Oxford University Dancesport Club

Prior to the establishment of the Oxford Ballroom Dancing Club (OBDC), (later OUBDC and still later OUDC) undergraduates at the University of Oxford were not allowed to attend the popular Brett's dancing school in the centre of Oxford, nor attend any public dance at the Carfax Assembly Rooms, Headington Hill Hall or Town Hall. Private dancing lessons were also not permitted. In a bid to provide students at the university with an opportunity to dance a meeting was held on Wednesday 8 May 1968 at the Iffley Road Stadium for all those interested in forming a ballroom dancing club. This first meeting was attended by just over 50 people.

The Club's first coach was Anne O’Hagan, assisted by Lexa Duckett, with the Club's first Senior Member, Dr. Acheson, and his wife helping out where possible. The Club received its University accreditation in 1969 and by 1971 had 143 members. Initially it was a purely social dancing club – it was only later that it started running medals examinations and competitions. The first competition in Oxford was held at Rhodes House on 8 March 1974. The competition was against Cambridge and Oxford won the competition by 106.5pts to 106pts. The judges were the Tanakas, an eminent ballroom dance couple who represented Japan. The two teams have been rivals ever since. [2] Oxford won its first Inter Varsity Dance Competition in 1980, a year after Cambridge won their first such competition.[3][4] The Club was awarded Full Blue status for women in 1997 and discretionary Full Blue status for men in 2003.[5]

The Club's Main Team is one of the most successful university dancesport teams in the country. The Team, which usually consists of 24 couples, competes at a number of university circuit dancesport competitions during the year, including the Inter Varsity Dance Competition (IVDC) and is the reigning Inter Varsity Dance champion.[6] In 2004 and again in 2006 it won the Intercontinental Dance Festival team match competition, a title it still holds as the competition has not been run since that date.

Each year the Team competes in a Varsity dancesport competition against Cambridge . This consists of an A-Team match, a B-Team match, a Beginners Team match and a variety of other open events. Oxford and Cambridge take it in turns to host the event. Both the A-Team (Varsity) match and the B-Team (Challenge Shield) match are contested by 9 couples from each university. Each University splits its nine couples into three groups of three couples. Each of these groups of three couples then dances against each of the three groups from the other university in each of the four dances (waltz, quickstep, cha and jive). The results from each of these nine group-to-group matches for each of the four dances are then added together to determine the winning team. The Varsity and Challenge Shield match format is extremely unusual as it requires dancers to be good at both ballroom and Latin American style dances.[7][8][9]

The Club also has a Beginners Team. This consists of dancers who have not received professional tuition in ballroom or Latin American dancing prior to the Inter Varsity Dance Competition of the previous year. There are separate Beginners events at all the University circuit dancesport competitions and the Beginners Team has its own match at the annual Oxford Cambridge Dancesport Varsity competition. In 2010 the OUDC Beginners Team won the Beginners Team competition at the Varsity match and was 2nd at the Inter Varsity Dance Competition. In 2011, the Team won the Best Beginners Team trophy at the Inter Varsity Dance Competition.

Former coaches include Ian Waite.[12]

OUDC have employed many prestigious dancers to coach over the years, as well as numerous workshops with top professionals.

The Club runs an annual inter-college dancesport competition called Cuppers. Colleges enter teams of four couples. Each couple performs one of four dances: waltz, quickstep, cha and jive. The highest scoring team wins their college the Acheson Shield. The College with the most points overall across all of the teams they enter takes home the Rob Stevens Memorial Cup. The rules of the competition require that at least one member of each partnership must be an ‘inexperienced dancer’. Hence, the success of a college depends as much on the beginners it recruits as on its established dancers.[13]

• Oxford University Dancesport Club Website