September 24, 2010

On Tuesday April 9th the UC San Diego Dance Team traveled to Daytona, Florida to compete in the NCA & NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship. The team arrived in Orlando late Tuesday night and took a bus to Daytona Beach. The next day they checked in with the competition and received the performance order for the next day. The team spent most of the day practicing in a hotel ballroom, determined to make the routine as perfect as possible.

After waking up at 5 am on Thursday, the team did their makeup and hair, put on their costumes and headed out. The team walked to the convention center, where the official practice area was located, and stretched. Each team had approximately 10 minutes at each station in the practice area; stretching, turning floor, and the big practice floor. As soon their turn was finished in the practice room, the dance team was lead to the Peabody Auditorium.

This was the location of the preliminary round that determined whether each team would make it straight into the final competition or whether they would have to compete in the Challenge Cup. Only the top 50% of the teams in each category make it straight into finals. The remaining 50% must compete again later in the day for one final spot in the finals competition.

The team was confident as they walked onto stage to perform for the audience and judges. Throughout the routine the audience cheered the dance team on. As they exited the stage, each team member felt they had performed their best. After the performance, the team went into the audience to watch other routines and wait for their score. Everyone on the team was excited when the announcer said that they had scored high enough to make it straight into finals. The team was finished for the day and went back to their hotel to relax until finals the next day.

The next day was finals and the Dance Team began to get ready, just as they did for prelims. Once again, the team walked to the practice area and went through each practice stage for 10 minutes until it was their time to go perform. The team was led to a different performance area for finals and huddled backstage just before they were about to perform. The feelings of excitement and confidence were contagious. Once their name was called, the team took the stage. They performed the best that they could, knowing that this was the last time they would be doing this dance. After the performance the team waited nervously until the awards ceremony.

Everyone from the Open Dance II Division lined up backstage before awards and awaited their awards ceremony. Finally it was time. All of the teams sat on the stage and listened as the teams were called last to first place. The team was very happy when they received 7th overall out of all 15 teams that had competed in the same category.

The team was very proud that all of their hard work paid off. This year was extremely successful because of their effort put in by all of the team members, especially captains Jannike Avila and Lindsey Oleary. They are two of the most talented girls that inspire the rest of the team to always perform their best. This was a great year and the team is looking forward to the many years to come.