Blog

Team: University of Hawaii Rainbow Warrior Dancers
Director/Head Coach: Maryssa Carr
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Style: Gameday Cheer

Go Huskies!

Out of Connecticut, the UConn Dance Team both supports their school as well as competes for their own glory!  At school, they rally the crowd at the University of Connecticut for the Huskie fans at football and basketball games.

On the dance competition floor, the team brings out their more technical side at the NDA National Championships. Most years, the team competes with two different routines, and in 2015 the team placed 5^th at the NDA College Nationals with an amazing hip hop routine!

University of Kansas Rock Chalk Dancers

Summer can be a time to relax and take some time off before the school year starts - but not for college dance teams! Teams start practice right when summer begins and kick off their season by attending camp: either a  "home camp" where instructors come to the team, or traveling to a larger camp like UDA and NDA's camps where other teams also attend.  It's the perfect way to jumpstart the season with choreography and ideas, while also building team commraderie. 

Here are some of our amazing customers who recently kicked of their season in style at camp - looking great, ladies!

 

This fall, the University of Minnesota Duluth Dance Team shared their new game day look with us, and we recently caught up with them again after they competed at NDA Championships this month! The team had an amazing performance at college nationals, finishing runner up in Division II Team Performance!

Finding Inspiration in 'Revolution'

UMD Captain Melanie explained the concept behind their routine this season:

"For our dance this year our theme was queen bee, which turned into the concept of 'revolution.' We had the idea of being fierce and confident women. It was incorporated in our choreography and costumes by adding strong, sharp movements and moments where we could feed off of each other's energy. We added in a lot of team breaths to increase the intensity of our jazz section."

"The costumes have a sassy fierce look to them which completely added to our theme! The music was powerful and emphasized all the movements that we wanted to be strong, and it flowed where we wanted it to be smooth," Melanie said.

The combination of feminine lace and and bold back straps on this custom dance costume definitely portrays the fierce and confident female look they were going for!

A little over a week ago, one of our favorite customers, The Louisville Ladybirds, conquered the NDA College Championships with two very big wins: Division 1A Team Performance AND Division 1A Hip Hop. So what inspired this team to totally rule the NDA stage all weekend?  Coach Todd Sharp from the Ladybirds gave us the scoop:

This past weekend, college dance teams from all over the country came together in Daytona, Florida to compete at the NDA Collegiate Dance Championship, and man, it was a show!

We were so proud to have outfitted many of the extraordinary teams who danced their hearts out at Peabody Auditorium and The Bandshell. The costumes were eye-catching and we loved seeing them in action!

One of the greatest benefits of working in the dancewear business is the opportunity to work with amazing teams and watch them grow and change over the years. And that's certainly true when it comes to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Gold Rush Dance Team. What’s especially great about this team is that these girls know what they want – and what did they want this year? Eye-catching sparkle!

We've worked with the University of St. Thomas Dance Team (USTDT) for a while now, and it's always exciting to see what inspiration they bring us each summer! From elegant to edgy, the team always seems to fully bring their chosen theme to life. This year was no exception!

Finding Inspiration

USTDT found inspiration for their jazz routine from one very strong woman: Ronda Rousey. Rousey - an American mixed martial artist, UFC Champion, and Judo Olympian - was ranked the most "dominant" active athlete in 2015, man or woman. The team connected with her story of strength and pride, rise against the odds, and female empowerment. Their goal for their 2015-2016 season? Push the limits, just like Rousey, and have a routine & costume they hadn't seen before.

Congrats to all of the college teams who competed in UDA Nationals this past weekend! We're so proud to have created competition costumes for such talented teams; University of St. Thomas, North Dakota State University, Rutgers University, Arkansas State University, University of Kansas, St. John's University and Bridgewater State University. You all looked fabulous!

It's always fun to catch up with coaches to hear about their team and their vision for the season! We got a chance to chat with Mo Marmesh, coach of the University of Nebraska- Omaha Dance Team and hear about their new uniforms and their 2015-2016 goals.