The On The Rocks Strictly Come Dancing event kicked off with a warm up of several dances, including a lively Cha Cha and a somewhat uncomfortable Tango before they introduced the five judges. The judges consisted of Phillip, a final year Chemistry student; Alex, a member of the Ballroom Dancing Society who was the first to compete at the Blackpool University competition; Danny, who has been teaching salsa since she was 14; Vanya, a swing dancing expert, and Emmy, the Ballroom Society’s coach.

The first dance was a Cha Cha, performed by George, who was this year’s St Andrews Got Talent winner and his partner Charlotte. Although they had only been dancing together for two weeks, their Cha Cha was very in sync, something the judges did not fail to notice with Phillip commenting on their ‘sexual chemistry.’ However, this may just be the fact that Phillip forgot the world is not his laboratory.

The second dance was the English Waltz, somewhat gracefully executed by Omar, a member of too many societies, and his partner Pim. Omar made sure to mention before his dancing commenced that the only reason he was there at all was because his friend Alice Lecointe sent the email accepting the Strictly email without his knowledge. The judges were fairly harsh – with one awarding a three – as he did not recognise any Waltz steps in the routine.

The third dance was the Lindy Hop, exuberantly performed by our resident Chaplain, Donald and partner Jana – the reigning Strictly champion. Donald’s high-spirited performance won the hearts of many, with one judge describing him as ‘the definition of showmanship.’ However, the theme of awkward sexual commentary continued, with one judge telling Donald, a man of God, not to be ‘too loose,’ as things could get floppy.

The fourth dance was the Quickstep featuring Paula, a teaching fellow at the School of Psychology and Neuroscience, with partner Ollie. They were adorable on stage together and received rave reviews from all judges, with one exclaiming that this was the best performance they have ever had in the four years of St Andrews’ Strictly.

The fifth and final dance of the evening was the Pasodoble, somewhat completed by Steve Fan, who was, in his own words, ‘pretending to be a celebrity’, and his dance partner Gabi. The judges were less than enthralled by his performance, with one judge stating, ‘There were a lot of steps in there, and some of them were very alright.’

The night ended in an exhibition with the Edinburgh University Salsa Society, St Andrews’ own Blue Angels, the Hummingbirds and performances by a professional dance pairing. That brought us to the scores. With dramatic music setting the scene, one judge announced the results from a very official piece of notebook paper. In third place came Donald and Jana, in second Charlotte and George, but Paula and Ollie stole the show, winning both first place and the audience prize. Overall, the night was an entertaining end to On the Rocks, with much of the entertainment not coming from where you would expect.