History

First Era (2009-2014)

2009-2010

Irvin, a member of TGTSNBN, has been ballroom dancing since he was six years old. After several months with TGTSNBN, people began begging him to impart his knowledge. So he decided to attempt to teach these Harry Potter fans how to dance, in the hopes of performing at Evil Day 2 (a huge party TGTSNBN was throwing in December 2009). Upon making the suggestion, he received an incredible response, with seventeen people deciding to perform with him. Irvin became the leader, known as the Dark Lord of the Dance, of this dance troupe - which was called (in keeping with the Evil Day theme) the Dancing Death Eaters.

Irvin taught the Dancing Death Eaters how to dance in five lessons starting in mid-November 2009, with their debut performance being at Evil Day 2. There, they performed two numbers. The first was a tango to "Death Eater Tango" by The Butterbeer Experience. The second was a salsa to "Like a Death Eater" by Swish and Flick (who was a member of the Dancing Death Eaters and performed with them). The whole evening was complicated by a huge blizzard, but in the end the performance was a success with sixteen DDEs and Irvin performing. Their performance was featured on Wizrocklopedia to general acclaim.

The Dancing Death Eaters performed again at TGTSNBN's 200th Meetup Celebration in February 2010, with slightly reduced numbers, but with the assistance of house-elves who robed them when necessary. They performed the two dances again, and debuted a new dance as well: a samba set to "99 Death Eaters" by Draco and the Malfoys. It went really well, and the crowd was cheering the whole time (usually with very inappropriate comments on the hotness of the Dancing Death Eaters).

The group was then further diminished to five core members: Irvin; his right-hand woman Mary; Saribel; Emma of the wrock band Bella and le Strangers; and Pam, the leader of NYDA. Their next performance was in June at Incendio! 2010 in Pennsylvania. This performance served to make them known to the public outside of TGTSNBN, and earned them many fangirls. They debuted a fourth routine set to Oliver Boyd's "Spells and Scars." This was also the event at which they started selling merchandise, selling quite a few t-shirts, and selling out of Chocolate Frogs with "Famous Death Eater Cards" (made by Irvin personally, and since then copied by a few wizard rock merchandisers). It was a fantastic experience, with so many of the wizard rockers the DDEs fanboyed fangirling them right back. Hawthorn and Holly even invited Irvin on stage with them for a few numbers - they liked the DDEs so much, they requested a personalized number several months later.

A mere two weeks later, they performed at an event Irvin threw together called "Hogwarts '80s Prom." This served as a replacement for Irvin's actual high school prom, and featured wizard rockers, McClaggens contests, and much more. The DDEs reprised all their numbers, and for the first time performed "Like a Death Eater" with Swish and Flick singing live.

The following week, they gave another performance at NYDA's First Birthday Party. They performed their four dances again ("Like a Death Eater" once again with Swish and Flick singing live), and sold buttons for the first time. To keep things interesting, this performance was given a twist: Irvin performed two of the numbers shirtless! Though prompting a few calls of "please eat a sandwich!" in the moment, it was all anyone was talking about that evening.

The DDEs then focused on making a music video for "Spells and Scars," with costumes and a storyline and everything. This was shot in June and July, along with extras for a DVD they were working on. Meanwhile, at another huge wizard rock event, the New York Wizard Rock Explosion, they once again sold out of Chocolate Frogs despite not even performing - they had made something of a name for themselves. Also in July, Irvin and Mary created and filmed a fifth dance for Celestial Warmbottom's "Hey Dark Wizard," as a surprise for her.

After a year of dancing together, the first generation of Dancing Death Eaters retired, to be replaced by the next generation under Irvin's continued leadership. The only member to stay was Mary, who now became the eldest in the group.

2010-2011

The release party of the DVD was September 19, in honor of Hermione's birthday. Celestial Warmbottom was amazed at the dance for her song, and asked the DDEs to perform during her set at the NYC Wizard Rock Festical on November 21, 2010 - which was also when the DDEs started selling their DVD. There, the DDEs performed on a side balcony under a spotlight as Celestial Warmbottom sang. Irvin and Mary performed "Hey Dark Wizard" live for the first time, to huge acclaim. The DDEs also debuted the newest addition to their group, Julia, in another new routine set to "Dear Aunt Celestial." As their first non-Death Eater routine, it was done in costume as Lupin (Irvin) and Tonks (Julia). There was a slight snag when Julia's wig fell off, but other than that the routine went very well, crazy lifts and all. It was a change of pace, since the DDEs had always performed as a group and never as a solo couple performing, but it garnered a lot of new interest in the group.

