With sequins and sparkles aplenty and the ballroom set for a night of entertainment, the Sheffield Latin And Ballroom Society’s 2023 Sheffield Come Dancing was set, with the charity fundraiser aimed to score big on the bank balance for mental health charity Sheffield Mind. Held in Foundry in the SU, this year’s event was set to be a memorable occasion!
Our night began with a group dance from the SLABS pros, to Dua Lipa’s ‘Dance the Night’, already setting the bar high for the evening’s performances. We then were introduced to our presenters Maddie and Ruby, who introduced both what the evening had in store, and the charity we were raising money for, before showing an introduction reel from the evening’s couples. Each discussed the society (and university!) they were from, and the dances which they had been selected for, which was brilliant to know a bit about our couples and whom they were representing.
But before anyone could take to the dancefloor, we had to be introduced to the evening’s judges. The panel consisted of Dale, a SLABS ballroom coach, as well as Lydia and Matt who both are dancers and teach at the society. With the judges in place, it was time for the dances!
We began with the jive, performed to ‘Runaway Baby’ by Bruno Mars. This was the most popular dance of the evening, with three couples taking part simultaneously. Theo was representing Sailing at Hallam and was paired with SLABS professional Lucy, with Theo saying “it was fun” mere moments after finishing their performance. Dale commented that their dancing was “on time” but “was a little heavy now and again”, whilst Lydia noted the “really good connection with [their] partner”, and Matt praising their “great variety of figures and steps”. The judges gave them 6, 7 and 7 points respectively, giving them a total of 20 points to kick off the evening!
SLABS pro Ellen was partnered with Uni Of Sailing’s Freya, who was quick to point out she “didn’t fall over”, which she seemed surprised about! But the judges weren’t! Dale complemented their “very nice footwork” and “complicated choreography”, with Lydia praising their “identical” matching and a nod to “fun extras like the body roll” from Matt. Our judges awarded them 7, 8 and 8 points, for a grand total of 23.
The final couple in the 6-strong jive, Uni Of Tennis’ Amy and SLABS professional Miles, who thought “it went well”, with Amy calling their performance “scary but fun”. The judging panel seemed to love their performance too, with Lydia noting how she “loves to see a lift…so early on in a dance career”. The high energy “important for a jive” was focused on heavily by Matt with Dale also celebrating “lots of enthusiasm”. With scores of 9, 9 and 8, this catapulted Amy and Miles to top of the leader board, and the best of the jives!
Our second dance was the waltz, to the backing of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ from the hit musical Les Misérables. Rosie (Uni Of Medics’ Running) and Sophie (SLABS pro) were first to be critiqued, with “nice content…and lines” comments from Dale, “great timing” from Lydia and “nice foot closes [and] clean movement” from Matt, which for him “ticked all the boxes”! With the judges giving a score of 24 (8’s all round), Sophie praised Rosie, who “smashed it”.
Our other waltzing couple were Hallam’s Alina, representing Veggie and Vegan Society, and her SLABS professional Sophie, who commented on Alina “doing so well” seconds after their performance ending. The “really really lovely waltz” was lauded by Lydia as it “sometimes gets lost in competitions” such as this. Matt commented on their need to “keep confidence up…got a bit nervy in the middle”, whilst Dale highlighted their “good content from the start” and coverage of the floor. The couple received 7’s all round, for a score of 21 points.
After a brief intermission, was the two couples taking on the quickstep. Connor from Hallam Hockey (who also had, by far, the most audible fans!) was paired with pro Eilidh, with Connor “loving every second of it”! They “worked together really well as a couple” and “had a really good ballroom frame” according to Matt and Lydia, with the latter also saying “ballroom could be for [them]” with the elements of the Charleston. Dale also praised the pair for probably the “hardest ballroom dance to do”. With an 8, 8 and 7 under the belt, the 23-point scoring couple did a fantastic job!
