By Gabby Lalonde – Contributor

On Jan. 25, the BU Dance Club hosted Dancing with the Gaiters, a fundraising event featuring some of the club’s dancers paired with representatives from nine other clubs and associations. The event, hosted at the Gait, had the purpose of raising money for the club’s upcoming competition in Guelph while also supporting one lucky club’s fundraising efforts.

Modeled after ABC’s reality competition Dancing with the Stars, the competition paired a ‘star’ or representative of each participating club with a ‘pro’ dancer from the club’s competitive team. Collaborating with the BU Dance Club were the BU Accounting Society, Motionball, the Swimming Club, the Ultimate Frisbee Club, the BU Outdoors Club, Wit and Whimsy, the BU Women’s Volleyball Club, the BU Happy Hour Club and the Improv Troupe. 

Each duo dedicated time throughout the week preceding the event to prepare a short dance performance to compete. These performances, in styles ranging from jazz and contemporary to hip-hop and country, were then presented to an audience exceeding 100 attendees and a panel of judges composed of the SRC President, Drew Henkel, the SRC Extra Manager, Sasha Kardos-Machado, and the Gait’s very own Benji Bridle, who rated the pieces on a 10-point scale.

Three highly anticipated prizes awaited the winning teams. The Best Technique Award recognized the team with the straightest lines and most pointed toes, while the Judges Pick Award celebrated the judges’ favourite performance. But the grand prize was the Mirrorball Trophy, awarded to the team with the best cumulative score of audience votes and judges score. It came with a trophy and half the funds raised for the event. Other prizes included a BounceLife prize pack, and a Cottage Springs prize pack.

Attendee, Joen Blumer, remarked that the event was “one of the most creative and innovative events for raising funds” while Mirrorball winner and Motionball representative Taylor Mason described it as “an amazing and unique experience” adding that the BU Dance Club “really outdid themselves”. 

Beyond the competition and prizes, Dancing with Gaiters offered a chance for different campus groups to connect and build relationships. The unusual pairings of ‘stars’ from various clubs with the BU Dance Club’s competitive team created a dynamic atmosphere for collaboration, allowing for interactions between groups that might not normally interact and fostering a greater sense of community across campus.

The organizers deemed the event a success and hope to make it an annual tradition. Graduating student and club co-lead, Bridget Cloetta, added her hopes for the future, saying that “the dance team can make this the start of a new Gaiters tradition”. Blumer echoed this sentiment, commenting that he hopes “to experience it next year”. 

The BU Dance Club is immensely grateful for the success of the event and the support for their endeavors. They hope to see you all at their final showcase in April.