Friday, Week Three, will see Lancaster University Ballroom Dancing Society (LUBDS) continue their tradition of hosting an annual charity showcase with a large scale event held in the Great Hall.
Campus “celebrities” will compete in Lancaster’s very own Strictly Come Dancing and there will also be performances from the Dance Society, the Cheerleading Society, and the Music Society. All of the money raised from the event will be donated to Cancer Research.
After winning the ballroom competition last year, LUBDS’ President Becki Finney is predicting a “very close competition this year” as several competitors take to the floor in an attempt to win the title. The line-up includes two LUSU Full Time Officers, Union President Robbie Pickles and Vice President (Media and Communications) Lizzie Houghton, and three ex-JCR Presidents; Cartmel’s Mark Lord, County’s Matt Saint and Grizedale’s Jack Kenny.
With little dance experience between the three, the ex-JCR Presidents appear to be in good spirits ahead of the competition. Saint believes practice will be key to success and has said he had “nearly finished with the Argentine Tango route” but hoped he “would not fall over”. Lord appeared aware that he “was never given the gift of dancing ability” and just hoped that his routine was “amusing rather than technical”. Finally, Kenny joked that he was “concerned he was the John Sergeant” of the competition and suggested his routine was “going to be hilarious”.
Due to the size of the event, each society is working hard to prepare for the evening. LUDanS President Libby Martin revealed the society would perform two dance routines and that the dancers were “raising awareness of the event to get as many people down as possible”. The University of Lancaster Music Society’s President, Max Stannard, said they had “prepared the Strictly Come Dancing theme which has been specially arranged for the band to play when the dancers enter”. LUBDS President Becki Finney summarised by saying it had “been difficult trying to fit everything in but it’s starting to look good”.
The showcase is evidence of the initiative shown by societies to work together, something that has not gone unnoticed by Matt Windsor, LUSU’s Vice President (Finance, Events, Democracy and Societies). Windsor said: “LUBDS are a prime example of a group that go above and beyond the expected to create a great experience for both their members and students, but also to generate money for charity”. He went on to hint that further society collaborations would follow, stating “we have been working hard this year to try to get other groups to develop new initiatives that will both help themselves and others; watch this space.”
LUBDS Chairty Showcase will take place on Friday Week Three in the Great Hall. The event begins at 7.30PM and advance ticket sales are currently taking place. Information about tickets and the event can be found on LUBDS’ website – http://lubds.web.officelive.com/.
