The cha cha, samba, rumba, waltz, pasa doble and jive inspired intense gazes, swirling skirts and seamless footwork as dancers competed in the second annual Keystone Classic dance competition.

Hosted by Penn State's Ballroom Dance Club, Saturday's competition began at 9 a.m. in HUB Alumni Hall and did not end until nearly midnight. A range of participants attended, including collegiate competitors from Georgetown University, the University of Virginia and the University of Maryland.

A highly anticipated midnight showcase with a performance by the seventh-ranked World Latin Professional dancers Matthew Cutler and Charlotte Egstrand concluded the competition.

Cutler, of England, and Egstrand, of Denmark, danced a highly aerobic routine amid cheers and whistles from an excited crowd.

"We get to travel around the world," Cutler said in between breaths while waiting for his partner to change into her next costume.

"It's good to come to universities -- everyone is so enthusiastic, which is really refreshing," he added.

Anna Pronczak (senior-geography), a member of Penn State's Ballroom Dance team, said Cutler and Egstrand were inspiring from a dancer's point of view.

"It was really great how they added their own flavor and style to it," she said. "They were just incredible -- they make me want to keep dancing."

Penn State ballroom dance competition team member Blake Torbert (senior-telecommunications) said the midnight showcase topped off a successful yet demanding day, especially for the Penn State dancers who organized and competed in the event.

"Ballroom dance competitions are primarily sleepless," Torbert said. "Everyone here has been going for so long. [My partner and I] did a lot today. We got to the finals in most of what we competed in."

The day yielded winners in several categories. Torbert said he competed in the bronze competitive level, where each dance style had four syllabus levels based on experience and level of skill: newcomer, bronze, silver and gold.

There were also three open levels: novice, pre-championship and championship. Torbert and his partner Alyssia Church (senior-geography) came home with first, fourth and fifth ribbons in the cha cha, rumba, waltz and tango.

Claudia DeVuono (senior-landscape contracting), also a member of the Penn State competition team, won first place in one of her events, the team match, in which competitors switch partners throughout a song and are awarded individually.

"It's a lot of pressure and hard work, but it's really rewarding to get through something so physically demanding and do something you love to do," she said.

John Sustersic, Penn State Ballroom Dance Club president, said to host a competition of such a high level required some "grinding of the millstone," but was a success in the end.

"[Penn State's Keystone Classic] is one of the best competitions on the East Coast," he said. "In terms of quality, the facility and judging, there aren't many schools that are able to do what we do here."