The steps the competitors use vary according to the syllabi for their individual level of difficulty. Steps within international latin rumba, for example, range from the simple shoulder-to-shoulder maneuver on the bronze level to syncopated Cuban breaks on the gold.

Above the gold level is "open" competition, in which a checklist of required steps takes a backseat to individual choreography and style.

"You work your way up the syllabus," Card explains. "You pick based on your previous successes with the moves on your level. Eventually, you get to the open, or championship, level, where consistent contact isn't required. The key there is to remain within the character of the dance."

Expressing the true character of the dance is difficult in the ninety seconds that competitors are afforded in the early rounds. Anywhere between ten to twenty couples are on the dance floor at a given point in time, making catching the eyes of the judges even more difficult.

"It's a very intense atmosphere," says Card. "At the Harvard tournament, we had something like twenty couples on the floor at Lowell Lecture Hall, everyone else screaming and cheering all around, other couples warming up backstage and in the hall. It is a lot of fun to watch, and even more fun to be involved in."

If ballroom is one of the more loosely defined entities in Harvard's athletic universe, it is also one of the more closely-knit. The team lacks an official Harvard-affiliated adult. Most of the adult training, therefore, is done via private instruction, some of which is subsidized by the team. The local coaches who give these lessons also fulfill Harvard's judging requirement at the tournaments.

The bulk of the teaching, however, happens internally.

"The older members teach the new ones," Card says. "The rookie dancers on the team will get individual attention once a week."