Competitive Team

The Basics

Valparaiso University's Competitive Team takes ballroom dancing to the next level. The team competes intercollegiately, attending six competitions each school year. To prepare for these competitions, the team spends at least four hours each week practicing, with a major focus on technique. This includes group practices, and group and private lessons under the instruction of VU Ballroom’s coach, Wayne Applegate. All the competitions that the team attends, with the exception of the Ohio Star Ball, are one-day events. Dancing begins early on Saturday morning and lasts until late Saturday evening. At the very least, competitors are expected to know six dances in American Style: Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Cha Cha, Rumba, and East Coast Swing. Many competitors choose to learn other dances that can also be competed at the collegiate level including Hustle, Viennese Waltz, Mambo, West Coast Swing, Paso Doble, Merengue, and the International Style of those listed above.

Costs

Ballroom dancing has a reputation for being a very costly sport, but VU Ballroom does everything it can to keep costs low for competitors. It is VU Ballroom’s belief that inability to cover costs should never be what keeps someone from dancing. In light of this, the club utilizes the free social lessons and the teaching of experienced competitors for learning basic steps. Group and private lessons are offered by Wayne weekly. These lessons are essential for competitors to master ballroom technique, and they are offered at a much lower cost than those provided at other schools. The team is budgeted for all six competitions, which allows competitors to attend competitions for a total cost (transportation, hotel, and entrance fee) lower than just the entrance fee to most competitions. Naturally, certain dress is required for competitions, though the collegiate dress is much simpler than professional attire and probably is already in your closet. Talk to your fellow competitors before making any large investments!

Interested?

For those interested in competing, please contact David Fritsch at david.fritsch@valpo.edu. To compete you do not have to have any prior dance experience or even a partner. We can find you someone to dance with and teach you everything you need to know to compete and win!

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