UCSD Dancesport continued riding the wave of success at the Beach Ball competition hosted at University of California, Santa Barbara. Both returning and first-year members continued honing their dancing skills following Cal Poly SLO’s Mustang Ball, and their efforts have paid off at our second competition of winter quarter. 

In American Smooth, Thunder Bird and Alise Bruevich placed 1st in Silver Viennese Waltz, 2nd in Silver Waltz, 1st in Gold Viennese Waltz, and 2nd in Gold Waltz, Tango, and Foxtrot. In both Silver and Gold levels, Blanca Martin placed 1st in Waltz, Tango, and Foxtrot and 2nd in Viennese Waltz. Apru Pranjal placed 3rd in Rookie Follower Waltz. 

Our team also won many victories in International Standard, with dancers placing in the top three in multiple finals. David Mazzotti placed 1st in Newcomer Tango with Persephone Ballatore, 2nd in Newcomer Waltz with Ivy Luu, and 2nd in Newcomer Quickstep, 2nd in Bronze Foxtrot, and 3rd in Bronze Tango with Catalina Larsen. Greta Davis and Apru swept the Bronze level, placing 1st in Bronze Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot, and Quickstep. Thunder and Alise placed 1st in Silver Viennese Waltz, 2nd in Silver Waltz, Quickstep, and Foxtrot, 3rd in Silver Tango, 1st in Gold Viennese Waltz, and 2nd in Gold Waltz, Foxtrot, Quickstep, and Tango. Blanca placed 2nd in Silver Tango and Viennese Waltz, 3rd in Silver Waltz, Quickstep, and Foxtrot, 2nd in Gold Viennese Waltz, and 3rd in Gold Waltz, Foxtrot, Quickstep, and Tango. In the Rookie Follower category, Persephone placed 1st in Tango and 2nd in Quickstep with Thunder, Ivy placed 2nd in Waltz with Thunder, Catalina placed 1st in Quickstep and 2nd in Tango, and Apru placed 1st in Waltz. 

For the first time in many competitions, our team had a couple who competed in American Rhythm! Danny and Blanca outdanced their competitors and placed 1st in Silver Cha Cha, Rumba, East Coast Swing, and Bolero. 

In International Latin, our dancers continued consistently making it to the finals and securing the top three places in the Newcomer, Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels. David placed 1st in Newcomer Cha Cha and Samba, 2nd in Bronze Jive, and 3rd in Bronze Rumba with Persephone and placed 1st in Newcomer Rumba, 1st in Bronze Samba, and 3rd in Bronze Cha Cha with Catalina. Greta and Apru placed 1st in Bronze Rumba, Paso Doble, and Jive and 2nd in Bronze Cha Cha and Samba, while Bryan Cheng and Lili Olah placed 1st in Bronze Cha Cha and Silver Jive and 2nd in Bronze Rumba, Silver Cha Cha and Rumba, and Silver Samba. Danny and Greta placed 1st in Silver Cha Cha, Rumba, and Samba. Thunder and Alise placed 1st in Silver Paso Doble, 2nd in Silver Jive, 3rd in Silver Samba, 2nd in Gold Paso Doble, and 3rd in Gold Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, and Jive. Additionally, Lara Derderian placed 2nd in Gold Jive, while Blanca placed 1st in Gold Paso Doble and 2nd in Gold Cha Cha, Samba, and Rumba. In the Rookie Leader category, David placed 1st in Cha Cha, Samba, and Rumba with Lara, while Sirisha Munukutla placed 2nd in Cha Cha and Rumba with Alexis Wascher. As for the Rookie Followers, Catalina placed 1st in Cha Cha, Samba, and Rumba with Thunder, Persephone placed 2nd in Cha Cha, Samba, and Rumba with Danny, and Apru placed 3rd in Rumba. 

During the evening session, our dancers returned to the dance floor with some fun social dancing. In Beginner Nightclub, Greta placed 2nd in Merengue with Persephone and 3rd in Salsa with Catalina, while Bryan and Lili took 1st in Bachata and Salsa. Apru placed 2nd in Bachata, Salsa, and Hustle and 3rd in Merengue and West Coast Swing. In Intermediate/Advanced Nightclub, Thunder placed 2nd in Hustle with Persephone and 3rd in Merengue with Lara, while Danny and Blanca won 2nd in Salsa and Bachata. 

Near the end of the night, our team watched the amazing Open level competitors and dance showcases. It is very exciting that our team also competed in the Open level! In Novice Latin, Lara placed 3rd in Cha Cha, Samba, and Rumba. 

Congratulations to our dancers who continued to not only improve but also place in the top three in all of the different dance styles and levels! We are proud of our team’s progress and hope to continue having fun and finding more success at our next competition!