The Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Company

The Claremont Dance Festival, the biggest ballroom dance event of the semester, is starting this weekend. The event begins with an afternoon of dance classes on Friday, November 30th, and continues until the awards brunch on Sunday morning. Both the campus and tour teams have been preparing for this busy, dance-packed weekend all semester long, and, as the festival draws near, the excitement for this long awaited event only grows.

This is the first time that the CCBDC has endeavored to put on a large event in the Fall, and the idea has been greeted with much enthusiasm. All members of the team -- from the dancers who began ballroom just three short months ago, to the four-year ballroom veterans -- have been involved in the production of this a large and ambitious event. Students who are studying abroad and won’t be able to participate in the Spring concert are particularly excited to have a chance to take part in a large ballroom event this year.

All day Friday and Saturday, the Claremont Dance Festival will be offering a variety of ballroom and social dance lessons. The lessons range from beginning to advanced, in order to cater not only to students taking ballroom classes, but to those who have never danced ballroom as well. Styles being taught vary from International Standard and Latin to Salsa, Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, and even Argentine Tango. A schedule of classes is available at http://claremontballroom.org/festival.

The highlight of the weekend will most certainly be the evening events, which will allow dancers with all levels of experience to get onto the dance floor and show everyone just how much they’ve learned. On Friday, Dancing with the Claremont Stars kicks off the night’s formal Black and White Ball. After the competition ends, Paul Roach will be teaching a waltz lesson, which will be followed by hours of open dancing. As if that weren’t enough, the events continue Saturday night with an Intercollegiate Dance Party. The night will be filled with many fun informal competitions, with highlights such as the CCBDC’s first ever same-sex rumba contest!

In addition to preparing the festival’s events, campus and tour teams have been practicing all semester long to learn and perfect routines that will be performed – many for the first time! – this weekend. The formation routines will be showcased both nights, and are comprised of a very diverse lineup of dances, demonstrating how broadly talented our Claremont dancers really are. There will be a lively rock jive, a sultry tango, a bubbly samba, a captivating paso doble, and an innovative and entertaining foxtrot-cha-cha battle, as well as several solo performances. The Harry Potter Standard medley, which won the CCBDC a 6th national championship title only two weeks ago, will be working its magic once again. The companies 80’s medley, which will compete regionally next semester, will also be premiered.

The Claremont Dance Festival is a unique Intercollegiate and community program. The company hopes to put its motto, "it’s not just about dance," into practice by building camaraderie around the infectious and carefree spirit of dance. The CCBDC hopes to foster a tight-knit Intercollegiate ballroom community, and has invited colleges from all around the region to the festival. There will be members from Caltech, UCSB, and UCSD attending. Visiting instructors include Can Aksoy, multiple National Collegiate Champion, who will be teaching Argentine tango, and Champion West Coast Swing dancer Matt Sugihara (with our own Lauren Wann) will be teaching his smooth moves, as well.

As registration continues to roll in, the ballroom buzzes with the collective excitement of the 80-student dance company. The admission price is low: admission for all events of the weekend is just $15 dollars for students, and $3 per separate event. Registration is taken online or at the door. Sales are hot, but, as this weekend will show, CCBDC is just heating up.