UD Ballroom Dance Team takes honors at UPenn Classic

8:19 a.m., March 10, 2014--Members of the University of Delaware Ballroom Dance Team won multiple honors at the UPenn Classic held recently at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Senior Erica Santos, a double major in vocal performance and finance, and Jeffrey DiMarco, a master’s student in computer science, took first place overall newcomer in three categories – American-Smooth, American-Rhythm and International-Latin.

Honors Stories

National Medal of Science

President Barack Obama recently presented the National Medal of Science to University of Delaware alumnus Rakesh Jain.

Warren Award

Rosalind Johnson, assistant dean for student success in the NUCLEUS Program in UD's College of Arts and Sciences, was presented the John Warren Excellence in Leadership and Service Award during a May 26 ceremony.

• Warren Award
• Athletic training accolades
• Outstanding student teachers
• Library recognition

In the American-Smooth
category, the dancers took first place overall newcomer, as well as first place newcomer tango, second place newcomer waltz and fourth place newcomer foxtrot.

In American-Rhythm they won first place overall newcomer, as well as first place newcomer cha-cha and second place newcomer rumba and swing. 

And in International-Latin they won first place overall newcomer, first place newcomer cha-cha and newcomer jive, and semifinalist newcomer rumba.

Also at the classic, alumnus Daniel Collins, a member of the Class of 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, and Autumn Kidwell, a doctoral student in physical oceanography, won awards in American-Smooth, International-Standard and American-Rhythm.

In American-Smooth, they took second overall in the silver level, and also in waltz/tango and in foxtrot/Viennese waltz.

In International-Standard, they took second overall in the bronze level, first in bronze in quickstep, and second in bronze in waltz and tango.

In American-Rhythm, Collins and Kidwell took first in bronze overall, first in bronze in cha-cha and swing, and second in bronze in rumba.

Stijn Koshari, a master’s student in chemical engineering, and Mitali Desai, a senior majoring in economics and biological sciences, picked up awards in American-Smooth and American-Rhythm.

In American-Smooth, they won third in bronze overall, first in bronze in foxtrot and second in bronze in tango. They also took fifth in bronze in American-Rhythm swing.

Cedric Jacob, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering, and Jessica Vega, a senior majoring in cognitive science and psychology, took honors in American-Rhythm and International-Latin.

The dancers took fourth in silver in swing/mambo and sixth in silver in cha-cha/rumba in the American-Rhythm category, and seventh in silver in swing/mambo in International-Latin.

Johanna Lukk, a senior communication major, and Austin Whittington, a 2012 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, took two awards – seventh in both newcomer foxtrot and newcomer tango – in American-Smooth.