It starts with YOU!  

Every year, we recruit hundreds of students who want learn how to ballroom dance. Most of the people who join have no dancing experience. The team, along with our professional coaches, will teach you to dance from the very first step. You don't need a partner to start.

You’ll be part of a team that offers scholarships, reaches out to the community, and wins inter-collegiate competitions throughout the year. Come join us at any of our practices or free lessons and find out more about the team!

Few of us anticipate competing when we join the team - we simply hope to learn how to dance and to do it well. However, one of the most unexpected and exciting experiences of ballroom is going to competitions. Training with your partner, getting your competition gear ready, bonding with the team, dancing against hundreds of other newcomers, and having your whole team cheer you on is a truly unforgettable experience.  For many of us our first competition, the excitement and comraderie of representing Maize and Blue in a collegiate athletic event, changed our lives. 

We encourage all of our new members to go to a ballroom competition in their first semester. Many of you (who have zero dancing experience at this time), will find great success at your first ballroom dancing competition. You always compete against people with the same skill level, and with the guidance of our professional coaches, Steve and Susan McFerran, along with our outstanding team mentoring, our newcomers develop quickly and always find competitive success.

Fall Semester:

Fall is the most exciting and competition-packed time of the year. The two-day Ohio Star Ball is held in November in Columbus, Ohio. OSB is the National Championship for collegiate dancers, and by far the biggest, baddest competition of the year (and the first competition for most Newcomers). Before OSB, some team members travel to a smaller competition, often Purdue, as a "warm up." All competitions throughout the year are easily balanced with academics, and are traditionally single-day trips.

 Winter Semester:

In Winter semester our team hosts the U of M Ballroom Competition. This year's competition will be held on February 13th, 2010 at a new venue, Saline High School. The Michigan competition is one of the best competitions in the country, drawing prestigious judging panels, fabulous professional showcases, and some of the best collegiate dancers in the Midwest. In March, the Team goes to the Arnold Fitness Classic in Columbus, Ohio, where team members get the opportunity to watch some of the best youth dancers in the world, intermingle with the world's strongest men, as well as world-class athletes from 28 different sports. The governator himself drops by the ballroom competition every year to pay his respects and meet the dancers.

Competitions are an outstanding part of the ballroom experience; all team members can participate. To make it easier, the team provides scholarships and competition subsidies. Competition is affordable and an experience you'll remember for life.