Last week, we were present during the El Cid introductory week of the Leiden University. Or, as we call it, new member season! We were at the Information Market on Monday and the Sports Market on Wednesday, giving new students a chance to meet Leiden's one and only student dance association. And to put actions to words, we organised some dancing workshops for our potential new members with the help of salsa teacher Jonathan Hoijer, assessor internal Danjella van Diepen and our president Colin Wels. With a stuffed dancing hall and a buzzing market outside, the El Cid so far has proven a great success!

On the 14th of July we transformed the Eeuwige Student café into a tropical paradise with decorations, ... and even an inflatable parrot! Apart from salsa, kizomba and bachata our DJ's threw some regular dance music and even some reggaeton into the mix. As we hoped, the party lasted until well into the night and we've had some very positive reactions. We're glad you enjoyed it!

Last Wednesday we ended the USC ballroom season with a bang: the medal test! Everyone had been practicing for weeks and now the evening had finally come. They put on their most beautiful dresses and suits to impress the jury. And the jury was impressed! All dancers danced their best and got their certificates with good grades. The red roses were given to Roöni and Anastasia for their energy and performance. A special thanks to Hem & Leonie for the incredible dance classes this year. We are looking forward to next dance year!

As you may have noticed, temperatures have risen and the days have grown longer - yet seem to pass that much quicker. But we have had reports that something is coming, something big... A heatwave! On July 14th, temperatures will rise to absurd levels in Leiden. So take out your beach outfit, summer dress or scuba gear and join us for the last big Leidance party of the year! With salsa, kizomba, bachata, chachacha and even some reggaeton music, it will surely be a night to remember! The party will be at the Eeuwige Student, close to Leiden Central Station. When: 14th of July 21h - 3h Where: Eeuwige Student, Wassenaarseweg 1, 2333 AM Leiden Costs: €2 members / €4 non-members Theme: Heatwave Two rooms: Salsa/Kizomba/Bachata/Latin Dresscode: Something hot! Facebook…

On the 17th of June, we welcomed the Waka Gezelschap to the USC. They were big, strong men in sports attire - basically every straight girl's dream. The turn up was smaller than we had expected, but the upside of a workshop with a small group is the personal factor. We were taught a fairly basic haka (which are, simply said, stories told through dance) about a man that after a raid is left alone, flees from enemy warriors and hides in a well. Because 'a hairy person' stands over it and blocks the sun, the pursuers pass the well without noticing its occupant and the lone warrior climbs out again, returning home once more.  Aside from the haka itself, we were also taught the basics of Maori culture and…

You may or may not have noticed but Team Leidance went to the Studentteammatch last weekend! During the NK (nationals) of the WDC there was a special competition for studentdanceassosiations, and of course SDA Leidance was present. With a team of five couples we went travelled to Assen and represented Leidance during this match. During the competition we were team 'Yellow' and we competed against team Red, Blue, Green and Pink. Everyone danced their hearts out but unfortunately Team Pink won the teammatch. But as teamcaptain I am pleased to say we became 4th! This means there is lot of room for improvement and I didn't have to take the oh so awesome but oh so hard to transport troffee with me to Leiden! But of course Nalim couldn't help…

During the weekend of 3 and 4 of June Team Leidance went to the ETDS in Aachen. The ETDS is the abbreviation for `European Tournament for Dancing Students´. This tournament is organized twice a year and student dancing organizations from all over Europe will participate. And this time we went to Aachen, Germany.  A short summary would be: dancing, some more dancing, meeating lots of new friends, no sleep and of course dancing. It was a weekend to remember for sure! David & Ilke rocked the Provi's in ballroom (next to getting into  the Champions with latin), Mirjam met the most awesome bearded guy there is, Ilona was amazing in the Open Class (highest class at the ETDS!), and Reinier & Laura even became 13th in the Champions during the latin competition! Next ETDS…