Days of dance and roses

Most of the ‘beginners’ in the Ninth Annual Beginner’s competition, hosted by the Harvard Ballroom Dance Team, looked like anything but as they expertly swirled and strutted their hour upon the dance floor last Saturday (Oct. 26). The competition began as the ‘Harvard-Yale Challenge’ in 1992, when the Yale team would come and dance against the Crimson during the weekend of the Game. Soon, other schools joined in, and the event became a contest for dancers ranging from raw rookies to greenish veterans.

Keeping up the spirit of the original Harvard-Yale Challenge is the gender smashing Harvard-Radcliffe Challenge. In usual competition, a gentleman and a lady dance together against other similarly sexed couples. But the H-R Challenge features all-boy couples against all-girl couples. It’s a battle of the sexes to determine once and for all (once a year) who are the better dancers – da boys or da girls?