Michigan Dance Teams Wins Two UDA National Titles in Virtual Competition
4/27/2021 6:30:00 PM | Spirit Department
• Results
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The University of Michigan dance team captured a pair of United Dance Association (UDA) national titles, taking home top honors in the College Virtual competition in the Division IA jazz and hip-hop categories.
The virtual competition, for teams that could not travel to Orlando for the UDA College Dance Team National Championship, was held April 11-27, with results announced Tuesday (April 27).
Finals saw the Maize and Blue beat the University of Miami in the Division IA hip-hop category with a total score of 91.15. In the jazz category, U-M scored a 92.4875 to finish more than two points ahead of second-place Florida State (90.1875).
Following semifinals, U-M sat in first in the hip-hop division with a raw score of 92.30 and led the jazz category with a mark of 92.175.
The squad submitted its semifinal video on April 11 and filmed again on April 18 for semifinals. The finals video was shot on April 20 and sent in for judging. Scores focused on execution, choreography, showmanship, technique and synchronization. Half of the semifinal score was applied to the team score for finals.
"My number one goal for this season was to create a positive, healthy environment for the team," said head coach Valerie Stead Potsos. "They spent most of their days on Zoom for classes and I wanted every practice to be fun and to be bright light in their day. We worked hard, but we made sure that we had fun too. There is so much resilience in every one of these members and their work ethic is truly the key to our success. They put the work in outside of practice and they watched videos.  The goal was continuous improvement each day. This is my 20th season coaching the University of Michigan Dance Team and winning two national championships is truly incomprehensible! We just put in the work every day, were disciplined about our goals and never gave up.  I am so incredibly proud of these student athletes. I am so thankful to our athletic department for their continued support in helping us achieve our goals. This was certainly a season to remember!"
The UDA virtual competition completed an intense stretch of training for the Michigan team over the last several months while undergoing the same COVID-19 protocols as all varsity student-athletes at U-M.
