Congratulations to the six couples from St John’s who have won the final of Dancesport Cuppers, the inter-college dance competition.

Dance Cuppers 2017 winning team

It’s the first time in the history of the competition that St John’s students have won. They were awarded the Acheson Shield, the trophy for the highest scoring team. Each college enters a team of at least four couples, and each couple must dance one of four dances: waltz, cha, quickstep and jive.

The St John’s entrants were:

  • Patrik Plavec & Clare Tierney (waltz)
  • Alex Beddall & Emily Notowidjojo (waltz)
  • Alexander Thorne & Yuki Kimura (waltz)
  • Solly Elstein & Abra Ganz (cha)
  • Marius Gavrilescu & Mary Curwen (quickstep)
  • Todd Liebenschutz-Jones & Izzy Fewster (jive)

Marius Gavrilescu, who took part in the competition, commented: ‘The St John's Dancing Club is one of College's youngest sports clubs. I founded it in Michaelmas term 2016, after last year's Cuppers when all five St John's couples got into the finals, despite having trained for just two weeks. This year, we had regular training and lessons with a renowned dance coach, and everyone qualified for the finals. We got first place in waltz and jive, third place in cha and, most importantly, we won the Acheson Shield!’

Oxford University Dancesport Club