Club Sports Series: Princeton Ballroom Dance

Founded in 1983 by the late dancer and volunteer instructor Neil Clover, the Princeton Ballroom Dance Club was established with the goal of promoting both social and competitive ballroom dancing on campus. Current club president and senior Steven Tsai said that one of the best parts of the group is that it is a “dance club, but also a sports club, which means we don’t have to host auditions, so if you want to learn, all you have to do is come to our practices.” Most of PBDC’s members come in with little-to-no experience, so the club truly encourages a friendly and pleasant environment for those who simply wish to learn the skill.

The PBDC teaches international, standard, and Latin style dances, which include waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, tango, Viennese waltz, rumba, cha-cha, samba, jive, and Paso Doble. The club uniquely consists of both undergraduate and graduate students, but comparatively speaking, Princeton’s team is rather small as the University’s graduate school has fewer students than many of the other competing schools. For example, the University of Pennsylvania’s ballroom club is the largest student group on its campus because many of its members come from its many graduate schools.

While the Princeton team is relatively small, the club holds a tremendous amount of talent. The team has about 15 veterans from last year and approximately 25 newbies, with a near-perfect gender ratio for couple dances. Last year, two then-junior dancers, Frank Jiang and Ya-Sheng Lin, won first place medals in the Novice Ballroom Dance and the InterVarsity Dance Competitions at the England Blackpool Championships, the largest ballroom competition in the world.

On Saturday, Oct. 8, Princeton is set to host the Sixth Annual Ballroom Dance Competition in Dillon Gymnasium. When asked how the Princeton team matches up to the competition, Tsai said, “In past competitions, our members have done really well in terms of our members being able to place consistently and also move on to the higher levels.” Sophomore team captain Joshua Khuvis is very excited to be competing in the annual competition for his second time. Previously limited to just the cha-cha, Khuvis is thrilled to also be dancing in the samba event and is “really looking forward to moving up to the bronze round” of the tournament this weekend. Tsai is psyched for the newbies, who are lucky enough to experience the “home-court advantage” at Dillon this weekend and watch some “really talented dancers.” He recalled his first competition as a freshman, when seniors encouraged him to compete in dances that he didn't think he was adequately prepared for. This was when he realized how well the team practices and coaches prepped him for competition.

Tsai encouraged Princeton students to attend the competition because of the high-quality dancing that “you might not otherwise get to see or you might otherwise have to pay for.” Doors open at 8:30 a.m., but the best dancing will start around 6 p.m., when the championships begin. Best of luck to all the Tigers dancing this weekend!