During January of 2024, in Orlando, Florida, the Universal Dance Association National Championships began. 300 Universities competed in the UDA National Championships of 2024. All the teams wanting to enter this competition had to have participated in one of the three following activities to be qualified: all superior UDA trophy winners with five or more team members, all home routine trophy winners with five or more members in the overnight camp, or any teams attending a varsity branded camp could qualify to compete. So, in simpler terms, the college dance teams had to participate in a dance camp that lasted two or more days. This camp had to be run by the company Varsity to qualify for the national championship.
At these camps, the teams have to learn and perform a dance number that they are then later evaluated on by varsity. The teams also attend technical training to help them get ready for the competition. Each of the schools were in multiple categories that consisted of two different levels, Division One and Division One A. The categories were based on the types of dance being done. The categories were as follows: D1A jazz, D1 jazz, D1A hip hop, D1 hip hop, D1A pom, D1 pom, and even game day. In each of these categories, there is an overall winner.
Starting off with hip hop, Louisiana State University won first place in the D1A category, reclaiming their national title after making history in 2022 by dancing to “Like a Boy” by Ciara, going viral on all social media platforms, and making history yet again in 2024 by dancing to “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson. Both routines completely changed the hip-hop category, and Louisiana State University is now a well-known competitor.
In the Pom and Jazz D1A category, Ohio State University and the University of Minnesota have been neck-in-neck for years, going back and forth with the national championship titles. This year, both teams went viral with their jazz routines, Ohio dancing to “My Way” by Frank Sinatra and Minnesota dancing to “Dream On” by Aerosmith. Ohio brought passion and emotion to the stage, while Minnesota brought terrific technical skills. Ohio ended up bringing home the D1A Jazz title, reclaiming their title after Minnesota’s clean sweep at last year’s Championship.
While fighting for the title, Ohio State top girl and senior Marley Blanchard injured her foot just days before the competition, ultimately powering through and leading the team to victory. Minnesota fought to defend their title alongside Maesi Caes, a former member of the hit TV show Dance Moms. Maesi is currently a freshman on the team, and social media was rooting for her to take home the win this year.
Besides Jazz, we saw both teams fight for the D1A Pom National Title, ultimately going home with the University of Minnesota in the end! That leaves top competitors Ohio State and Minnesota each with national championships and even more fire in the competition in 2025.
In the D1 category, we see various Smithtown West Alumni taking the Game Day, Jazz, and Pom category by storm!
This year, we saw Hofstra University reclaim their national title in Pom and become runners-up in Jazz! Although their Pom was beyond amazing, we saw something extraordinary and different in their Jazz routine, and we look forward to seeing what some of our very own alums have in store for the years to come!
UDA College Nationals has taken social media by storm, and we predict it will continue to fuel and inspire dancers all around the world for many years to come. This publicity has allowed dance to grow as a sport and become recognized by many people. As more famous dancers join College Dance Teams, each category grows, and the overall love for dance rises immensely.