Utah Valley University’s Ballroom Dance Company won first place in both Latin and Ballroom Formation at London’s prestigious Blackpool Dance Festival. This international victory highlights the dedication and talent of UVU students across diverse majors, bringing global recognition to UVU arts and ballroom dance excellence.
Porter Bankhead has been dreaming of competing on the international ballroom stage since he was a young child — and this past month, his childhood dream came true. Utah Valley University’s Ballroom Dance Company sashayed to first place at London’s Blackpool Dance Festival on May 27 and 28, taking the championship title in not one, but two categories: the British Open Latin Formation Champions and the British Open Ballroom Formation Champions.
“This is one thing I have been looking forward to my whole life,” said Bankhead, who has been dancing for 17 years. As a boy, he began his training in a local studio in Layton, Utah, gaining inspiration from watching BYU’s ballroom team and dancing on their youth teams. As an adult, he’s been a part of UVU Ballroom’s journey to the spotlight, tangoing and waltzing and foxtrotting all the way from small-town underdogs to international champions.
While dance takes center stage for Bankhead’s passions, he is also a construction management major and has gained experience as a finish carpenter. He isn’t the only team member that finds fulfillment outside of the arts either. UVU’s Ballroom Company is a vibrant melting pot of talent, welcoming students from every academic discipline across the university. While the School of the Arts is the company’s home, these dancers study a range of majors, from mechanical engineering to physics, from business management to psychology. For them, the time and commitment it takes to balance being a Ballroom Company dancer on top of their education is more than worth it.
“No words can describe how proud we are of these wins,” Tara Boyd, the UVU Ballroom Company director, said. “Our students have put hours of work into these routines, juggling jobs, school, and other commitments between many early mornings and late nights. This is a win we’ll remember for years.”
Started in 1920 and described as “the Olympics of ballroom”, London’s Blackpool Dance Festival hosts teams from across the globe in a competition geared to highlight the best of the best in the ballroom dance world. The UVU Ballroom Company doesn't attend the festival every year, but when they do, they compete to win— they are eight-time British Open Formation Champions.
Fans of the team, and ballroom in general, don’t have to travel across the globe to see these award-winning routines. Every fall and spring, experience the magic of Ballroom dance live at their live performances hosted at the Noorda Center for the Performing Arts. Purchase tickets to their performance when they go on sale this fall at the start of the 2025-26 academic year.
