Team Q/A

Where did the team come from?

In 1993, members of the Cornell Ballroom Dance Club, who wished to pursue ballroom dancing competitively, established the Cornell Ballroom Team as an unofficial subset of the social dance club.

In 2002, the Cornell DanceSport Team was officially founded as an independent organization. Though the purpose of the team differs greatly from that of the Club, the team works closely with the Cornell Ballroom Dance Club in several joint ventures. The team's mission is to represent Cornell University in the world of collegiate competitive ballroom dance. We participate in up to 7 intercollegiate competitions a year, and develop routines for competition and formations for performance.

What is DanceSport?

You may already be familiar with competitive ballroom dancing through such recent movies as "Shall We Dance" and "Dance With Me", as well as the smash summer 2005 reality TV hits "Dancing With the Stars", portions of "So You Think You Can Dance", and TLC's "Ballroom Bootcamp".

Quite simply, DanceSport is defined as competitive ballroom dance and includes both the Latin and Standard dances. Many people associate ballroom dance with only Standard (ie waltz, tango, foxtrot) dances, thus the powers that be decided to adopt a more encompassing, appealing name, DanceSport. DanceSport has recently become an offical olympic sport, though it is not yet featured in the games. These are the following dances included in the term dancesport:

International Latin: Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, Jive
International Standard: Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Quickstep, Viennese Waltz
American Rhythm: Cha Cha, Rumba, Mambo, Bolero, Swing
American Smooth: Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Viennese Waltz

What is the Team all about?

The team is a group of talented and dedicated individuals. We work together to improve our dancing and to compete in monthly weekend competitions. The team usually has between 20 - 40 members, depending on the year and on certain constraints. Most people started dancing ballroom in the Cornell Ballroom Dance Club, and then decided to take their dancing to the next level (this is the most desirable route), while some have joined with previous ballroom experience. We also have members who had no dance experience and began their ballroom dancing here on the team with us! So we have every kind of level represented on our team.

Members attend 1-2 lessons per week taught by our assistant coach or other upper level team-members. There are also practice times and workshops/private lessons with our visiting coaches, who are US Professional Finalists!

All of this does of course entail a certain level of committment. However, we definitely recognize the primary importance of our members' academic committements. Being on the team will guarantee you the resources you need to majorly improve your competitive ballroom dancing, and in return all the we expect that you make a positive contribution to the team.

How can I become a part of the Team?

Each semester the team looks for new members. Anyone who has a desire to both improve their ballroom dancing and perform and compete is encouraged to try out for the team. Though we do expect some amount of dance experience (not necessarily ballroom), it is not strictly necessary. It is strongly discouraged to try out with a specific partner during auditions All team members pay a small bi-annual membership fee of $55 (as of January 2008).

A description of the official team rules and structure can be found in the Team Bylaws and Constitution

Interested? Contact our team captain for more information.

Try-outs are typically at the beginner of each semester. Please check the main page for current update on this.

Can we perform or teach at your event?

The Cornell DanceSport team is always willing to perform and/or teach at events in the area. We can do anything from performance routines and formations to workshops for the very beginner to more intermediate level workshops. For more information please contact the team captain.

More Information

Upcoming competitions.

For general questions about our team, contact the team captain.