Just across the dancefloor were professional Toby and Uni Of Benchball’s Jessica, who gave a performance with “excellent movement [and] really good effort”, and “a great energy [despite] lots going on in the brain for a quickstep” from Dale and Lydia. Matt was also particularly impressed with their maintaining of positions relative to each other”, even when rotating, which he applauded with 9 points. Added onto Dale’s 8 and Lydia’s 9, this gave the couple a strong score of 26.
Next up was the Cha Cha, with Hallam Ice Hockey’s Hollie paired with pro Rhiannon. With their signature matching outfits drawing attention, it was fitting that Dale praised their matching moves to complement it. Lydia’s comments on the “lovely straight legs helping to be wonderfully on time” went hand-in-hand with Dale’s comments on “posture staying upright throughout”. Receiving 8’s all round for a score of 24, Rhiannon said she had “loved dancing with Hollie”.
With the backing of Taylor Swift’s ‘You Belong With Me’, it was only right that Uni Of Swift Soc’s Izzy took on the Cha Cha to this hit, with SLABS pro Faith guiding them through it, and saying she “was so proud of you” to Izzy seconds after the music stopped. Matt loved how this couple were “all over the place – but in a good way!”, Lydia praised the “fun extra elements”, and Dale liking their transitions from “apart to together”, even if it was “a little bouncy at times”. This didn’t stop him from awarding them 8 points, which when combined with Lydia’s 7 and Matt’s 8, gave our shimmering Swiftie 23 points.
The final dance was the samba. Hallam Hockey’s Brooke had been matched with Abbie from SLABS who were both “happy to be representing Hallam”. And they weren’t the only ones who were happy! Dale’s praise of their “lots of hip wiggling”, Lydia’s lauding of “how matched [they] were” and Matt’s noting of the “samba bounce coming in” scored them 9’s across the board, securing them the highest score of the night so far!
Our final couple were Uni Of Quiz Soc’s Charlotte and SLABS professional Julian who was glowing and “so so proud of Charlotte” as they left the dancefloor. Matt’s comments on their “many different rhythms…complicated choreography” and Dale’s appraisal of the “basics executed very well” were appreciated but paled in comparison to Lydia’s comments on “immaculate” choreography, “difficult positions” and “splendid dancing”, which she could “go on for 10 minutes about”. However, short on time, she settled to give this couple 10 points instead, making them the only couple to achieve this score. With Matt’s 9 and Dale’s 8, they closed the show with an excellent 27-point total.
It was then time to vote, with voting being represented by the total amount of money donated to each specific couple. As they all hurried around the room collecting donations, judges Lydia and Matt demonstrated a jive for the audience to join in on under the fitting light of the disco ball, before a freeze jive competition to S Club 7’s ‘Reach’, with audience members Amy & Hannah taking the win. Everyone then came together for a group Macarena and Cha Cha Slide!
It was finally time for the results. The highest overall scores at 27 apiece was a tie between Charlotte and Julian, and Brooke and Abbie, with each couple taking a medal home. And sticking with the Varsity tradition, Uni Of also won the most overall donations out of the two universities.
The two couples with the highest donations were entered into the dance off, with Izzy and Faith, and Amy and Miles left as the two frontrunners. After a tough dance off, with judge Lydia commenting how “both of our couples should be really pleased with themselves”, it was Miles and Amy who won for Uni Of’s Tennis society. However, they weren’t the only winners. With all of the donations and ticket sales added up, Ruby and Maddie were overjoyed to announce that the fundraiser had gained a monumental total of over £2000 for good causes, with a large proportion going to Sheffield Mind, a spectacular figure from this single event!
The Sheffield Latin And Ballroom Society’s Sheffield Come Dancing was a hugely successful event, full of laughs, entertainment and spectacular dancing. All those who took part and organised this event should be amazingly proud of what they have achieved, and I hope to see another such event in the near future. Keep dancing!
Sheffield Come Dancing was held in Foundry in the SU. For future events from The Latin And Ballroom Society, see @sheflabs on Instagram
