The Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Company

Dancing with the Claremont Stars returns for its third annual appearance at the Claremont Colleges. It's open to faculty, staff, and administrators at the Claremont Colleges, and will be part of the upcoming Claremont Dance festival. Dancing with the Claremont Stars is a program put on by the Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Company that teaches faculty, staff, and administrators at the Claremont Colleges to dance and then lets them compete in a grand showcase at the end. More information is available in the participant information booklet [Word document]. Interested in participating, or know someone who you think should be competing? Download the application form [Word document] and submit it by Friday, October 17th, 2008 to be considered. Anyone eligible can do it, and it's lots of fun!

After a fantastic audition night with an incredible turnout, we want to thank everyone that tried out. After a very tough decision process, we are offering dancing positions to the following people:
 
Leads:

• Aaron Gable
• Albert J. Maldonado
• David Davila
• Jake Bouricius
• Jake Rowley
• Jason Wyman
• Michael Nevarez
• Robert "Toby" Hammett
• Russell Thompson
• Spencer Tung
• Vincent Shieh
• Yih-Jye Edward Wang

Follows:

• Andrea Montes
• Bre'anca Sanders
• Catherine Bradshaw
• Darina Kostadinova
• Jesse Stoneman
• Julia Scheibmer
• Karen Heinselman
• Kelsey Langille
• Kit Wong
• LeeAnn Allen
• Maria Martin
• Samantha Scherm
• Yekaterina Vaydylevich

We would also like to congratulate Jackson Brebnor on receiving a spot on our tour team.
 
Congratulations to all our new dancers! Please send an email to webmaster@claremontballroom.org from your preferred email address with your first name and last name to create an account.

Join your very own national dance champions and the 5C social dancing community Friday, September 12th for the first Salsa Party of the semester! The party will be in Edmunds Ballroom at Pomona with FREE First-Timer, Beginning, and Intermediate lessons from 8-9 followed by dancing until midnight (also special advanced lesson from 7-8 for those interested in teaching this semester). Meet new people (no partner needed), watch performances by members of the Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Company, and learn about the upcoming auditions for the Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Company!

Visit the Official Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Company Facebook group for more information.

Questions? E-mail the Salsa and Social Dance Coordinators.

The Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Company continued its history of successful competition at the end of March, taking first and second place in the formation event at the San Francisco Open.

Twenty-eight students from the CCBDC drove to San Francisco with coach Paul Roach (PO ’07) to perform two formation routines with twelve members each: “Made in the ‘80s,” Latin medley, and the national championship “Harry Potter” standard medley. Competing against five other teams from across California, the dancers performed to boisterous applause and swept the top honors, with a first-place finish for “Harry Potter” and a second-place finish for “Made in the 80’s.”

Though the Company is no stranger to competitive success, this is the first year it has taken two teams to this prestigious professional competition. It is also the first year the CCBDC has the swept two places. In past years the CCBDC has been consistently at the top, with a four year winning streak at San Francisco, numerous local victories, and a six-year-long undefeated streak at the college nationals in Ohio. Roach decided to build on this record by proving that the company’s roster was deep enough to support two competitive teams.

Roach explains the Company's success as a result of its dedication to supporting the entire 5- College Claremont community: “The Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance program does an exceptional job at fostering the community and leadership in the arts that is necessary for success in the formation event,” says Roach, “It is very rewarding to see other institutions recognizing this progress, and to see our hard work inspire them to reach higher as well. And the students have worked incredibly hard - it is difficult to overestimate their dedication and enthusiasm for the company and the program."

Indeed, the Claremont dancers spent most of their free time in the fall semester preparing the Harry Potter medley for national competition, a new experience both for Roach as a choreographer and for most of the students as competitors. The fifteen dancers involved in the routine spent twelve to sixteen hours a week practicing, in addition to group technique classes and other responsibilities. After receiving a standing ovation and a first-place trophy, the happy-but-tired group returned to Claremont for a well-earned break, and Roach began choreographing a second medley and training a second group of dancers, as well as preparing for the Company's annual Spring Concert.

The new ‘80s-themed medley debuted at UC San Diego’s Dance by the Shores, and went on to achieve an upset victory over the Harry Potter medley at Caltech’s Dance of the Roses. A friendly rivalry sprung up between the two teams, who cheered enthusiastically for each other at competitions but pushed each other to perform their best at San Francisco. When the results were announced, cheers of “Claremont” and “CCBDC” were heard from around the floor as representatives from both formation teams went up to receive their trophies.

After the formation competition was concluded, Company members stayed to watch the professional competitions and pick up tips to improve their dancing. A small group stayed through the weekend to compete individually on Sunday: Jay Daigle (PO ’08) and Lauren Wann (SCR ’10) took third in pre-novice Standard; David Carrington (PO ’10) and Kelly Hewitt (SCR ’08) took third in pre-novice Latin and fifth in novice Latin; and Chris Fiorello (PO ’11) and Bailey Busch (SCR ’11) took seventh in novice Latin.

