On Sunday, Jan. 15, the Hofstra University dance team earned their 10th-ever national championship after placing first in the Division I Game Day at the Universal Dance Association (UDA) College Nationals at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
In each of the past three years, Hofstra had placed second at the UDA Nationals in the game day routine. This year, though, the national stage belonged to the Pride.
“One of my favorite routines I’ve ever done is the game day routine we did this year,” said junior Isabella LoBue. “As a team, we knew we had to level up from last year, so this year we went in with a different fire for that routine.”
The routine was choreographed by Dani Eustice and April Gallagher and featured the Pride’s fight song, chant, sideline and performance routines back-to-back. From the moment the team heard the music, they fell in love, because the two-minute routine felt like a party on stage, allowing the team to show their “versatility in hip hop and how we excel” in the rest of the dance, LoBue said.
Senior Gabriella Marinelli said that this routine in particular taught them “how to really engage with our crowd to make it feel like they were sitting in the Mack Arena.”
The best part of the game day routine for head coach Kelly Olsen-Leon, who was on the Hofstra dance team from 1999 to 2003 and began coaching them directly after, was the opportunity to watch her team have fun and enjoy what they were doing on the UDA Nationals stage. Olsen-Leon doesn’t measure her team’s success by the number of trophies they win but by the amount of fun they have competing for them.
“I love seeing them come off the floor feeling proud of what they did and being proud of the hard work they put in to get them to that point,” Olsen-Leon said. “I want to make it not only about winning but about building the whole person and developing everyone to be ready to excel in the real world.”
LoBue felt like the team was able to do exactly that.
“We were really proud of what we put out there,” LoBue said. “Coming home from nationals this year, regardless of placements, we were really proud.”
When the Pride learned they’d be continuing on to the finals round of Division I Game Day, the entire team “was just freaking out,” said freshman Emma Velleca. Then, finding out they took home first prize made the UDA Nationals stage truly feel like the happiest place on Earth.
“The fact that we won it in my senior year and as our 10th title just means a lot to me,” Marinelli said.
Even after this year’s UDA Nationals, the team is already starting to prepare for next year’s competition by learning what they can do better. You don’t win 10 national championships without preparing extensively for competitions. Over the winter intersession, the team practiced tirelessly in the Fitness Center for 14 days straight from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
“Fourteen days might seem like a lot of time, but when you look at a dance, there are so many counts that go into it that you need to make sure that everyone is on point with, so many skills that we have to perfect,” Marinelli said. “The Hofstra University dance team is known for the amount and difficulty of the skills within the routine, so we have to make sure that every single one of us in the routine is set and solid with it.”
The Hofstra University dance team competed in two other major categories at UDA Nationals: Pom and Jazz. Luckily, the Pride entered both competitions with experience, having previously won national titles in each category.
“Typically, we are defending a Pom title and are really well known for Hofstra Pom,” LoBue said. “Getting to finally be in the Pom routine made me feel like I’ve finally made it as a member as the Hofstra team.”
The Hofstra dance team ranked second in the nation for their Pom routine, choreographed by Dan Sapp. The choreography was intense, with countless flips, splits and jumps, leaving the team hip-over-head for the majority of the routine. The routine showcased the Pride’s athleticism, power and confidence in the Pom style.
“I miss it already and wish I could do it right now,” Velleca said.
For the jazz category, the team’s performance was in the lyrical style, which many of the dancers grew up learning but don’t have the opportunity to perform while competing for college dance team.
“Every year the routines are great,” Olsen-Leon said. “This year there was something about the three of them being so different, and the team excelling at each. As a coach, that was the best part to watch.”
Each year, the Hofstra dance team selects a hashtag to represent their motto for the season. Given that this year’s motto was #EarnIt, it’s safe to say the team followed their mantra to the tee.
“I think this team in particular, the 2022 to 2023 team, is a very special team,” LoBue said. “We’re the team that was able to make history for Hofstra by earning a championship in a whole new category that we’ve never won before. We’re the dream team.”
Photo courtesy of the Hofstra dance team
