Dance Team’s countless hours dedicated to practice and competitions paid off when they earned first place in jazz at the biggest competition of the year: Universal Dance Association Nationals.

“I’ve been a part of the Varsity Dance team for four years and each year we have come closer to our goal,” senior dancer Lilly Smiscik said. “It feels good to know that we finally made it to the top. We really earned it from all of our hard work.”

The Varsity Dance team not only place first with the jazz routine, but also took fourth in hip-hop as well. This was the first year since 2000 that the team placed first at Nationals; they previously came in second once and third four times.  There was 50 teams in semi-finals which was cut down to 13 advancing to finals.

“We always get nervous before the semi-final awards, because there are so many good teams coming year after year,” senior dancer Kendall Crudo said. “Getting ranked first at semi-finals in our division was the icing on the cake.”

The team added two more practices per week for the month of January to prepare for Nationals. Each day they became closer by staying focused and improving.

“We were willing to push ourselves even harder than we have before. The practices were hard, but we kept moving forward and did not give up,” sophomore Varsity dancer Isabella Cvetanovski said.

They kept each other motivated by bonding on and off the stage. Team sleepovers and team dinners created a stronger connection between the girls and it showed at Nationals.

“The inspirational group huddles before we went on stage really showed us how much everyone on the team wanted this championship,” junior dancer Alex Balsamo said.

Becoming National Champions means everything to this team, program, and alumni, according to Varsity Dance Team Coach Rachelle Anthony. The alumni watched and supported the team from back home even though they are no longer on the team.

“This year we never talked about winning. We just talked about dancing for us and us only,” Anthony said. “Our motto was ‘just dance’ and that is simply what they did.”