Footloose students waltz to glory (again)

Footloose: Phillip Mackenzie and Mokhine Motsoaledi, doing a cheeky Cha-cha-cha, were among the dancers that took UCT to top spot at the national student dance competition.

The UCT Ballroom and Latin Dancing Society continued their winning ways at the annual South African National Student Ballroom and Latin-American Dance Competition, aka the intervarsity in August, scooping numerous top spots.

Winner of 15 of the past 21 competitions, including the 2011 event, the society's dancers had a proud reputation to live up to and the 70-strong team did not disappoint. Shrugging off a gruelling bus journey to the University of Pretoria (TUKS) for the dance-off, the dancers strutted their stuff in 23 sections, including beginners' to novice-level ballroom and Latin, boogie, Paso Doblé and Viennese Waltz.

Stiff competition from rival universities brought the best out of the UCT juggernaut as it won 21 medals - nine gold, seven silver and five bronze - to retain the championship title. The nimble-footed students also took home the Team Dance Spirit, the Spirit Trophy and the Overall Trophy, beating runners-up, the University of Stellenbosch, by a clear 40 points.