![]() Kristina Monsen’s love for the squad dates back to her high school days. “We don’t screw up in the first half and get to redeem ourselves in the second, so what we really try to do is make ourselves better every single minute of every practice.”Īnd some young women dream of being part of the powerhouse. “We get two minutes out on the floor and we don’t get any second chances,” Sutter, a team captain, said. The team won a pom title Sunday - its eighth national title in a row. It’s now commonplace for a team to perform to one song. They were the first to perform a jazz routine using one song in 2002 - a move head coach Amanda Gaines called “groundbreaking.”īy 2003, dance teams across the country followed suit. The team’s national success stretches beyond awards. Since the Universal Dance Association split its 1A dance division into jazz and pom categories in 2010, the University’s team has taken first in pom every year. Of the team’s 18 national title wins since 2003, 12 were double title wins in jazz and pom, 10 of which came in five consecutive seasons. The University’s team also took home three world champion awards as Team USA. The University of Minnesota dance team dates back to the 1960s, though it didn’t reach its apex until the early 2000s. Sweating, tired and nearing a seventh hour of dance that day, Jenna Meyers looked at her 17 teammates and replied: “It felt for each other.” “So, how did that feel?” Mundt asked the group afterward. There’s no desire to sit still.Īfter two hours of pom practice, Mundt, the team’s jazz choreographer, instructs the women to perform their jazz routine, simulating the team’s movements from their backstage huddle to their choreographed walk-off. Dancers help each other perfect turns or jumps. Jazz, however, is slower, and composed of lyrical movements charged with deep emotion.īreaks in practice are anything but. Pom is fast-paced, energetic, and reminiscent of what fans see performed on football sidelines - complete with playful facial expressions and sharp movements. ![]() Coaches and choreographers can spend up to half an hour fixing one minor detail, like spacing, which is worth 10 points of their total score. The team rehearses two routines: The first, jazz, the other, pom - which resembles cheerleading.Īfter some stretching, the team jumps into its pom routine. “To be able to represent that as a team, that’s one of the best things.”ĭancers begin their second practice of the day at 6 p.m. “ don’t really know individual dancers on the team, but they know Minnesota, as a whole,” said senior captain Kelsey Sutter. Outside personal growth, current and former team members say they’re proud to run in sync. The team’s coaches, assistant coach Ashley Hanne and head coach Amanda Gaines, are both team alumnae. Women who graduate from the program often find success in post-college dancing. Still, despite the team’s winning streak, dancers have to pay minute expenses to compete and perform. Team leaders say the University’s athletics department provides as much moral and financial support as they can. To get there, it takes a minimum of eight hours of practice each week, upped to 30 hours in the weeks leading up to nationals.Īnd before that, high school dancers hone their moves in the studio and on their school dance teams in preparation for moving on to college teams like the University’s. The 18-member squad has dominated the college dance world since 2002, bringing home international awards and leading nationwide changes to how dance teams compete. The team won its 17th and 18th national first place finishes at the Universal Dance Association’s College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship Sunday. The dancers are most publicly seen on the sidelines of football and basketball games, but behind the scenes, they’re working toward international recognition. The song ends, and a handful of the women shed tears of emotion. ![]() Every few seconds, they shout another teammate’s name in motivation. The women open their eyes and begin their jazz routine - every moment is orchestrated, even the exhales.įor two minutes, dancers perform in place with locked eyes and intertwined hands. “Think of what you want to happen, not what could happen,” the team’s longtime jazz choreographer, Karl Mundt, instructs.Ī coach hits the stereo’s “play” button. The women face each other, eyes shut, visualizing a first place win at college nationals. in early January, the building is otherwise silent. Gathered at the center of a basketball court in the Bierman Field Athletic Building, the University of Minnesota’s dance team prepares to enter its seventh hour of practice.Īt 8 p.m.
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