Dance Deemed Success

In what organizers from the Harvard-Radcliffe Ballroom Dance Club (HRBDC) termed the biggest and most prestigious collegiate competition on the Eastern seaboard, competitors and ballroom dance aficionados from around the country gathered at the eighth annual ball and competition at the Wonderland Ballroom in Revere this weekend.

Dancers from 22 visiting schools rumbaed and mamboed their way through the Harvard Invitational Competition, which took place on Saturday and Sunday.

Following the competition, the club sponsored a ballroom dance, which brought team members together with Harvard students and recreational dancers onto one crowded dance floor.

Organizers said the ball, which brought over 400 people to the Wonderland ballroom, was more successful than in past years. The success was due to increased attendance and a change of venue from a cultural center's gym to an actual ballroom, according to HRBDC president Samantha L. Chaifetz '00.

"It gets better and better every year," she said. "The people that attended were really impressed with how professional it was."

The participants echoed Chaifetz's assessment.

"I did not expect such high quality," said Michael D. Sudbury, a competitor from Utah State University. Other highlights of the ball included the performance and dance seminar given by professional dancers Jonathon Elkins and Katusha Demidova, the former U.S. Pro-Latin Champions. The U.S. Professional Standard Champions and the U.S. Junior Amateur Latin champions also performed. Also, Aida Moreno, the executive Producer of a PBS show, "Championship Ballroom Dancing," was inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame for her work.

Chaifetz, along with HRBDC co-captains Michal Bortnik '00 and Eyal Y. Kimchi '00, began preparations for the event last year. In December and January, Chaifetz said, the organizers' time is consumed by ensuring that the Winter Ball and Competition runs smoothly.

"Our goal is to bring really good amateur competition from as many colleges as possible, and judging from the turnout, we have done well, Bortnik said.

The competition was just as successful as the ball, especially for the approximately 100 students from the Harvard team. Saturday's open championship was won by a couple from New York, and yesterday's open Latin competition was won by Jaime Horado '95 and his non-student partner, Lisa Perri. In yesterday's all-day competition, Kimchi and his partner Bonnie H. Lui, made it to the finals, and the pair of Chaifetz and Bortnick made it to the semi-finals, despite an injury.

While the ballroom dance club puts on many campus events, the Winter Ball is its most prominent endeavor.

"This is the defining event," Chaifetz said.