UNH dance team takes third at nationals

Despite having limited resources, UNH dance team ranked third for their first time in the 2010 College Universal Dance and Cheer Association's National Championship over winter break.

The UNH dance team competed in pom and jazz routine events at the National Dance and Cheer Association's national event at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. They ended the competition ranked third and 21st, the highest ranking in UNH dance team history.

To the average person, pom and cheerleading would seem one and the same but there is a key difference.  Cheerleading involves cheering while pom is ‘dance with poms.'
UNH's ranking came as a surprise to other Division I colleges because of their miniscule budget and lack of coaching staff, according to the dance team member Erica D. Millet.

"Since we don't have the resources other teams have, (such as) multiple coaches, huge budgets, and conditioning coaches, we kind of fly under the radar at nationals… until we came in third," said Millet.

Millet went on to explain how dance participants are prone to injury and the dance team can't afford a personal trainer who can provide assistance in medical emergencies. She mentioned dance teammember Kelly Anthony's knee injury.  Anthony, an undeclared freshman, has been dancing for 16 years but a torn ACL will keep her on the sidelines for the remainder of the season.

UNH provides $5,000 to the club yet the national competition costs an estimated $15,000.  Though these funds are insufficient, it is the average budget for each club team.

Other forms of fundraising come from local businesses, family members, dance team fan brackets, and public appearances, but inevitably team members make up the difference.
A dance clinic will be provided by the UNH dance team for a modest fee to teach students who wish to learn a few moves of their own and take it to the clubs. 

"If you buy our bracelets, think of yourself as part of the team," said Brianna Kounelas, senior captain and accounting major.

The dance team will be performing at the Hair show as a fundraiser for the New Hampshire Food Bank, performing a routine similar to the ones they perform at basketball games. The Dance Team also extends their services to events and fundraisers seeking live entertainment. 

"It might make them feel weird if we ask them to perform at their games," said Millet. "They don't have to feel weird asking us because… we would like to."

All members of the dance team have been dancing since the age of six or younger. 
The club team is given one or two minutes per dance to showcase their team, which means diligent work starting in October. Work consists of practicing four hours a week following after their home basketball games.  Their routine must be perfected over three months of continuous eight-count timing in countless repetition.

"You listen to the same song on repeat, correcting your timing, turning, jumping, flipping," said Alicia Bloucher, junior captain and family studies major. "Eventually, it feels torturous."

Yet, the dancers complete their workouts with smiles on their faces.

"You need to hit all your moves and stay with the music all with a huge smile on your face in front of thousands of people," said Millet.  "It's actually thrilling."

The national competition's dance floor showcased 14 of the teams 20 active members while two out of the 14 were recovering from a broken hand and a broken foot. 

The team practices three days per week during the season following their basketball game performances, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.  Their practices must take place late at night because the cycle classes occupy the room all day. 

"It is horrible when you want to sleep or work," said Bloucher. 

The conditioning is vital to surviving the judge's scrutiny.

The dances are judged based on the team's choreography, difficulty, technique, group execution, synchronization, formations, creativity, body control, projection, and overall impression.

This year's routines are available for preview online at the Universal and Dance and Cheer Association's websites.  The pom routine that won the bronze medal was performed to A. R. Rahman's "Slumdog Millionaire" soundtrack. 

"We want to show off our skills but we have to do the ‘crowd pleasers," said Millet.