While much of the student body spent the early parts of January in the comfort of their own homes, the dance team traveled to Walt Disney World to fulfill its motto of the year: “Find the fight.”
The team competed in its third appearance at Universal Dance Association Nationals in Orlando, Florida, from Jan. 17-19, earning a raw score of 83.8333 and an event score of 79.8413, placing 17th out of the 19 schools in its division.
“Not every school has a dance team in the Patriot League, and the fact that we compete against schools that are so much bigger than us and have doubled the resources shows a lot about our grit and how much we’re willing to work,” senior Camille Gitow said.
In preparation for this year’s appearance, the dance team attended a Universal Dance Association, also known as UDA, camp for the first time over the summer, working on choreography during practices throughout the semester and returning to campus early in January for a high-intensity camp.
“It was really amazing seeing the progression of the team over the past three years,” senior Sam Dillahunt said. “A lot of us didn’t know exactly what we were getting ourselves into in terms of the extent of how massive the competition is and just how impressive all the other teams are.”
The team participated in the competition’s pom category, a change from past years when it competed in hip-hop as well.
“Just focusing on only pom was really rewarding,” Gitow said. “We were able to make our dance much more challenging and complicated because it gave us more time to work on it.”
Senior captain Anna Van Ormer noted that the team would write down three things to fight for each practice.
“It just helps you if you’re losing motivation,” she said. “You can look over and think, ‘Okay, this is why I’m doing it.’”
The team competed in front of thousands on a stage with a replica of the iconic Cinderella Castle behind them.
“This was definitely our most challenging routine by far, but I think we really rose to the occasion,” Gitow said.
In addition to the help of coach Melissa Diehl, Dillahunt attributed some of the team’s success to work beginning back at UDA camp.
“I think that really helped us in terms of performing for a large audience,” Dillahunt said, adding that the team learned to employ “sharper pom motions” and how to project to an audience at the camp.
The four graduating seniors also expressed a sense of bittersweetness for their final competition.
“I was very proud of everything I had done,” senior Lily Snyder said. “It kind of felt surreal that that was the last time I was performing on the stage after competing since I can remember.”
Snyder said that for her, getting the team to the competition brought a dream to life.
“Just looking back not even that long ago is only a dream of actually competing,” Snyder added. “I’m excited to see where they’re able to take it in the future.”
