Dancing the night away

Gliding across the gym floor in one another's arms, five brightly-clad couples narrowly avoided collision. Each focused intently on the intricate footwork of the dance, moving in time to slow music blaring from a stereo propped against a wall of mirrors.

"Keep the thin air between you," called Fumin Zhang, a postdoc from Maryland who helps coach the ballroom dance team. "Connect with it; thin air has feelings."

Three times a week, 12 students gather in Dillon Gym and dance the night away. Together, they form the ballroom dance team, a close-knit group that speaks in the language of heels, balls, steps and trots.

The team rehearsed for the first time last night with a nationally ranked dancer, Gherman Mustuc, who has been hired to improve the team's technique in preparation for a series of competitions this semester.

Mustuc, a Queens resident, will come to campus every week to work with experienced dancers on the team.

Securing Mustuc as a coach represents a major victory for the club, members said.

The group has struggled in recent years, with membership dwindling to 12 students from nearly 80 members five years ago, according to the Princeton Weekly Bulletin.

"We largely get people from off campus and other schools that come to our lessons and socials," said Caleb Howe '07, co-president of the group. "We want to get more Princeton students coming out."

Recent fundraising efforts, including campus-wide balls and a bake sale led by a strong freshman class, have allowed the team to begin rebuilding.

"I'm really pleased with the dedication of our freshmen," Howe said. "Our club continues because of their efforts."

The team will compete at the University of Pennsylvania this weekend and will hold an open house Sunday.

Rehearsals are divided between the two categories of ballroom dance, Latin and standard. Standard includes more traditional dances, including the waltz, tango and foxtrot.

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Latin dance includes rumba, cha-cha and samba, which are "sexier, more free," Patricia Li '08 said.

The team founded in 1983 by Neil Clover, a professional ballroom dancer and physical education instructor at the University.

Most students join the team with little to no experience, but soon become dedicated members who rarely miss rehearsals, Howe said.

Ballroom dancing, he explained, quickly becomes an addictive activity.

Howe himself is known for dancing through his dorm with an invisible partner.

"Do I need a reason?" he said.

Another team member, Yang Dai '08, began dancing at a math camp workshop in high school. "A guy from MIT taught us Latin and I was hooked," she said. "Now I have bought $120 worth of shoes and am completely obsessed."

"There was one point when we were practicing every day of the week," Dai said.

Practices in Dillon Gym often last past midnight, especially as the team gears up for competition.

"Even though we sometimes stay very late, I don't believe that it has affected our academic performance," Li said. "We can just finish our homework before we go."

As with many ballroom dance teams, women have always outnumbered men, which poses a perpetual problem.

"At one competition we had to enter two girls as a couple because they couldn't find partners," Karen Jeng '08 said.

The dancers call the gender imbalance an incentive to join the team.

"If any guys want to find girls, they should come here," Dai said. "Plus, dancing is a good social skill. Let's face it, lots of guys just can't dance."