After four rounds of ferocious competition played out to the soundtrack of the BBC miniseries of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”, Max Lubin ’08 and Ali Pechman ’08 were crowned king and queen of the Netherfield Ball Jan. 14 at break.

The dance, held by Eric Schrode for his AP English Literature classes, took place in Hamilton gym, where spectators caught candy thrown to the stands.

Schrode said the idea behind the dance was that you could be in love with the person next to you and never notice it, a theme taken from “Pride and Prejudice,” which the students had  read.

Both teachers and students who were not participating attended to watch seniors contend for the top prize of gag gifts like a book entitled “Retro Stud.”

Daniel Ozen ’08 received an Aquaman shirt for setting up the couples on a computer program.
Thirty couples competed in the first round, which was divided on the dance floor into four different groups of seven or eight couples each.

Several student judges prowled the room, watching and taking notes while dancers walked in and out of the lines.

After each dance, the judges announced the couples moving on to the next round.
All couples were paired as “soul mates” based on their answers to a test that included questions about race, money and sex.

Schrode also showed videos of the dance to his students in class  and told them to “practice like crazy.”

Extra points were awarded for style, as the attire for the ball was semiformal.