February 20th: Dancesport
On February 20, the UC San Diego Dancesport Team attended the annual California Polytechnic State University Mustang Ball in San Luis Obispo. The competition started with the American Smooth category. First, Viet Nguyen and partner Katrina Kennedy placed in the bronze level Waltz.
Couple Kevin Ray and Katrina Kennedy placed 4th in the Rookie/Veteran Tango. Kevin Ray, this time with Konstancja Ziegert, placed 5th in the Rookie/Veteran Waltz. Kevin Ray and Akshata Rohra placed 2nd in the Rookie/Veteran Viennese Waltz and 4th in the Rookie/Veteran Foxtrot.
Next, couple Alan Puah and Katya Tsimring were finalists in the newcomer Waltz and won 1st in the newcomer Tango. Couple Omron Hassan and Marina Torras were finalists in the newcomer Tango and Waltz. Couple Fernando Cortez and Kim Ng placed 6th in the bronze Waltz. Last, couple Andy Helson and Laurel Wilkinson were finalists in the Silver level Tango and bronze Foxtrot, won 3rd in the bronze waltz, 2nd in the bronze Viennese Waltz, and 3rd in the bronze American Multi-Dance.
Moving on, in the International Standard category, Andy Helson and Laurel Wilkinson were finalists in the bronze international Quickstep.
In the American Rhythm category, couple Kevin Ray and Kanstancja Ziegert placed 4th in the bronze American Rumba, 3rd in the bronze East Coast Swing, and 6th in the bronze Bolero. They also placed 5th in the silver American Rumba, 7th in the silver American Cha Cha, and 5th in the silver Bolero. Also, couple Fernando Corte and Kim Ng placed 3rd in the silver East Coast Swing.
The bulk of the team’s awards were won during the International Latin events. Couple Viet Nguyen and Sydney Swanson placed had an impressive showing, winning 1st in the silver Cha Cha, 1st in the silver Samba, and 1st in the silver Rumba. Couple Omron Hassan and Konstancja Ziegert were finalists in the newcomer Rumba, won 4th place in the newcomer Cha Cha. Omron and Katya Tsimring were finalists in the newcomer Samba. In the Rookie/Veteran category, Omron and Paula Anzenberg placed 2nd in Jive. Also in Rookie/Veteran, Devin Antony and Paula Anzenberg won 3rd in Cha Cha and 3rd in Samba. Couple Elia Clarissa Peralta and Kenneth Sabangan were finalists in the newcomer Cha Cha and Samba. Couple Katrina Kennedy and Navid Roueenfar were finalists in the bronze Cha Cha, Rumba, Samba, and Jive. Couple Alan Puah and Chloe Qiu placed 2nd in the newcomer Cha Cha, 2nd in the newcomer Samba, and 1st in the newcomer Rumba. Couple Fernando Corte and Kim Ng took home a large number of ribbons, winning 1st in the bronze Samba, 2nd in the bronze Cha Cha, 2nd in the bronze Rumba, and 1st in the bronze Jive. They also won 3rd in the silver Jive, 3rd in the silver Rumba, and 2nd in the silver Samba. In the gold level, the highest competitive syllabus level, couple Kaya Ishijima and Kyle Eckman won 1st in the gold Cha Cha, 2nd in the gold Samba, and 1t in the gold Rumba.
The last events of the competition were the Nightclub events. In the Beginner category, Katrina Kennedy and Navid Roueenfar were finalists in Salsa. Kevin Ray and Akshata Rohra placed 4th in Salsa. With UC San Diego Alum Van Lam, Kevin Ray placed 3rd in the Merengue, 5th in Lindy Hop, and 4th in Blues. Fernando Cortez and Kim Ng placed 4rd in Lindy Hop, 5th in West Coast Swing, 1st in Nightclub 2 Step, 4th in Merengue, and 5th in Blues. Last, Elia Clarissa Peralta and Kenneth Sabangan were finalists in the Salsa and won 2nd in the Merengue.
