The technical display was impressive, and matched only by the continued energy through to the final dance. The cheers of team mates and spectators alike could be seen to visibly boost the dancers as they took to the floor for the last few tracks. Cambridge brought home the Varsity trophy for the fourth consecutive year and finished the season undefeated.

The scores:
Cambridge A 1947 – Oxford A 1833
Cambridge B 2215 – Oxford B 1565