Competitions
The London Dancesport Team travels around the country to attend Dancesport competitions and compete against other university teams - of which there are approximately 35 - including teams from Scotland and Wales.
The competition day is divided into three main sections; ballroom in the morning, latin in the afternoon, and the Team Match in the evening. Sometimes there are extra fun dance events, such as salsa and rock and roll. The ballroom and latin events are sometimes referred to as 'opens' or individual events, as each couple competes for their own merit. Beginners events are usually first as there are often many more entrants than in the other levels, which include novice, intermediate, and advanced.
>Open events
Beginners: this section is for people who have never competed in ballroom and latin competitions before, and have not taken professional lessons before March 2007. Steps are restricted to the basic figures, and the main dances are waltz, quickstep, cha cha and jive. For more information on Beginners competitions, please see our Beginners page.
Novice: this level is for those who have had some dance tuition and therefore do not fulfil the requirements for the beginners category. Steps are still restricted to basic figures in waltz, quickstep, cha cha and jive, but the standard of dancing is usually higher than in the beginners section.
Intermediate: this is the first level which does not have any restriction on steps, and often consists of three latin and three ballroom dances rather than two - usually the main dances mentioned above, plus one other latin and ballroom dance chosen from foxtrot, tango, and Viennese waltz in ballroom, and rumba, samba or paso doble in latin. Dancers in the intermediate category usually have some previous competition experience, so the standard can be quite high.
Advanced: this is highest category at university competitions, and can consist of a four or even five-dance event in latin and ballroom. The level of dancing can be extremely high in this section, as some couples will also compete on the amateur circuit as well as the university one.
>Team Match
The team match is different in character to the open events, as each couple is representing their university rather than competing for individual merit. There are different formats of team match used depending on the host university, but the main details remain the same. Each university fields 4 teams of 4 couples lettered A to D, making 16 couples in total. Each couple performs one dance only, either waltz, quickstep, cha cha or jive. So for example, there will be one waltz couple in each team (A, B, C and D), one cha cha couple and so on. So that we can field the best team possible, it is important that all couples learn a waltz, quickstep, cha cha and jive. More information on the structure of the team match will be given prior to each competition.
For more information about the team or competitions, please email our Team Captain.
