Virginia Peninsula Community College dominated the Richmond Dance Challenge and Showcase in Mechanicsville on March 15, winning 80 awards.
Their presence, however, wasn’t limited to the dance floor. After the competition, there was a dinner dance, where competitors, coaches, event staff and sponsors mingled. The dancers received high marks there also.
“We made good connections. They were a walking billboard for the school,” said Pam Roberts, coach and adviser of the VPCC ballroom dance team.
She should have said a dancing billboard. The team’s 80 awards included 57 first-place finishes, 12 seconds, three thirds and four fourths.
“We swept (first through fourth) in every division they danced,” said Roberts, adding the College also was the top team overall, a program first.
She credited the seven veterans on the 11-person team, four of whom danced in more than 20 competitions, for the success.
“That’s how come we brought home so many awards,” Roberts said.
J.D. Ellis (an assistant coach), Lawren Speight (co-captain), Victoria Feliciano (co-captain) and Sarah Fank were not only competing in their divisions but partnered with the newcomers in their dances and divisions.
“They were exhausted,” Roberts said.
Another reason for their success was because it was an open competition, not a syllabus dance competition. The latter emphasizes specific dances, while the former allows for more freestyle categories.
“They were ecstatic in the fact that we got to dance more dances than just the syllabus ones,” Roberts said.
Veteran dancer Ming Cunniff participated in the rumba, merengue and bachata, among others.
“It was really fun,” she said. “Normally, we don’t have bachata because it’s more of a social dance.”
Roberts has four newcomers on the team, some of whom began dancing this semester. An open event such as this one was a great introduction to competition.
“They got their feet wet,” she said.
The competition also was good for Roberts because many of the judges were different. Usually, she said, you see the same judges at every event and receive the same comments.
“They got good feedback from judges who were seeing them for the first time,” Roberts said. “It wasn’t as nerve-racking, especially for the newcomers.”
Highlights of the competition included Ellis and Speight earning the highest score overall with a 99 (out of 100) in their Freestyle Samba and winning Top International Dance Couple. The second-highest scoring couple was Feliciano and Emmanuel Watkins, coming in overall with a 95 in Freestyle Swing and placed first in the American Rhythm Three-Dance Challenge.
Other members competing were veteran Brittany Brandstetter, and newcomers Anthony Hutchins, Jamie Ash, Christina Ortiz and Asaya Bhat.
“We made lots of good connections. I have lots of business cards. It was a great time,” Roberts said of the event.
It was the team’s first competition of the semester, although it did compete at DCDI at the University of Maryland in November. Roberts had fewer competitors in that event but still took home more than half a dozen awards.
Next up is BAM Jam, also at the University of Maryland, on April 5. The Gators might also compete at an event in Virginia Beach in May.