On December 19, the one-year anniversary of the DDEs' debut performance, the group gave a special performance for members of the NY Badassilisks, the Quidditch team Irvin had joined where he did most of his recruiting. It was the debut of the new set of Death Eaters, Leeza and Annie, who along with Julia and Irvin performed the DDEs' very first number, "Like a Death Eater." Irvin and Julia also performed "Dear Aunt Celestial" again.

The DDEs kicked off 2011 by working on a new dance, set to "If You Didn't Come to Party" by Swish and Flick. After almost a month of hard work, they premiered it at Irvin's nineteenth birthday party, on February 13. As an added bonus, they were all dressed as Broadway musical characters, leading to rather confusing and often hilarious performance. It was also the debut performance of Rebekah as a Dancing Death Eater. They performed it again at a talent show hosted by NYU on Feburary 25th, this time dressed as the appropriate characters. They then shot a music video for the dance in March, which was the centerpiece of their second DVD.

A very hectic April saw the departure of Annie, and the arrival of newcomer Sheila. They began work on their most difficult, most technical, most gravity-defying, and arguably most spectacular number yet: as requested by Hawthorn and Holly, the DDEs made a number to their song "Art of Parseltongue." Moreover, this number was to be an Argentine Tango, which involved all kinds of lifts, tricks, and drops - and Irvin demanded that all couples do them! Mary opted to sit this one out, and Julia was given the rather taxing task of being the guy, and lifting instead of being lifted for a change. The Death Eaters worked on "Art of Parseltongue" for two solid months, which is longer than any other routine took them.

They decided to debut this routine in June at Incendio! 2011, returning to the epic wizard rock concert that had welcomed them the previous year. Incendio! 2011 was a two-day affair, and the DDEs got a half-hour set all to themselves. Despite the exceedingly cramped space, they delivered their best performance yet. The roster consisted of Irvin, Mary, Julia, Rebekah, and Sheila making her debut. They opened with "Come to Party," kept the momentum going with "Hey Dark Wizard" and "Dear Aunt Celestial," and ended on a high note with the debut of "Art of Parseltongue." The crowd cheered and applauded, and the entire rest of the weekend the Death Eaters were receiving compliments, like "I'm amazed at how enthralled I was by your performance." This was officially the first paid performance the Death Eaters ever did, since they received $6 like all the other performers at Incendio! 2011.

Having seen what a number the DDEs can pull off on request, several other wrockers were soon requesting numbers for their songs. The DDEs obliged one of them, Lily and James, and made a 40-second mini-dance for their video for "Sorcerer's Stone." With the year winding down, they began work on their next number, "Stronger Than Imperio" by Malfoy Manor (which is officially the most obscure song in all of wizard rock).

The DDEs closed their second year with a final performance at V-V Day, a huge party in July 2011 thrown by TGTSNBN to celebrate the release of the last movie. Swish and Flick gave an incredible one-hour set, and the Dancing Death Eaters performed two numbers with her. First they danced "Like a Death Eater" (which Leeza and Julia had to receive a ten-minute crash course in, having completely forgotten it), then they danced "Come to Party" with Swish and Flick singing live for the first time. Irvin, Mary, Leeza, and Julia (in her final performance) danced that night dressed in fancy '40s wizard garb... perhaps the most peculiar was Irvin as a soaking wet Reg Cattermole.

The Death Eaters had a better retention rate after their second year; though Julia and Rebekah left, Mary, Leeza, and Sheila all stuck around. These three ladies and Irvin were the core of the DDEs' first era; as other Death Eaters came and went, they stuck it out.

2011-2012

Throughout the fall of 2011, work continued on "Stronger Than Imperio." For some reason, this dance proved the most difficult the Death Eaters had ever done. It took half a year to finish, finally being completed in December. On October 28, the Death Eaters had their first ever Halloween lesson - everyone came dressed in costume to film videos for the dances. Irvin dressed as Trelawney, and Sheila as Bellatrix, and they shot some fantastic video. So dedicated were they to the craft, that Irvin actually chipped his tooth while dancing... and kept dancing.

