The St. Thomas dance team poses with their two championship trophies. The team won two national championships for the second year in a row this past January. (University of St. Thomas Dance Team)
The St. Thomas dance team took home its second straight double national championship at the UCA & UDA College Cheerleading & Dance Team National Championship Jan. 17-19 in Orlando, Fla.
This year, the team competed in the hip-hop and jazz competitions of the national championship.
“It’s literally indescribable,” sophomore dancer Anne Jackson said. “I wish I could put it into words, but hearing our names called on that stage as you’re literally all huddled with 20 of your best friends, it’s a feeling I can’t describe, like we’re all still on cloud nine.”
Unlike other sports, which have a number of competitions throughout the year, the dance team only has one chance to show their work for the season.
“Nationals is our one time,” Jackson said. “That’s our only time to hit it and that’s what makes it so special.”
There are three different routines at nationals that schools can compete in: pom, hip-hop and jazz. Each participating school chooses two routines to compete with, and each team starts at 100 points for each number, with points being deducted from there. After the final routine, the team with the highest amount left in the final competition wins.
“That’s not super common that you win both divisions two years in a row,” first-year dancer Libbie Yung said. “It’s so crazy…so we were so proud of ourselves.”
Coach Julia Harris, a former member of the dance team, has led the team for two years, making her an undefeated coach.
“I couldn’t be more proud and there’s no other team that I would want to coach,” Harris said. “It’s where I am, where I won national championships and I just give everything to the team because it’s such a special part of my life.”
St. Thomas took first place in the jazz finals over Minnesota State University-Mankato and took first in hip-hop over West Chester University in Pennsylvania, and by a large margin.
“We won by over two points in the finals round in both dances,” Jackson said. “That’s a huge margin because normally you only win by like (a third of a point).”
The team knew immediately after doing their dances that they gave it their best shot and had no regrets coming off the floor.
“We knew we gave it our all, so in that moment we didn’t care what award we ended up with–we would be happy no matter what,” Jackson said. “It’s why we do it and it’s why we show up to practice.”
Justin Amaker can be reached at justin.amaker@stthomas.edu.