Name, year, subject, college?

Anise Hartley, 3rd Year, Philosophy, Clare College, (President of CUDS)

Alex Barrington, 2nd Year, Nat-Sci, Selwyn College, (Vice-President)

Gwennan Staziker, 2nd Year, Architecture, Queens’ College, (Choreographer of Competition Trio)

Why is dance important to you?

Anise: Dance is important to me because it has been a key source of education. Dance is culturally universal, it’s a phenomenon that presents itself in endless different forms. As a philosophy student, it is deeply important to me to have facets of my life that function to ‘get me out of my head,’ and dance is the most obvious way for me to harness embodied knowledge.

What’s one thing non-dancers wouldn’t know that goes into crafting dance routines?

Anise: I asked my non-dancer friends about how much they knew went into these performances, and we discovered that they were not familiar with the fact that oftentimes choreography is generated through improvisation.

Are there any rituals you do before a show or performance?

Anise: I think perhaps the most common ritual for dancers pre-show is to warm up in the exact way that each individual dancer needs to. Another thing that I and many other dancers do is a process of visualisation – for me, this involves playing the routine music in my ears whilst lying on the floor and visualising myself doing the choreography. Dance is a very mental process.

“If you’ve ever danced in a club or alone in your room to your favourite playlist, going to a dance class is just an extension of that”

What does a typical training session look like for the competition team?

Alex: During the week, the competition team has one conditioning session, with everyone on the team. We split the one-and-a-half hours between cardio, strengthening, and stretching. We then have rehearsals for each individual style on the weekend (typically two hours on a Sunday) and also during the week if needed.

What’s been the most rewarding moment you’ve shared as a team?

Alex: For me, the feeling of performing the pieces for the first time in front of an audience at Varsity was incredibly rewarding. We worked so hard during Michaelmas and Lent, and to finally see and feel all our training pay off to give such great performances was really special.

How did you feel being able to share a traditional Welsh dance with other dancers in your recent Varsity winning trio?

Gwennan: It has been such an honour to bring Clocsio (Welsh step dancing) to Cambridge this year. Welsh step dancing is pretty niche even in Wales, and there are no words to tell you how grateful I am to the dance society and competition team captains for believing in me and allowing me an opportunity to share this style of dance with people who might never have come across it otherwise.

The classes for the non-competition team are for all abilities. What advice would you give to someone who wants to start dancing?

Anise: I think my advice would be that with dance you’re never really starting from scratch – if you’ve ever danced in a club or alone in your room to your favourite playlist, going to a dance class is just an extension of that. Classes in Cambridge (especially Beginners’ classes) are so welcoming, fun, and low-stakes. You’re there to have a good time and learn a thing or two … bring a friend if it helps!

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