Having finished "Stronger Than Imperio," the DDEs then moved on to a dance that had been planned for over a year: a Quickstep to "Dark Mark Calling" by the Blibbering Humdingers. To provide a contrast to the last one, Irvin choreographed this dance to be entirely side-by-side and partner-free, like "Spells and Scars." This decision was met with a lot of enthusiasm, and the dance was completed in less than a month, in January 2012.

However, Irvin then left for a semester in London in mid-January, so for the first time in the DDEs' history, a substitute had to lead in his stead. His regent was Leeza, who kept the Death Eaters reviewing their numbers, and even revisited "Death Eater Tango," until Irvin returned in mid-May. On January 13, there was a ceremony where Leeza will be formerly anointed the Dark Lady of the Dance, a title she maintained as Irvin's second-in-command even after his return.

In a departure from the usual schedule, the DDEs' continued working sporadically through the summer, and even recruited two new Death Eaters: Rosie and David, both from the NY Badassilisks. They launched into their most ambitious routine yet: a Quidditch-themed dance to "Oliver Wood" by Witherwings. The dance was performed on brooms, included Bludgers and a Snitch, and had Leeza doing the most gravity-defying lifts Irvin knows. Such a number needed a spectacular occasion to be performed at...

For a while, there had been talk of having a big wizard rock concert in NYC to showcase all the local talent. Tired of waiting, Irvin decided to make it happen himself. So the Dancing Death Eaters would be hosting Avada KedavRock! 2012 that November, to showcase their new numbers and perform some old favorites. Not for nothing had Irvin been cultivating relationships with wrockers for years; he managed to assemble a spectacular lineup that included Carpe Geekdom, The Gringotts Girls, Leth I Fold, Celestial Warmbottom, JFF, Madam Pince, and Swish and Flick. And Witherwings was championing the DDEs all the way, thrilled with the "Oliver Wood" routine.

The DDEs had another Halloween lesson in 2012, in the lead-up to Avada KedavRock! This time, the costumes went beyond the HP fandom into things like Wicked, Star Trek, etc. No teeth were chipped this time around. Meanwhile, there was a Kickstarter for the concert, and the ultimate reward was a new dance by the DDEs to a song of the donor's choice. This was taken by the Gringotts Girls, so the Dark Lord and Lady came up with an eleventh-hour routine to "Oh, the Goblins and the Wizards Should Be Friends." This routine would have Leeza dressed as a goblin, and money scattering everywhere.

The concert itself was an enormous success, a grand six-hour affair heralded as one of the best wrock concerts out there. The DDEs performed no less than ten numbers - including the four new ones ("Stronger Than Imperio," "Dark Mark Calling," "Oliver Wood," and "Goblins" live with the Gringotts Girls), as well as six old favorites (all except "99 Death Eaters" and "Spells and Scars"). The numbers for Swish and Flick and Celestial Warmbottom were performed live with the artists; the non-live ones were scattered throughout the day between wrockers. All the performers could not wait for the next Avada KedavRock! The DDEs had officially arrived onto the scene and made a name for themselves in the wrock community... three years almost to the day after their first lesson.

2012-2014

Avada KedavRock! 2012 was an enormous triumph, but was followed by a somewhat turbulent period. The Dark Lady had devoted herself wholeheartedly to the DDEs in the fall, but could no longer maintain the commitment. It was with a heavy heart that the DDEs bid farewell to Leeza on November 30th. She was honored beyond all other Death Eaters, because no Death Eater had contributed more than she to the cause; she received a collage of evil photos from Irvin, and performed one final dance with him - the one she chose, unexpectedly, was Stronger Than Imperio. It was with a heavy heart that the Death Eaters bid her farewell, with the understanding that she would come back occasionally.

Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, that lesson was also David's last. After not showing up the next few weeks, he too left the DDEs. This happened just as the DDEs were about to shoot a new music video for their thirteenth dance: Celestial Warmbottom's "Dear J.K. Rowling." This was a highly comedic routine, set to a song about Dumbledore's sexuality, and served as an homage to the first twelve dances by having an iconic move from each of them serve as the choreography. Irvin would be Dumbledore, with Mary, Sheila, and Rosie as Madam Pomfrey, Madam Rosmerta, and McGonagall respectively. David was to be Grindelwald, but when he dropped out at the last second, Leeza returned for the video shoot to quickly learn the part and portray Grindelwald in the music video. The video is notable for being the first to feature the song's artist in a cameo appearance.

