When asked about her experience at the 2011 Ohio Star Ball National Collegiate Championships, University of Minnesota freshman Katarina Karlen simply said, “It was surreal.”
At their very first national competition, she and her partner Andrew Morley took 1st place in Newcomer American Waltz and Foxtrot, and 4th in Newcomer American Tango. The couple was thrilled. “I didn’t expect to do nearly as well as we did. I just expected to have fun!” said Karlen.
And they did have fun. “I loved the energy and seeing all the different people from different places,” added Morley. “It was fun to be a part of. It was fun to get to see all our group members finally performing after seeing them practice so hard for so long.”
The U of M team had indeed been working up to this competition for quite some time. The Ohio competition last year opened students’ eyes to the world of competitive collegiate ballroom and inspired many to change their dance approach. In fact, it should be noted that several hours of the bus ride returning from the competition last year were devoted to a conversation discussing improvements the team could make in order to “beat Michigan.”
At the beginning of the fall semester, half of the dancers on the U of M team had been a part of this conversation—they knew what to expect and, consequently, had formed expectations. “Personally, I wanted to see how much I improved compared to last year,” said junior Corissa Ranum. She and her partner Michael Kasinkas had been the only couple to place at Ohio last year, winning 6th in Newcomer American Waltz. This year, they placed 8th in Bronze Standard Waltz/Quickstep and 1st in Bronze Standard Foxtrot.
The other half of the team was comprised of relatively new dancers who had only competed once before at Minnesota Madness. Everyone, however, went onto the dance floor knowing the scale of the competition and hoping for the best. “I heard it would be pretty competitive, so I didn’t have super high expectations,” Morley said. “But I hoped to make callbacks in at least some dances.”
After a 16-hour bus ride (and hitting Chicago rush-hour on a Friday), students went up to their hotel rooms, organized the shower schedule, and crashed into bed for as few as three hours of sleep—or, according to Karlen, “just enough [sleep] to be slightly functional the next day.”
The U of M group had one of the longest commutes of all the teams at the collegiate competition. They entertained themselves on the bus with homework, sleep, good conversation, and Disney movies.
On Saturday morning, the group noticed a difference almost immediately between this competition and the previous year’s. Starting with Karlen and Morley’s victories in Newcomer Smooth, team members went on to place in Bronze Smooth, Bronze Rhythm, Newcomer Standard, and Bronze Standard over the two-day period.
“We were definitely more successful as a team this year,” said club President Katie Menk, who placed 4th in Bronze American Foxtrot with her partner, Luis Martinez. Menk attributes this success to both the team’s fantastic coaching and their partnering method. “We find that our beginning dancers advance much more quickly if they have an advanced dancer to work with on a regular basis,” explained Menk. “We try to pair each dancer with one experienced dancer and one beginning dancer.” This sometimes produces unexpected results. “The opportunity to teach my beginning partner has ultimately taught me more than I otherwise would’ve learned,” said Menk of her personal experience with the arrangement.
Another contributing factor to the improvement seen in the U of M team this year seems to come from within the team itself. Team member and website coordinator Daniel O’Connell said, “I felt the team represented itself better, and I felt that the team did its best to help contribute to individual couples’ victories: having water and snacks prepared for people as they got off the floor, experienced dancers giving inexperienced dancers advice on how to improve from their previous heats. Everyone on the team did their part to maximize each couple's individual chances for success, not to mention the prep work before of helping with hair, costuming, etc.”
For every couple that made it to the finals floor, there were at least two other team members helping them between rounds and the majority of the team cheering for them in the audience during rounds. George Chao, in his third year of competition at Ohio, noticed this difference as well. “As it was my third year there, I was no longer surprised by the size of the convention center nor awed by the number of teams,” he said. “I remember that, in the past, I would sit there bored during the long stretches of wait in between my dances. However, this year, I spent almost all of that time cheering for my teammates in Newcomer, looking for their numbers during callbacks, and running up to them in line to give them advice (for what it was worth). It was certainly a whirlwind of activity.” The competition this year was notably a team effort.
There was one aspect of the Ohio Star Ball that did remain consistent this year: its power to inspire. The U of M team is excited about dancing more than ever since the competition. “The more I compete, the more I like it,” said Menk. “It’s just so much fun to go out there and give it your all.”
Certain members of the team are already looking forward to the team’s next competition, Star of the North DanceSport Classic, in February. “I’m particularly excited to compete at the new location,” O’Connell noted. “[At OSB] I learned how I can better manage my energy levels and focus to produce better dancing throughout the competition.” He and the rest of the team are awaiting the opportunity to incorporate the lessons learned at Ohio into the practical and competitive aspects of their dancing.
Although proud of their accomplishments in Ohio, many members interviewed noted the room for growth, and all are anticipating the opportunity to discover how much they can improve and progress in the future.
University of Minnesota Results from the Ohio Star Ball National Collegiate Championships:
- Newcomer American Waltz – 1st place – Andrew Morley and Katarina Karlen
- Newcomer American Foxtrot – 1st place – Andrew Morley and Katarina Karlen
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Newcomer American Tango – 4th place – Andrew Morley and Katarina Karlen
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Bronze American Waltz/Tango – 5th place – Daniel O’Connell and Rosemary Phelps
- Bronze American Foxtrot – 2nd place – Daniel O’Connell and Rosemary Phelps
- Bronze American Foxtrot – 4th place – Katie Menk and Luis Martinez
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Bronze American Viennese Waltz – 3rd place – Andrew Morley and Etta Berkland
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Bronze American Mambo – 7th place – Daniel O’Connell and Amanda Cecil
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Newcomer International Quickstep – 1st place – Andrew Morely and Mollie O’Meara
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Newcomer International Tango – 6th place – Andrew Morely and Mollie O’Meara
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Bronze International Waltz/Quickstep – 5th place – George Chao and Etta Berkland
- Bronze International Waltz/Quickstep – 8th place – Michael Kasinkas and Corissa Ranum
- Bronze International Tango - 6th place – George Chao and Etta Berkland
- Bronze International Foxtrot – 1st place – Michael Kasinkas and Corissa Ranum
The U of M team would like to thank their coaches, their officers, and their teammates for a wonderful competition, as well as recognize the generous support of USA Dance and the greater Minnesota Dance Community.