The triumphant, grand promenade was only the beginning. The 2nd annual Dancing With the Claremont Stars was truly an event of excitement from the first to the last moment. In our outrageously popular take on Dancing with the Stars, the CCBDC gave Claremont faculty the chance to become Claremont’s Stars and perfect a Cha Cha or a Waltz with coaching from members of the CCBDC. After a month of training, each star competed with their coach in this championship battle to earn the title of Claremont’s Best. At least, that’s the initial idea—any participant in the program will tell you that the event itself is merely icing on the cake. This year was no exception. After demonstrations by company members, the Claremont Stars took to the floor, competing in rounds of spicy Cha Chas and dreamy Waltzes. With the ballroom packed to capacity with students, family, friends, colleagues and co-workers, it was easy for each Claremont Star to shine. And shine they did! The first round of dancing demonstrated a huge variety in personality and dance moves, leaving a difficult decision for the judges. After a brief pause for tabulating scores, finalists were announced and prepared themselves for another exhilarating round of dancing. An unprecedented volume of cheering and shouts of encouragement kept the finalist at peak performance through the round. The Stars gave it their all, and then the big decision was in the hands of the audience. Each member of the audience voted for the pair they thought should be crowned as the newest Claremont Stars, and after each audience member had their say, the votes were tallied. Everyone held their breath for the final announcements:

In third place— Prof. Bob Schaffer and Erin Kelly for Cha Cha and

Ms. Sherylle Tan and Rudy Resch for Waltz

In second place— Prof. Chris Towse and Kelly Hewitt for Cha Cha and

Prof. Rachel Levy and Trevor Ashley for Waltz

…and the winners of the title of 2007-2008 Claremont Stars Champions are:

Prof. Jennifer Ward-Batts and Chris Fiorello for Cha Cha and

Prof. Debra Mashek and Josh Leavitt for Waltz

Congratulations to our newest champions—they will no doubt enjoy the oversized trophy and bragging rights during their well-deserved year long reign. Yet, even as we celebrate our winners, it is clear that the true scores for all our competitors was a dead tie: 10s all around! The CCBDC looks forward to gathering community members, students and fabulous dancing once again for Dancing with the Claremont Stars 2008-2009. 

 

Excitement was in the air. Nothing but fun and good-will filled Edmunds Ballroom as couples competed in the semi-annual Lab Competition hosted by the Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Company. The competition—designed specifically for Claremont Colleges ballroom dance students—gave over 100 students an opportunity to show-off the dancing they’ve learned in classes while experiencing the thrill of friendly competition. The evening unfolded with three hours of dancing, including 10 competition events and demonstration performances from the CCBDC.

With a range of dance styles and skill levels nobody lacked a smile or a dance partner. Furthermore, the multiple heats and events happening during each hour meant no one was ever off their feet for long. Some particularly ambitious dancers even competed in back to back events, switching partners (and often shoes!) in the thirty seconds between heats. The first hour brought an exhilarating line-up of a rapid-fire Fast Lindy, a suave Foxtrot, an energetic Cha Cha and a funky, polyester-filled Open Hustle. Not to be outdone, the second hour’s competitors brought another mix of dances to the floor, including a lively Quickstep, swinging Rock Jive, a sultry Rumba, and a passionate Paso Doble. In the final hour, dancers competed with random partners in the unpredictable, yet exciting Jack and Jill and finished the evening with the ever-popular Salsa.

And what fun would competitions be without big-name judges? Dancers were graced by the presence of Neil Gerard and Rita Stachniak, who fearlessly took on the role of guest judges. Competitors pulled out all the stops to win the attention of the deans-turned-judges and earn personality points. Dancers also brought their best technique, as the Director and top members of the company also judged each pair on its winning combination of great technique and star-quality performance.

Though the competition was at times fierce, the encouragements shouted by spectators and friends were by far fiercer. Crowd favorites drew the attention of the judges and admiration of fellow dancers. There was unanimous celebration during awards ceremonies, when partners saw the fruits of their labors with first place wins, friends congratulated each other in their fine efforts of the evening, and all agreed on job-well done. With a successful in-house competition behind them, students now devote the remainder of the semester in perfecting technique and performance for Medal Exams in May.

The Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Company is officially turning 10! With 6 national championships and multiple regional awards under its belt, the company has a long history of excellence, quality, and tons of fun. So, we're celebrating our birthday and you're invited!

April 11 from 8-12 in Pomona's Edmunds Ballroom. FREE and all invited. Birthday cake to be served.

There will be a surprise dance lesson from 8-9. (Shhh, we're not telling!) Stay for dancing from 8pm-midnight and performances by our Campus and Tour Teams at 10pm.

There will be music for salsa, swing, cha cha, hustle, polka, foxtrot, lindy, waltz, letkiss and much more.

