April 24, 2008

For the 5th year, the Miami University Dance Team competed in the annual National Dance Alliance (NDA) Collegiate Championship Competition on April 10, 2008 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Despite a strong performance, the team was unable to move past the preliminary competition to compete in finals and defend their 5th place national ranking.

Twenty-two Division 1A teams took the stage on Thursday, April 10 to compete for the national title. Of the 22 competing, the top 11 scoring teams advanced to the final competition held on Friday, April 11. Miami was ranked 13th after the preliminary competition. The bottom 11 scoring teams performed again in the Challenge Cup Competition on Thursday evening for a chance to compete in finals. The highest scoring team in the competition would advance. Miami competed against teams including the University of Louisville, Purdue University, Ohio State University, Virginia Tech University and Clemson University. Unfortunately, Miami finished a close second place to Clemson University in the Challenge Cup.

Seven days prior to the competition, the dance team faced a tremendous obstacle. Senior and captain, Shoko Yoshitake, was taken to McCullough Hyde hospital after collapsing at practice. It was decided, for her safety, that she would not perform at the national competition. The team was challenged to revamp the national's routine with only ten members - making Miami the smallest dance team at the competition.

The team worked well together during its final week in Oxford before the competition. Members were required to learn new formations and choreography in order to help camouflage the "hole" that was created by Yoshitake's absence. Each member was willing make adjustments to a routine that was embedded in their minds and bodies for the past three months. Team members and Coach, Eloiza Domingo-Snyder, were satisfied with the final routine that would be performed in Daytona Beach.

Miami was set apart as the smallest and youngest team in the competition. Performing with only 10 dancers, the national's team was made up of three freshmen, three sophomores, three juniors and one senior. This is a dramatic difference from the 2008 national championship team, the Louisville Ladybirds, who performed with 20 dancers.

The competition concluded on Friday at the Band Shell, located on the beach. Miami was present to cheer on the finalists. The results from the competition are listed below.

For more information on the competition and to view the Miami University Dance Team's preliminary performance, visit http://www.varsity.com/Index.asp?article=3792.
Tryouts for the 2008-2009 Miami University Dance Team will be held at Millett on April 25-27.