The rest of 2013 proved somewhat stagnant in terms of the DDE progress. Now, with a roster of four - Irvin, Mary, Sheila, and Rosie - the DDEs began working on a new routine, one that's very dance-heavy without gimmicks. Unfortunately, progress was halted halfway through for a hiatus that encompassed spring breaks, the Quidditch World Cup, and MISTI-Con 2013. But upon resuming DDE lessons in May, Rosie had already left for the summer. With Rosie vanishing without a trace, the DDEs were down to only Irvin, Mary, and Sheila. Halting progress on the new dance, Irvin spent the summer reviving an old and forgotten classic, "Spells and Scars" - one of the DDEs' best routines, and one that needed to be seen again. As usual, recruiting was done over the summer, and though a few new people joined for a few weeks, they were all gone by the end of the fall, reducing the DDEs to the old core members, this time with an occasional fifth member Dhaval joining in. It was not until the beginning of 2014 that the new routine, "Don't Wanna Be a Death Eater," was completed.

Aside from the DDEs, Irvin brought his wizard dancing to a convention for the first time: MISTI-Con 2013. Irvin (as Lucius Malfoy) taught an hour-long dance class - "The Art of Wizard Dance" - where fifteen newbies learned a modified version of "Dark Mark Calling" in an hour, and then performed at the closing Masquerade Ball (Irvin dressed as Narcissa Malfoy this time). The class was certainly a success, and was the start of a tradition where Irvin revisited highly simplified DDE routines at conventions to keep the DDE spirit alive.

Everyone was eager for another Avada KedavRock!, so the DDEs committed to hosting a second one on May 4th, 2014. Leeza was brought back into the fold for the occasion, as the DDEs committed to performing every single one of their fourteen routines at this concert, as a grand showcase of everything the DDEs had accomplished in four and a half years. So the four months leading up to the concert, the DDEs went over all their old and new routines - an endeavor far more ambitious than most performers ever undertake. Dhaval was only in a few numbers, but Sheila and Mary would be doing ten numbers each, Leeza eleven, and Irvin all fourteen. Half of the numbers (the Swish and Flick ones, the Celestial Warmbottom ones, "Goblins and Wizards," and "99 Death Eaters") would be performed with the wizard rockers singing live; the others would be performed singly or in pairs between wrocker sets.

The concert featured a lot of hidden talents in the wrock community, some staples of the NYC wrock scene, and one big name: Brian Malfoy, of Draco and the Malfoys. Irvin nearly keeled over from squeeing when Brian responded to an email and agreed to perform; moreso when Brian agreed to have the DDEs do "99 Death Eaters" live with him - a pipe dream Irvin had had for four years, and the final number the DDEs did that night. Just before Brian's set, they did "Don't Wanna Be a Death Eater," and the year's hard work really paid off with a spectacular number.

Irvin had snagged a Quidditch teammate to be the videographer, but this man absconded with all the video footage of the concert. Galled beyond belief, the DDEs at least needed to immortalize "Don't Wanna Be a Death Eater" in video, and shot a video for it in the weeks following the concert. Then, the DDEs had a serious pow-wow about the future of the troupe.

While all of them loved the Dancing Death Eaters, there were just certain realities that seemed to require a break. Financially, the core four were not enough to keep the DDEs afloat with renting studios as needed. And timing-wise, it was increasingly difficult to make the weekly commitment to the troupe: there had been a lot of hiatuses of late, and it really impeded progress. Irvin had just graduated college and needed to figure out what his life looked like in the real world; the three ladies needed to focus on their jobs as well. The sad reality was also that the wizard rock scene was slowly fading away, a process accelerated by the scandal that had rocked the community in early 2014. The DDEs had not had an event to perform at, other than their own, since 2011. It was with heavy hearts that they decided to retire the DDEs for a while, in the hope that they would one day be resurrected.

In four and a half years, the Dancing Death Eaters had crafted fourteen dance routines, shot three elaborate costumed music videos, organized two wizard rock concerts, and performed at eleven other events. They had launched the wizard dance movement, and accomplished far more than anyone could have expected when the troupe was started as a lark by a seventeen-year-old boy.

Interregnum (2014-2018)

Slowly, the Dancing Death Eaters adapted to having Friday evenings free, and to not doing much physical activity on a regular basis. Needing an outlet for his dancing energies, Irvin always insisted on doing Wizard Dance at Cons... and each time would remind him just how much he loved and missed the DDEs. About once a year, he would send out hopeful emails about reviving the DDEs, and would try recruiting new members, but nothing came of it.

