Led by senior captains Reese Harper and Blakely Rice, along with Head Coach Angela McNicholas, the Varsity Dance Team is heading to Orlando, Florida for their biggest weekend of the year: UDA Nationals.
Nationals is held annually in Orlando at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex. This year, it is being held from Jan. 31 through Feb.2, just two weeks after college dance nationals was held.
“It’s one of the most exciting factors about being on LFDT. Just knowing that you will be able to dance with your teammates under the castle and see the work you put in to your performance is something that we can all be proud of,” Harper said.
The team prepares for this weekend quite literally all-year long, as they compete for a spot in Orlando at UDA Camp in June. The team spends about 3 weeks in June learning a routine that is choreographed by the seniors. If they score within a certain range with that dance, then they are able to qualify for Nationals.
“This year’s UDA camp routine was wonderful and the seniors did a great job. This team has been very strong right out of the gate. All year it has felt like we’re moving a little faster than usual in terms of how they’ve been able to push themselves skills and endurance wise. I’m really proud of them,” McNicholas said.
This year, the team is now competing in the D2 category for the first time, as UDA is trying to make college nationals and high school nationals as similar as possible. UDA has divided the whole competition by school size, and with this being the first year in the D2 division, the team will have all new competition.
“For all of the years that our program has gone we have had the same schools as competition, and now it’s a whole new landscape,” McNicholas said.
The team as a whole is eager to scope out their new competition as Nationals draw closer.
“We’re unsure of how we will compare to the other teams because we’ve never competed against them,” Rice said.
After football season in the fall, the team begins their intense training to compete in local competitions before facing off against teams from all over the country.
The team practices every day for 2.5 hours, but over winter break is when they are truly able to perfect their routines. For one week over break, they have practices for at least 4 hours, and on the weekends they can be up to 7 or 8 hours.
“It’s a long and hard week, but it continues to bring us closer together as we all work towards the same goal. We also get to continue doing fun traditions that week like revealing who our roommates are for Nationals and organizing our own merch,” Rice said.
Now that Nationals is less than a week away, the team has been cleaning their dances in order to make sure that they are putting their best foot forward when they arrive in Orlando.
“It’s up to us now to clean and work on the details of each dance and really build stamina before we are under the castle,” Harper said.
Outside of the studio, the captains and coaches additionally assign homework for the team to do in order for them to visualize and understand their goals. On top of many hours in the studio, the girls are assigned at-home workouts, film watching, and are told to take notes on what they see on film. The coaches give them mindset podcasts to listen to, in order to be sure that their head is in the right place before competing.
“Once a week we do ‘Wednesday Words’ or ‘Thursday Thoughts’ and give each other affirmations to strengthen our mindsets,” Rice said.
The girls bring both a Pom and Jazz dance to Nationals, which has allowed the team to push themselves as they focus on different aspects of each dance. Their jazz dance is choreographed by Ricky Ruiz, who has previously choreographed for National Champions Coral Reef High School and The Ohio State University. Their Jazz dance this year is called “Outro,” with the storyline being about the team fighting together on a battlefield.
“It’s really meaningful as a senior for it to be named ‘Outro.’ There are 8 seniors this year so it’s very special having our dance symbolize one last battle with this team,” Harper said.
The girls have had recent success with their Pom dance at NSC Conference last weekend. It was the first time in 10 years that the team had won. The NSC Conference is highly competitive at it mixes all school sizes and styles of dance.
“Anytime the girls do well, the instant reward is to see their confidence. It’s a very difficult sport when you only get a few opportunities to compete. The affirmation and confidence boost means a lot to the team, and as a coach, watching the girls get to feel that their hard work does pay off,” McNicholas said.
Additionally, junior Josie Irvin received the NSC Sportsmanship Award shortly after the team received first place.
“I’m so glad I was able to make a good impression on this team and spread positivity. Our energy after winning conference is so good right now, and I want to try and maintain that and just leave it all on the floor at Nationals,” Irvin said.
The team leaves for Nationals on Thursday, and begins their weekend in the Semifinals round. If they score high enough, they will be able to qualify for the UDA National Finals.
“When it comes down to it we’re just proud of the team for the whole season and how everyone has continued to show up for each other. Being able to get to this point is an accomplishment in itself,” Harper said.
