U of M Dance Team grows its dynasty with viral performance at nationals
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For the second-straight year, the University of Minnesota Dance Team won a national title at the College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships, which were held this past weekend in Florida.
The Gophers took top billing in Division 1A pom. But it was the team’s second-place finish in the jazz competition that earned even more notoriety, after videos of their performance garnered awe-struck comments and millions of views on social media.
That performance featured 20 dancers spinning and leaping in perfect synchronicity, dancing a routine they choreographed themselves to Aerosmith’s “Dream On” — the same song the team danced to 20 years ago in 2004, the year the U’s dance team secured its first back-to-back national championship.
“So that song had a lot of meaning to our program, and to the legacy of our team. And so we were really excited to get to pay tribute to that with a self-choreographed routine,” said coach Amanda Gaines.
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The Gophers dance team has grown into a dynasty over the past 20 years. This was the school’s 10th national title in the pom competition, and 22nd title overall. It won both the pom and jazz titles last year. Gaines said the team has won first or second in jazz every year for the past 20 years, often swapping spots with Ohio State University, another perennial power, which secured the top spot in jazz this year.
But despite all the success of the program over the past two decades, this is by far the most attention the team has ever received after winning a title, Gaines said. Social media has helped generate excitement among more casual fans.
“The fact that we’re kind of gaining fans real time, not just for Minnesota, but for collegiate dance team in general, I think it’s just really cool,” Gaines said.
Ironically, the longtime coach, who has been part of the program since she made the team as an 18-year-old first-year student, said she actually deleted TikTok from her phone before the competition began. And she encouraged team members to avoid social media.
Annie Keiper, a 22-year-old senior from Maple Grove, is one of seven seniors on the team. She said she and her teammates refrained from social media to “avoid the commentary,” which she said can sometimes “mess with their mental state.”
But over the weekend, even those who were avoiding social media heard that videos of the competition — and their jazz routine in particular — was going viral.
“We realized on Saturday that our aerial turn we did in our dance was blowing up. That was awesome. It was super cool to see,” Keiper said.
Gaines said the routine features an especially difficult turn combination that she doesn’t think has ever been performed on the national championship stage before, executed with precise uniformity.
“These kids are incredible athletes and incredible artists, too. I think that something that’s really cool about college dance team, is you really get to blend the athleticism and the artistry of dance,” Gaines said.
Keiper said the strong finish was a reward for the hours of work she and her teammates dedicate to their craft. She said before leaving for Orlando, they practiced for seven hours a day for an entire week, “just focused on cleaning the dance, making sure all our angles look good.”
She credits a positive culture to the team’s longstanding success, saying teammates live together and support and trust one another.
According to Gaines, most people associate the dance team with the roles they play supporting Gopher athletics, including the high-profile football and basketball teams. But Gaines said that’s only a small part of what the team does.
“The reason dancers are coming to Minnesota, and the reason we’re recruiting dancers to Minnesota, is because of our competitive endeavors.”
Twenty years ago, she said most dancers came from Minnesota. Now she recruits from across the country, although many student-athletes continue to come from Minnesota, which boasts a strong high school dance team tradition.
The dancers do not qualify for athletic scholarships. Gaines said the team is grouped under an umbrella at the university known as the Spirit Squad, which also includes cheer teams and mascots.
She said there’s a movement among dance teams to be sanctioned by the NCAA, which would allow dancers to earn athletic scholarships.
“They’re putting in hours and hours and hours of practice per week, without some of the financial support around campus that other fellow athletes get.”
She said for her and other coaches, a long-term goal is continue to get more recognition, and more funding, for dance teams.
For, Annie Keiper, she’s proud to end her college dance career on top.
“I am truly so proud. I was so shocked when we were called first. I’m so proud of our team. It’s really cool to have our last year, get that national championship, and create more memories.”