Oliver Zeldin (DPhil Life Sciences) with his partner Haibo E, who is at Corpus Christi, recently competed in the International Ballroom Dancing Championships. They were entering this major event for the first time and were representing the University of Oxford and their colleges. After two excellent warm-up competitions during the previous weekend, the highlight of which was being the top placed semi-finalist pair at the London Open Championships, they competed at the International Championships on Wednesday 20 October, where they were placed between 110th and 179th worldwide. The full marks will be released in two weeks' time, so fingers crossed for a great result! 
Oliver commented:
"We were placed in a really tough heat, but felt that we danced very well and are proud of our performance. We look forward to another year of training and preparation and hope to come back next year stronger than ever and to do St Cross proud."
St Cross is supporting Oliver by making a contribution to his expenses, and he went on to explain what this means:
“We have used the college subsidy to enter the important warm-up events for this major competition. It has also enabled us to take up the offer of having lessons with a very famous pair of coaches (multiple ex-world champions). This is a great privilege because they are hugely in demand. The costs are high: up to £75 for 45 minutes coaching, plus travelling to London, and it is only thanks to the college that we are able to take this rare opportunity. Our first lesson really was incredible...in 45 minutes they completely changed the way we approached technique and musicality... it was an absolute revelation!"
Many congratulations to Oliver and his partner and we will bring further news of their progress as it happens. Good luck to them too for the British National Championships, the next item on their competitive calendar.
