In the dead of night, five figures emerge from the darkness. Blazers over their shoulders and hands on their hips, they start to sashay down a cobbled street. It looks like they mean business. Over the span of two minutes, we see a swathe of other performers, clad in a variety of colourful outfits, join them in strutting their stuff around Radcliffe Square to the tune of P!NK’s anthemic ‘Get the Party Started’. Despite what you might have heard in Saltburn, it appears that the groove is alive and well in Oxford.
There aren’t many other sports that can boast a polished, professional trailer for an upcoming competition (imagine a 2s football team trying to generate hype by doing keepy-uppies down Cornmarket…), but competitive dance isn’t like other sports. Though the video is actually a teaser for their upcoming showcase, it served equally well as a preview for Oxford University Competition Dance’s clash against Cambridge on Sunday, 16th February.
This year’s iteration of the Varsity Dance competition was fiercely contested to say the least, with both OUCD and their Tab counterparts bringing their A game. After tickets for the event sold out in under an hour, spectators crowded into St John’s College auditorium to watch the dancers go toe to toe. Among those in attendance were Raymond Chai, Lois Samphier-Read, and Amy Ireland, the three guest judges for the competition.
The two sides competed in a total of seven different disciplines, ranging from the more classical Ballet to more modern styles, like Hip-Hop and Contemporary.
After the action had concluded, a hush descended over the auditorium as the guest judges assembled in the middle of the stage to announce the results. Cambridge came out on top in the Hip-Hop, Wildcard and Solo/Duo/Trio categories, but standout displays in the Ballet, Tap, Jazz, and Contemporary rounds secured a 4-3 victory for Oxford. The narrow scoreline is a testament to the skill brought to the table by both teams, and marks only the second time that Oxford has emerged victorious in the competition since its inception.
Victory in Varsity was made possible by months of hard work, dedication, and rehearsing. In the words of OUCD president Josh Redfern and VP Niamh Tooher, “it was incredibly inspiring to see such a high level of dance performed by university students across a diverse range of styles. Beyond the competition itself, Varsity is about celebrating our shared passion for dance, and illuminating an often under-appreciated discipline which bridges the sports and arts. We are incredibly proud of both teams, and can’t wait for next year’s competition!” Anyone who witnessed the spectacle on Sunday can certainly agree with that last sentence.
