The University of Sheffield Dance Society has been crowned as Society of the 2023/24 academic year at the annual Activities Awards, which took place on May 7th in the Octagon. The event, run collaboratively by the Students’ Union and Societies Committee, recognises societies, committees and individuals who have gone above and beyond for their student group, creating an environment in which students can flourish in their special interests, and was interspersed with fantastic performances from the Swing Dance Society, Poetry Society and Steelworks Acapella, among others.
Dance Society took home the coveted Society of the Year award, but this was preceded by an incredibly lucrative night for the group, having already secured three other categories. The group was also named Creative Society of the Year, In-Person Event of the Year for their competition, as well as an individual award for the society’s treasurer Anna Clough, awarded Treasurer of the Year. The society secured all but one of their nominations.
It was also a good night for the Sheffield University Theatre Company (SUTCo) who were named Flourishing Committee of the Year, beating tough competition from International Students’ Committee, Forge TV and the LGBTQ+ Committee. The group was praised for its recovery from the effects of Covid-19 and creating a positive environment for its members.
However, it was overall a tough night for Arts & Theatre societies at the awards, with upsets across the board for our creative groups. Aside from these awards, no other awards were presented to Arts & Theatre societies, despite the extensive nominations. SUTCo missed out on both of the individual awards its members were shortlisted for, as well as no wins for Swing Dance Society, USLES, DragSoc or the Steel City Sirens Burlesque group.
Whilst many groups will be waking up with sore heads and awards, many of our Arts & Theatre societies will have missed out on this year’s titles. Nevertheless, each nominee at the awards has created a dynamic student environment in the past year as a result of their hard work and dedication, and our winners will be incredibly pleased with their achievements in the previous 12 months.
The Activities Awards were held on May 7th in the Octagon. A full list of nominees are available here
