A night in France
Ballroom Tour Team Shines
House lights dimmed and music struck up as the ballroom tour team light-footed their way across the stage. A feeling of anticipation swept through the audience as they lit up, watching the dancers perform.
With smiles and flashy footwork, talented ballroom dancers swept audiences away to a night in Paris, where they were surprised and mesmerized. Beginning with their standard medley, a combination of waltz, tango, quickstep and Viennese waltz, the show was propelled into a spectacle for the eyes and ears.
The ballroom concert Luxe took place March 24-28 in the Ragan Theater. Audiences were impressed and astounded at the level of talent exhibited by all of the ballroom teams on campus.
A little-known fact is that there are, in fact, four ballroom teams, each with varying levels of talent and difficulty. At the top is the tour team, directed by Artist in Residence Scott Asbell. The team has performed and competed nationally and internationally, and has also had a televised performance on the hit TV show Dancing With the Stars.
The team has four championship wins at the Open British Championships held in Blackpool, England, and 12 second-place awards in the United States National Championships.
Talent is hard to come by, especially in the ballroom community. Yet audiences and the team directors agree that this concert was easily one of the best performances the university has seen.
“This is our 63rd show and this team was the hardest team to choose the best dancers from,” Asbell said. “This was a very professional show.”
Not only are the dancers working hard, but their directors are also diligently seeking to better their team members for their performances and competitions each semester. The other directors include Chris Witt, director of the backup tour team, known as the gold team, Tara Boyd, director of the silver team, and Megan Wiblin, director of the bronze team.
“This year, we have some of the most talented directors on staff,” Asbell said. “They did very well with this performance.”