UC San Diego Dance Team Will Shine on National Series “Dancing with the Stars” May 11

National ballroom dance champions will strut their stuff in a live performance on the ABC series

May 07, 2010

By Christine Clark

Watch a video of the UC San Diego dance team.

The UC San Diego Dancesport team will perform live on the national television show “Dancing with the Stars” at 8 p.m., Tuesday May 11 on San Diego’s ABC affiliate, KGTV Channel 10. 

The show will feature a special collegiate “dance off” segment where 10 students from UC San Diego’s team will compete against 10 students from Purdue University. The students will be performing a samba andf if they win, they will be asked to perform in the finals airing May 25.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be on the show,” said Brodie Kaster, UC San Diego Dancesport team captain.

“The competition winner is chosen completely by audience vote, so we are trying to get the word out to UC San Diego to vote online or by calling during the show. This will be an incredible experience for the team to perform live in front of a national audience. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime performance.”

Viewers may cast their votes for the campus teams via phone or online at www.abc.com from the opening of the episode at 8 p.m. PST and up to 30 minutes after the show ends. 

“Dancing with the Stars” pairs a number of celebrities with professional ballroom dancers, who compete each week by performing dances.The series has been in first-place in its time period for the majority of this season, with more than 9.6 million viewers tuning in weekly. Actresses Pamela Anderson, Shannen Doherty, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and reality television star, Kate Gosselin, of “Jon and Kate Plus 8” all were featured on the show this season.

The UC San Diego Dancesport team is a national ballroom championship team and has been the top formation team in the Collegiate Dancesport Division since 2004.

The stars who will appear in Tuesday’s broadcast include Erin Andrews (ESPN host) and partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy; Evan Lysacek (Olympic figure skating champion) and partner Anna Trebunskaya; Niecy Nash (comedienne and host) and partner Louis Van Amstel; pop star Nicole Scherzinger and partner Derek Hough and NFL star Chad Ochocinco with partner Cheryl Burke.

“Dancing with the Stars” is based on the international television series “Strictly Come Dancing” and is licensed to air in more than 30 countries around the globe.  

The weekly “Dancing with the Stars”competitions are scored by a panel of judges and viewers are given a certain amount of time to place votes on their favorite dancers. “I expect our team to electrify the audience Tuesday night with their skill level,” said Peter Edwards,’97, UC San Diego Dancesport team coach. “Being a part of the show is a great acknowledgement of our accomplishments including our four recent National Championship awards.”

Edwards has been dancing for 20 years and was a competitive ballroom dancer during his undergraduate years at UC San Diego. “When I was a UC San Diego student, I was planning on being either a geneticist or doctor, but dancing took over my life.”

“Dancing with the Stars” producers accompanied UC San Diego dancesport team captains Karen Li and Brodie Kaster on a tour of campus.

The UC San Diego Dancesport team is a national ballroom championship team and has been the top formation team in the Collegiate Dancesport Division since 2004. In addition to winning first place at the national competition last year, the team was undefeated during their competitive season last year.

Dancesport captain Karen Li said she can’t wait for her family to have the opportunity to see her dance.“My parents live in the Bay Area and they don't always have the time to come down for our competitions and performances,” she said. “The rest of my family is in Hong Kong, so this is the first time they will be able to watch me perform! I think we will dance our hearts out and show America what UC San Diego Dancesport is made of.”

Media Contact: Christine Clark, 858-534-7618, ceclark@ucsd.edu