We went to Strictly Brum Dancing: Here’s what you missed

On Friday, 29th November, the University of Birmingham’s Ballroom and Latin American Dance Society (BALADS) hosted their annual Strictly Brum Dancing event to a sold-out audience in the Debating Hall.

Fortunately, The Birmingham Tab was able to secure front-row tickets to the university’s most highly anticipated dance competition as well as receive exclusive backstage access to hear the couples’ experiences of preparing for the event.

Andrew and Hannah

As the self-proclaimed slowest runner on the basketball team, vice president Andrew may have been concerned when assigned the quickstep (the clue’s in the name). Luckily, he had his girlfriend, Hannah, every step of the way as his professional, as well as some very supportive teammates in the audience.

While some may see dancing with your partner as an advantage due to the established chemistry, Andrew and Hannah both claimed “there was no love lost” when it came to training. Nevertheless, Andrew found learning his dance “surprisingly enjoyable” and advises anyone wanting to try BALADs to “give it a go” as “there’s nothing to lose.”

Andrew and Hannah dancing the quickstep

The couple’s quickstep left no part of the floor uncovered, a risky move that impressed judges with its speed and timing. It’s clear Hannah’s “perfectionist” tendencies (as described by Andrew) paid off for the pair, with the dance making Andrew faster, a gain for Birmingham’s basketball team.

Chloe and Katie

For avid Strictly viewers, like myself, there is one dance style that instills fear every time a couple dances it: the samba. Renowned for its difficulty and having the same number of rhythms as Nando’s does spices (11), it’s clear the couple had a challenge ahead of them.

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Nevertheless, the couple seemingly lacked the samba nerves you might expect, perhaps because Chloe, secretary of MedSoc Tennis, knew she was in safe hands with two-time winner of Strictly Brum Dancing, Katie. The pair enjoyed finding the party essence of the samba, with Chloe viewing training as “so fun,” not words I would typically associate with preparing for a samba!

Chloe and Katie dancing the samba

Katie described Chloe as a “dream to win with,” so it makes sense that this dynamic duo earned the coveted top spot of the leaderboard with their sizzling and sassy samba, scoring a near-perfect 39 from the judges. With such a successful performance, it’s no surprise that Chloe was adamant that she will keep dancing.

Anthony and Ellie

Going last is no easy feat, and after the incredible standard of dancing the audience had been treated to, it’s safe to say it would have been easy for Anthony, head of sport at BurnFM, and Ellie to feel the pressure. However, their Viennese Waltz with a Burlesque twist was a crowd favourite, particularly for The Tab’s Features Editor, Angel, who was lucky enough to catch one of Ellie’s gloves.

Angel with her souvenir

Anthony was definitely one of the more enthusiastic and committed contestants, securing his spot on the show in August before even securing a committee position. From being involved in musical theatre before, Anthony was eager to be the showman of the night, and the pair definitely channelled that energy into training with Antony claiming, “It was fun from day one.”

Ellie was not making it easy, though, giving “hard choreography,” which made me feel slightly ill just from watching all the spinning! Thankfully, the pair were made of stronger stuff, combining the technique of the Viennese waltz with some entertaining moments of burlesque dancing. What a way to end the show!

Anthony and Ellie dancing the Viennese waltz

And the winner is:

Before the winner was announced, we were able to talk to BALAD’s own Tess and Claudia, Clara and Isabella. As the main organiser of the event, Isabella described it as “hard work but rewarding” due to the event supporting a brilliant local cause: St Basil’s, which supports young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. The society was able to raise £1,679.50 to aid the charity in its work. You can donate to St Basil’s here.

Interestingly, Clara was a contestant on Strictly Brum Dancing last year and is now a prominent member of the society as its publicity officer, a real success story of the event and a sign of encouragement to anyone wanting to try out dancing with all the couples describing BALAD’s inclusive and supportive environment. You can find out more about BALADs on their Instagram or their website.

Without further ado, the winning couple was Andrew and Hannah! The pair were able to raise their glitterball trophies at the end of the evening, with Chloe and Katie taking third place and Belle, events rep of kayaking, and Katie securing second with a cha cha.

The winners with their trophies

Whatever the result, however, the contestants all proved that with a bit of hard work and effort, anything is possible. Let’s hope they keep dancing!