This year’s Dancing with the Hawks Star was none other than everyone’s favorite physics enthusiast, Mr. Patrick Swanson. Along with the incredibly talented Henry Woo (’15), the two gave a power packed performance, not forgetting to sport hawk pride in their costumes as well. Swanson has always been fond of dancing, and after five years of competing at Dancing with the Hawk Stars, his hard work and dedication finally paid off.

Q: How did you feel after your performance?

A: I felt pretty good. I felt like that performance was the best I could’ve done, and I was very happy with the outcome.

Q: What did you think about the other performers?

A: I didn’t get to see a lot of the performances, because we performed second to last, so we were busy rehearsing in the back. I did see Hannah and Ms. Roesner perform, and I thought that they were very good. I saw Brittany and Ms. Westby go ahead of that, and they were also very good. I knew deciding this year’s winner would be a struggle because everyone did very well. I knew it would all have to come down to the votes.

Q: Were you involved in any dancing clubs in high school?

A: When I was in high school, I was in Orchesis, of course. That helped me learn choreography and trying to be in sync with other people. I also learned that a lot of practice goes into making a good dance.

Q: Why dancing?

A: I get a rush from it. Especially in front of big crowds, or for my physics classes.

Q: What do you think of your partner, Henry?

A: Oh, he was terrific! He’s the best partner I’ve had in my five years. He choreographed everything for us, and he chose the music, along with the moves. I wanted to do the coffee grinder, so he incorporated that into the dance as well.

Q: Why do you think you won this year?

A: I would hope that the crowd realized our hard work and voted for us, because we were hopefully the best act out there.

Q: How does it feel winning after so many tries?

A: It feels great. It feels like all of the hard work has finally paid off. After a few years where I felt that I had given a good performance, it hurt, but it still didn’t stop me from coming back. I had to try again, just because I love dancing. It felt great, It was good that it took a few tries. (smiles)

Q: Lastly, do you think that you’ll be back next year?

A: It’s an emotional thing…so I’m going to give it a few months. I’ll think about it and start to make a decision next year. I don’t know if it would be history making, because none of the previous winners came back to dance again, so we’ll see.