5/27/22 - Banquet and Alumni Night
The final event of the year was the annual UCSD Dancesport Banquet, followed by an Alumni Night for all our graduated team members. The banquet was hosted at the Infinity Dancesport Center per the generous donation of the studio owner, and the wonderfully decorated dance studio perfectly set the scene for a night of memories, laughs, and of course, dancing.
With catering from Panda Express, homemade desserts by the team’s best cooks, and too many fortune cookies to count, the night started with delicious food and reminiscing on some of the best moments of the year via a large slideshow with photos of stunning performances and hilarious memes from this year’s team. The Command Staff then presented some hand-crafted paper plate awards, customized for every single member of the team to show our appreciation for all the light and energy they have brought to the team this year. The entire team also presented our wonderful coaches, Marcus and Selena, with some touching handwritten thank-you posters and carefully chosen meaningful presents to show our deep appreciation for our coaches that taught us everything we know.
To continue the night’s festivities and support the team in the coming years, the Command Staff organized a raffle and a silent auction with some memorabilia from this year and other eye-catching prizes. The still competition we had seen on the dance floor all year quickly transferred to the silent auction sheets, with dancers battling on paper to secure their desired prizes at the end of the night. Notably, the exclusive professional 2021-2022 team picture, signed by UCSD Dancesport members and coaches, was won with a whopping $140 bid!
Rounding out the night was the activity we all love so much — dancing! Non-stop giggling ensued at the Dancesport version of musical chairs, as randomly selected song styles prompted dancers to create their own creative moves on the fly and compete for the last chair with an epic showdown of the Paso Doble. The night continued with other performances of our favorite styles — Bachata, Salsa, Hustle, West Coast Swing, and even the Wobble and some line dancing! All in all, this season ended on a high note with a fun night of looking back at memories, and we are looking forward to more years of dancing to come.