2017 was filled with reminders about the DDEs. At MISTI-Con 2017, there was a Wizard Rock Museum curated by Grace Kendall - Irvin happily provided her with copious artifacts from the Dancing Death Eaters, including the bedraggled boa they had used for four years in "Like a Death Eater," a whole stack of Chocolate Frog Cards, and even scribbles on an envelope illustrating the layout of "Don't Wanna Be a Death Eater." When Irvin visited the exhibit, the DDEs' second DVD was playing - the "Come to Party" music video that Irvin hadn't looked at in years.

The original female lead of that music video, Julia, got married in September. So Leeza and Irvin flew out to Wisconsin for the wedding, and showed everyone what's what on the dance floor.

On July 31st, 2018, Irvin published his first book: The Life and Lies of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The launch party was to be a celebration of the HP fandom, and Irvin fervently wanted the DDEs to have a presence, performing Dear J.K. Rowling with Celestial Warmbottom singing live. He pressed the Dark Mark and contacted all the former Death Eaters about coming back for one reunion performance. Sheila, who had painted the cover art for Irvin's book, was game. Mary, Irvin's most faithful Death Eater, also agreed. But no one else was available.

Not one to be deterred, Irvin reached out to his friends, assuring them that he needed them for a very short, very silly, and very simple dance number. Angelica and Ignacio agreed to step into the roles of McGonagall and Grindelwald respectively... and to be perfectly honest, Ignacio was far more Grindelwaldian than any of the previous DDE incarnations had been. Rehearsing the number was a comedy of errors, as everyone (even the Dark Lord himself) had forgotten just about everything. All parties involved were very grateful for the video available on YouTube for them to study.

There was also a decision to be made about the appropriateness of the dance number. On the one hand, politics and political correctness looked very different in 2018 than they had in 2014, and Dumbledore's sexuality had become a very touchy subject. On the other hand, this was being done in a children's bookstore. What to do? In the end, Irvin decided to take the risk of being impolitic, because of how much he wanted the DDEs to be part of his big day. And they crafted a "child-friendly" version of the dance (hip bumps instead of crotch-thrusting) that they ended up performing. But judging by the raucous response at the event, it was definitely the right choice to include it in the program.

The reunion performance finally seemed to do what no amount of well-intentioned emails could: create enough momentum to revive the DDEs. The old core members had come to miss it. The newer members of TGTSNBN were younger, fitter, and had the small amount of disposable income needed to invest in the troupe. Mary felt her journey with the DDEs had reached its natural end, but Sheila and Leeza eagerly returned. The Dancing Death Eaters were resurrected, greater and more terrible than ever they were.

Second Era (2018-Present)

2018-2020

In November 2018, nine years almost to the day since the DDEs started, the troupe returned to the dance studio. It was amazing how quickly they fell back into the rhythm. The choreography was found buried deep in their muscle memory, old jokes bubbled up from the recesses of their minds, and the dance studio was identical to how it had always been (if a good deal pricier). At first, tightly wound muscles screamed in protest every week, as stairs became the DDEs' mortal nemesis. But soon, they got back in shape, adapted their calendars to be unavailable each Wednesday, and fell into the routine of regular dance practice.

Leeza and Sheila were back in the fold, along with several new recruits: Angelica, Scott, a new Julia (dubbed Julia II for clarity), and Maya. There was a fifth, Julie, who appeared sporadically before officially retiring. But the other four wholly committed to being Dancing Death Eaters. Some weeks were spent revisiting the "classic" DDE routines that were expected at every performance: "Death Eater Tango," "Dark Mark Calling," etc. In light of all the time that had passed, the routines were also zhuzhed up somewhat, with a few steps added here and there to better complement the musical phrasing.

But when the calendar turned to 2019, it was time to add to the DDEs' repertoire! Irvin asked the DDEs' adoring public what their next dance number should be. On Twitter, the people spoke: "My Obsession" by the Parselmouths. So the DDEs set to work crafting their most ambitious number yet. Irvin was meticulous about the choreography, poring over every single move to ensure it had thematic resonance and worked both conceptually and aesthetically. It took them about half a year to finish it.

