Cal Poly Ballroom is a community resource for participating in Ballroom dance and competition. From those without experience to advanced dancers, the team provides everyone a way to learn about ballroom dancing as a social and competitive sport. If you are interested in being part of the team or want to improve your dancing, stop by one of our lessons and check it out! We hope you’ll find dancing to be as much fun as we do!
Our Coach
Christopher Ellwood
Chris is a Ballroom Dance competitor, instructor, and choreographer trained in all Ballroom styles (Smooth, Standard, Rhythm, Latin and Nightclub). He first joined the Ballroom Club when he was a Computer Science undergrad at Cal Poly and went on to serve as Club President, led the club's conversion to be a team in Club Sport program, and founded the annual Mustang Ball dance competition. His competitive accomplishments include twice being a top-4 finalist in Championship Nine-Dance at the USADance National Championships. He has also been a regular performer and choreographer for Dancing with Our Stars - Central Coast, previously winning both People’s Choice and the Encore Champion award with his celebrity partner. Recently, Christopher has been competing in the West Coast Swing circuit at the WSDC Advanced level. In addition to teaching for the team, he also is a Ballroom & West Coast Swing Instructor at Nexus SLO.
Our Officers
Our Mission Statement
To promote and share Ballroom Dancing with the community of Cal Poly and the Central Coast through classes, workshops, dances, competitions, performances, and other social events; and to train students in the sport of competitive Ballroom Dancing (Dancesport) to represent Cal Poly at competitive events.