Strictly Come Dancing comes to King’s College London

On Friday 8th November, a series of unlikely duos took to the Greenwood stage to compete in King’s’ Dance society annual Strictly Come Dance Soc.

This is a charity event that Dance Soc runs every year, in which dancers get paired up with a member of a sports society to perform a duet, a la Strictly Come Dancing. At the end of the evening, a winning judge’s choice team and an audience’s choice team are chosen.

An astonishing £2600 was raised as a result of ticket sales bought by audience members to the event. First sale of tickets were priced at £6 and the second sale at £8. It is possible that the event singlehandedly is KCL’s largest charity fundraiser.

The show was kicked off by the hosts, Kai Patel and Emily Bull, welcoming the audience in their glamorous outfits and expertly setting the upbeat tone for the evening. They even performed a dance together, which was joined by the panel of judges:

George Song, former competitor and member of KCL Rugby,

Ainsley Stewart, last year’s judge’s choice winner and treasurer of GKT Hockey,

Talya Samji, Dance Soc’s treasurer,

And finally, David Nana, former competitor and previous vice president of KCL Tennis.

Strictly Come Dance Soc Judges to the left of the stage

We then met each of the couples, who ran through the audience onto the stage to cheering and whooping, and the occasional boos. Then came the important bit: the duets.

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There were a variety of styles, costumes and music choices. We saw everything from a cricketer doing ballet to a rugby boy doing a heels routine. Some personal highlights were Milli (KCL surf) and her partner’s Pom routine to Chappell Roan’s Hot To Go, which was the first number and kicked off the evening on a high.

Honourable mentions also go to Yvonne (KCL Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) and her partner Ayoni, who both danced so well I forget which one of them was the Dance Soc member. Another highlight was Alan (KCL Muay Thai) and Anna who brought us all the glitz and energy.  Some of the most memorable moments of the evening happened after the dances. For example, KCL Rugby running down to the stage after Fikunmi had just performed his heels routine with a celebratory pint of milk for him to ‘chop’.

After every number our hosts would ask the couple a question about their rehearsals or the number they performed, before the judges gave their scores out of ten. Some of these post-dance interactions were particularly hilarious and left the audience and our hosts speechless.

I spoke to Kai about his experience hosting strictly, and this is what he had to say:

Overall, how would you say you found the experience?

“Appearing on stage as myself without a script was both nerve wracking and liberating, as spontaneous conversation or attempted humour could fall flat— this was a terrifying prospect. Having said all this, the experience was thrilling and light hearted thanks to the audience’s energy.”

What was the most humbling or awkward moment?

“Coming on stage with a huge broom to clear the loose flowers thrown on stage after several performances.”

What was the funniest moment of the night?

“George (judge and KCL rugby) charging at GKT Rugby’s Renica and chasing her off the Greenwood stage after her performance.”

Strictly Come Dance Soc hosts Kai Patel and Emily Bull

The KCL x GKT rivalry was apparent throughout the whole evening. It’s no secret to anyone who goes to King’s that the KCL and GKT sports teams have a long standing rivalry, which apparently extends to charity dance competitions.

When a KCL competitor would get on stage, they would be met by a series of boos from the GKT teams in the audience, and vice versa. I was sat in the middle aisle of the theatre, and had noise on either side of me from the teams. Kai’s funniest moment stemmed from George being challenged to an almost dance off by Renica after scoring her incredibly low. Many of the judge’s scores seemed to be influenced by this rivalry, with some objectively better dances receiving lower scores than others.

At the end of the night, the audience voted for their winners, who were then announced alongside the Judge’s Choice. The judge’s choice went to Bill (GKT Hockey) and Eva. Bill really embraced the challenged and the team worked very well together on stage. This left GKT Hockey as the reigning judge’s choice champions.

The audience’s choice went to Seddig (KCL Football) and Nia. Their piece was inspired by Pulp Fiction. The start of the number payed homage to the iconic dance scene from the movie, which then became an impressive routine showcasing both performers’ abilities. Seddig was a natural performer, and had mastered a number of more technical dance steps, so this win was very deserved. They each chose a charity to donate to as their prize. The King’s Tab asked Seddig for a statement about his win—

“Nia and I only had three rehearsals leading up to the show so it was nerve wracking at first, especially since it was my first time ever doing anything like Strictly,

By the end of rehearsals I was feeling pretty confident. (The dance) started off really well, with the crowd cheering us on, so it kept me going. When they announced us as winners, I couldn’t believe it and to raise as much money as we did for charity is insane. Big thanks to Nia for her help and the KCL football for having trust in me to succeed.”

Winner Seddig with his trophy at the end of the night

Winners Seddig and Nia donated their winnings of £1300 to UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, in conjunction with KCL Football’s UHCR charity football match, with Queen Mary University of London, on Monday 2nd December.

Talya Samji, one of the judges, told The King’s Tab that the remaining funds will be donated to the charity: icandance, a charity which offers dance sessions and an creative outlet space to disabled children and young people.

She further said:

“Judging Strictly Come Dance Soc was an incredibly fun experience. Having danced last year in the competition, I know how much effort and dedication everyone puts in, and it’s amazing to see everyone give it their all for a great cause.”

All in all, it was an evening full of glitz, glamour and fun. The night was impeccably organised by Dance Soc, and I could tell that everyone in that audience thoroughly enjoyed it. If you missed the event this year, I would definitely recommend putting it in your diary for next year.