Now that there were Dancing Death Eaters aside from Irvin willing to attend MISTI-Con, the DDEs made their MISTI-Con debut at long last in 2019. Irvin, Leeza, Angelica, and Julia performed a fifteen-minute set. They began with the three DDE staples: "Death Eater Tango," "Like a Death Eater," and "Dark Mark Calling." They concluded with the world premiere of "My Obsession" - Julia was the only one who felt confident enough to perform it live, so it was reconfigured into a solo variant for Irvin and Julia.

The rest of the summer was spent shooting a music video for "My Obsession." As this endeavor was wrapping up, Angelica retired from the DDEs, leaving a troupe of six. Irvin figured the time was ripe to attempt throwing another wizard rock concert: Avada KedavRock! 2019. The DDEs settled on November, exactly seven years after the first one. But wizard rock was a very different scene in 2019 than it had been in 2014. Irvin had to reach out to bands who had not performed since the 2014 concert and coax them into performing. He also convinced Julie, the short-lived Dancing Death Eater, to form a wizard rock band and make her debut at the concert as Priori Incantatem. But in his biggest coup, he got Hawthorn & Holly to fly in all the way from North Carolina to perform, which meant that over eight years after its debut, "Art of Parseltongue" would finally be performed with live singing! The DDEs' work was cut out for the fall: learn the "Art of Parseltongue."

All was going swimmingly, with a stacked repertoire of ten dances planned (no one was up to the task of attempting the DDEs' entire repertoire like last time). But about a month out from the concert, Leeza tripped during a rehearsal, and injured her leg. It really seemed like everything would be fine, but a week and half before the concert, Leeza got the official doctor's diagnosis: she couldn't perform at Avada KedavRock! 2019. The DDEs scrambled to reconfigure all their numbers, rehearsing almost every day. Angelica was called in out of retirement to be a necessary warm body for "My Obsession." The biggest challenge was "Like a Death Eater." After so many years of it being performed with multiple women to each man, it was totally reconceptualized to be about three men fighting over one woman (Sheila).

In the end, it all came together, as it always does. The DDEs performed ten numbers at Avada KedavRock! 2019, including all of Celestial Warmbottom's and "Art of Parseltongue" to live music. "My Obsession" was just as cool as everyone had hoped. And the concert was a lovely event for the tight-knit wizard rock community, with hopes that it can all be done again in the future.

Following Avada KedavRock!, the DDEs spent some time on less ambitious routines. Irvin taught the whole troupe a fancier version of "Rodolphus" after the troupe voted on which solo routine should become a group number. For a holiday treat, Irvin taught the troupe "Jingle Bell Rock" from Mean Girls - and it ended up being so much fun, the DDEs performed it at Irvin's high school-themed birthday party in February 2020.

In January 2020, history was made when the DDEs performed without Irvin for the very first time. The troupe was invited to an HP-themed "Magical Girl Burlesque" show, and three of them went to do it: Sheila and Scott, under Julia's leadership. They performed the perennial staples "Like a Death Eater" and "Death Eater Tango," which was rejiggered into a trio of two guys dueling for Sheila's affections.

2020 was looking promising, with the DDEs working on a new routine that was exceptionally difficult (and grueling to practice). They were about halfway done when the coronavirus pandemic struck, and DDE lessons (like everything else) was cancelled.

2021-2022

As soon as the dance studios opened back up, Irvin began booking them weekly to keep dancing. He had hopes of reconvening the troupe, but none of the fifth generation Death Eaters were willing to return. So Irvin amused himself with learning the choreography to old Disney Channel Original Movies, biding his time until he could recruit a sixth generation of Dancing Death Eaters.

He finally got a recruit in October 2021 with Sophia, who was his editor at MuggleNet and became his first new post-pandemic friend. To ease back into the DDEs, Irvin taught Sophia "Death Eater Tango," with adjusted choreography to reduce the spinning that Sophia strongly disliked. Sophia made her debut at Irvin's thirtieth birthday party, where they danced "Death Eater Tango" while both dressed as Fleur Delacour. Afterwards, the DDEs spent half a year relearning "99 Death Eaters," with new choreography meant for two people rather than a troupe. It proved a very valuable exercise, since that routine includes many of the essential Latin American dance moves that populate the DDEs' routines. Irvin and Sophia filmed a video of it in June 2022, because Irvin is much more cognizant about preserving routines for posterity after seeing how the troupe (and all their knowledge of choreography) vanished overnight in 2020.

Now, the DDEs have a new recruit joining soon, and are working on a new routine as well, so the troupe is well on its way to recovery.