Saturday Morning Fever: Take the StAge 2025

All three of my pitches were rejected this week. I guess they sucked. Whatever. “Oh, I’ll be reviewing the annual St. Andrews Dance Competition? Oh it’s on a Saturday morning? Brilliant, I’m a morning person, especially after a night out at the Vic. Oh it’s in Younger effing Hall? I love it there, all-time memories.” When I think of Younger Hall I think of monotony. After I discovered that even the easiest STEM wasn’t for me, it became pretentious sweater vests preaching lofty, unattainable tales of virtue and vice. Scheduled monotony.

What Younger Hall rarely invokes is life, colour, and passion, but that is what it provided for me on this fine morning, 8 February. A romantic evening at Big Boss, my Thursday morning lecture, a dance competition hosted by the St. Andrews Dance Club on a Saturday morning. All of these places I really never thought I would find myself, but count me lucky. The Saint so generously comped my four quid ticket to the special day. I was greeted at the door with dubious eyes. I’m not sure I look the dancing type. As the day went on, the competition became more advanced and the stands more full. So here I sat at the very top, back of Younger Hall, with my laptop open, worrying whether everyone thinks I’m some sort of creep.

When I tell you I did not know what to expect, I mean that I really had no idea what a dance competition was. When invited to the event. I expected a union karaoke night type of event. A bar passing courage out to bohemians who would take the stage for 45 seconds of painful awkwardness with one delusional friend hurling cheers at them under the influence of their sixth vodka-lemonades. I did not expect to see eight external Universities in attendance, filling the various seminar rooms warming up and vocalising well practiced cheers. What I was blessed with was an incredibly organised surprise.

The most impressive cheer I heard was Aberdeen’s rendition of Shakira’s ‘Waka Waka’ (this time for Aberdeen), and although it added a degree of cultural confusion to an already incredibly ambiguous track, I thought it inspiring to my new found passion for pirouetting. 

Olympic gymnastics, the Nobel Peace Prize finalists, and dance competitions are a few things I have absolutely zero authority in judging, but wow, each dance told a story. The most compelling? St Andrews dancing to ‘Paroles et Musique’. This was an unbiased and truly informed take. I even saw my presentation partner up there. Seeing ‘Grease Lightning’ performed by Edinburgh Napier was incredible. American influence is insane. All I can think about sitting back here is the amount of practice that must have gone into this. You're telling me after everything that goes on during the day, people have time to choreograph masterpieces? Incredible. Imagine actually impressing with your dancing. It’s not even a concept I can grasp.

A group did Pitch Perfect and I was instantly transported to the first time I watched it. Their movement captured an essence which articulated the energy of the American high school greasers. The St Andrews tap dance team was able to tap dance a melody. It was the most enriching hangover I have ever had. I was transported time after time to different eras. The stage bursting with color and character. Younger Hall has finally come to life; my new found fandom ignited. Once a place of dreariness and routine, became alive with energy, passion, and stories that transcended the confines of its walls. The competition wasn’t just about choreography; it was a celebration of the unspoken, the unseen, and the immeasurable commitment that goes into making something beautiful. St Andrews reigned victorious over the day, as they shared the best overall average score with Queen Margaret university. They scored a perfect 10 in the advanced hip hop section. A brilliant Saturday spent in Younger Hall.

Photo by Elise Liu