Cambridge Dancers' Club (CDC) first opened its doors in October 1950 as a student society in the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

to promote

Ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

and

Latin dancing Latin dance is a general label, and a term in partner dance competition jargon. It refers to types of ballroom dance and folk dance that mainly originated in Latin America. The category of Latin dances in the international dancesport competi ...

. It has since broadened the styles taught by their professional teachers to include

Salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

and Rock 'n' Roll classes, as well as opening to all adult Cambridge residents. The club runs classes five nights a week during Full Term, including classes open to people with no previous dance experience. Classes also run (albeit less frequently) outside Full Term. Having once had an annual membership of over 2000, the club now has a membership that is still well over 1000 members, making it purportedly one of the largest Ballroom and Latin Dancing Clubs in Europe.

Cambridge University Dancesport Team (CUDT)

Dancesport is the competitive side of Ballroom and Latin dancing. CUDT sends teams of 24 couples to inter-university competitions, most notably the National Inter Varsity Dancesport Competition (IVDC) and an annual varsity match against

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. CUDT also supports the development of dancesport at Anglia Ruskin University and will trial any dancers who wish to compete for the team. Dancesport has held Half-Blue status for women since 1991 and for men since 1999. During this time it was also possible to be awarded a discretionary full blue. In 2013, the women's blues committee upgraded Dancesport's status to

Full Blue A blue is an award of sporting colours earned by athletes at some universities and schools for competition at the highest level. The awarding of blues began at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England. They are now awarded at a number of other ...

. CUDT has been the most successful of the University Dancesport Teams in the last 10 years. It has won the Overall IVDC Championship from 2006-2009 and from 2012-2015. 2014 brought especially notable success with Cambridge emerging victorious in all team matches (A-F) including the unprecedented result of placing their A & B teams first and second respectively. 2015 again saw success, with Cambridge triumphing in all team matches (A-F). CUDT have also won the varsity match with

from 2007-2009 and in 2012-2019. CUDT also brings along a team of around 40 beginners to competitions, many of whom go on in future years to represent the full team. The Cambridge University Beginners Team has won the best national beginners team in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015.

References

External links

Cambridge Dancers' Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambridge Dancers' Club (Cdc) Clubs and societies of the University of Cambridge Dance organisations in the United Kingdom 1950 establishments in England Arts organizations established in 1950