OUR COACH

Chris Ellwood

Christopher 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 instructor at Nexus SLO.

OFFICERS

Tessa Zhang- President

Hello everyone! My name is Tessa Zhang and I'm from San Jose, California. I am a 3rd year Business Major and have been in ballroom club for 2.5 years! I am competing in Novice and Pre-champ Latin for the first time at this year's Mustang Ball!! If you are in the area come watch on February 11th. 

Ramon Contreras- Social Coordinator Officer

Hi! I am Ramon Contreras and I am a 3rd year Environmental Engineering major. I joined ballroom my freshman year and I have been dancing ever since! I love ballroom because you can start with no background in dance and learn so much in so little time!

Daniel Levin- Vice President/Assistant Coach

Hi, my name is Daniel Levin, and I am the Vice President of the Cal Poly Ballroom team! I’m currently a fourth-year undergrad at Cal Poly studying Statistics and minoring in Data Science. I am originally from the bay area where I competed in the ballroom for several years prior to joining the team my freshman year! So far I have competed in International Latin, International Standard, and American Smooth. I have competed open in all three ranging from Novice in Smooth to Champ in Standard and Latin. Lately, I help out with coaching on the Ballroom team in preparation for upcoming competitions. Outside of ballroom I also enjoy learning about other social dances that San Luis Obispo has to offer!

Nicole Murdock- Dance Coordinator

​Hey everybody! I am Nicole Murdock, biochemistry major with a dance minor, the dance coordinator for ballroom club. I am from Folsom, CA near Sacramento and I joined the club last year. I compete in all levels bronze to gold in every event you can think of.  If you come to a lesson you might see me help demo the dances!

Kenneth Barron- Publicity

I am currently a 5th Year Biological Sciences major from Newark, California. I have been a part of the ballroom dance team since my 2nd year of college, and am excited to finally be a part of the board as co-publicity officer. My  favorite dance is Viennese waltz, and I currently dance at the bronze/silver levels. I think dance is something everyone should try even if you don't feel you're good at it, because you can always have fun no matter how inexperienced you are.

Michaela Sadler- Events Coordinator

Hey everyone! I'm Michaela, a third year theatre arts major from San Jose. I have been in ballroom since the beginning of the 22-23 school year but I am a dance minor and have an extensive dance background. I'm just starting to add in the silver standard levels and bronze Latin to my competition circuit (usually rookie/veteran Smooth and Standard, plus some nightclub just for fun). Joining ballroom has been one of the best decisions I've made in college and I'm excited to help everyone else join and have a fun time as well!

Bennett Parisi- Treasurer

​I am excited to present Mustang Ball along with the rest of Cal Poly’s Ballroom Dance Team! Currently the treasurer of Ballroom, this is my second year and fourth competition with the team. Originally from Santa Rosa, California, I first tried Ballroom Dancing at Nordquist Dance Studio, before coming to Cal Poly. I would like to thank everybody who has attended and competed today.

Abbi Bennitt- Publicity

Hey fam! It’s Abbi Bennitt and I am a second year Marine Science major and Dance minor. I joined ballroom in Fall quarter 2022 (my first quarter at Cal Poly). I am now the co-publicity officer for Cal Poly Ballroom. I am currently dancing in the Bronze/Silver level in Smooth, Latin, and Rhythm. A fun fact about me is that I have an endless supply of fun kelp collecting stories!!