Birthday attired encouraged (uhum...as long as it includes actual attire).

---

This 10th birthday celebration is our Concert 2008 kick-off event. We hope that you will attend our 10th Anniversary Concert, "Celebrating 10 Years of Dance" as it's sure to bring back many memories and a selection of amazing choreography. We've have Concert 2008 tickets for sale at this event.

For more information about Concert 2008 please visit our Facebook event

COME EAT ICE CREAM THURSDAY!!!!

The Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Company and
Bert And Rocky’s presents

CELEBRITY SCOOP NIGHT!
Thursday April 3, 2008
5:30pm to 8:30pm

Members of the Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Company (CCBDC) will be scooping your favorite homemade ice-cream all evening!

20% of proceeds and all tips will help support the CCBDC, your friendly college dance community.

Please join us for ice-cream and fun!

At Bert and Rocky’s in IN THE VILLAGE!
242 Yale Ave. Just south of Bank of America.

FMI: publicity@claremontballroom.org

Facebook group

You may not have guessed it, but David Carrington (PO ’10), tour team member, English major and occasional foosball champion, got his start in dance all the way back in the first grade— as a member of a competitive square-dancing team.

"There was an annual talent show," David explained, "and our PE teachers back in the day got a group of eight of us and trained us in the art of square-dancing ... we didn’t win. And I sorta stopped dancing from there ... I guess my little first grade self was heartbroken at not being a champion." However, he didn’t let the early disappointment stand in his way for long: "I picked it back up the summer before my senior year ... and sort of haven’t stopped since."

That may be something of an understatement. David spends, by his reckoning, an average of fifteen hours a week in the ballroom—and that’s not counting the weeks leading up to competitions, such as Nationals in Ohio or the more recent San Luis Obispo, at which he and partner Kelly Hewitt cleaned up with first- and second-place wins in at least six events. He’s a regular at Friday night Salsa Club and teaches Latin technique on Sundays. David’s investment in the community of the Claremont Colleges Ballroom Dance Company stems, he says, from his love of dance as a social art.

"I do all the hardcore technique training and technique classes and everything so that I can be a really good social dancer. I do it to fully understand what leading and following is and ... be able to lead some really cool stuff. My roots are in social dancing and I will come back to that when I leave college."

Given his dedication to social dance, it’s probably unsurprising that one of the things David likes most about CCBDC is the sense of shared interests and common pursuits. "There’s so many people who understand what I love to do. There are seventy people on team who when I’m excited about a new dance move or when I’m excited about some new choreography or a new song that I’ve heard or whatever it is ... they get excited about it too." For David, this sense of cohesion within the Claremont dance community extends further than simply sharing a favorite dance (though for the record, his is the Rumba, hands down); he believes that CCBDC provides all its members with opportunities to learn from each other to improve their technique, their knowledge of other dance forms, and generally have a ball. Regardless of skill level or hours spent practicing, David maintains, "Everyone has something to share."

As a sophomore, David still has a multitude of opportunities to share what he knows with the Claremont community—through a technique class, a Friday night party, or just a discussion with friends and teammates. His thoughtfulness, talent, and dedication leave no doubt that he will continue to be an important and essential presence within CCBDC.

"The whole culture’s great,” David said, “and that’s what it is, a culture for me."

As it turned out, it was all fun and no panic at this particular disco—unless you count Alison Cumming (PO ’06) in her not-strictly-seventies band-inspired getup. She was far from the only attendee to go all out for the occasion: Pomona freshman Samuel Chase Cunningham, in a pink shirt, sunglasses, a fantastic yellow jacket and pants to match, struck me as the incarnation of Saturday Night Fever.

"Wow," I said, "you must be really hot in those clo--"

"I don’t wanna talk about it," Sam muttered.

He may not have wanted to talk, but he sure wanted to dance—as did almost everyone else in Edmunds Ballroom on Saturday, February 23rd, with CCBDC’s Disco Party in full swing. The event included a funky Hustle lesson, followed by a night of games, contests, crazy seventies-style costumes, and, of course, dancing.

"I think it was amazing," said Jeffrey Lin (PO ’11), who gave hosting a whirl for the first time at the Disco Party. "I was so happy that a bunch of people showed up that weren’t part of the dance team, right? And like, they were really into it, they were all dressed up and ... once we got the Hustle going, they were in it. It was amazing."

The crazy, everybody-in attitude was a big part of making this event the favorite party of the year among many team members. Of course, it may have been anything-goes on the dance floor, but CCBDC still put on some flashy formation performances: Tour team heated it up midway through the night with their Disco routine, which Pomona senior and Disco dancer Julie Siloti said was her favorite part of the evening, and Regionals offered up a flash-forward to the next decade with their 80s medley.

"I think the success was that we were able to reach so many people," Jeffrey concluded. "We reached a lot of different age groups ... we had a lot of alumni come back. We even had a couple of adults who did some swing, and that was really cool."