In the state of Minnesota, sports fans are quite used to high hopes in the beginning of the season, which is usually followed by disappointment and defeat. There is one exception to this typical Minnesota sports trend: The University of Minnesota Dance Team. Around a week and a half ago, the University of Minnesota Dance Team secured their 21st championship since the year 2003. For the record, that is 21 more championships than all five professional Minnesota sports teams since 2003. 

For those asking, “How can a team win 21 championships in 20 years?” or “How is that possible?,” the answer is rather simple – there are different categories of dance. The dance team won two national championships this year, taking the top place in Division 1A Pom and Jazz. This is the 8th year in a row that the Minnesota Dance Team secured top place in this category. To top that, it is the 6th time that the team took first place in Pom and Jazz in the same year.

Although there are different categories for dance styles within the championship competition, winning 2 of the 3 dance categories is an impressive feat alone. The 3 categories to compete for the Division 1A category are Pom, Jazz, and Hip-Hop. For pom, the dance team earned a final score of 99.1499. In the jazz category, the final score for the team was 97.087. With the highest possible score being 100, these scores emphasize the excellency that the dance team performed to. Links to the dance team’s performances can be found here: Jazz and Pom. While the University of Minnesota dance team absolutely killed their dance routines, UNLV ended up taking first place in the Hip-Hop category with a final score of 99.1014 (the link to that performance can be found here).

Even with the University of  Minnesota taking 2 of the 3 titles in the Division 1A category, other Minnesota colleges earned championship titles in the Division 1 league. Minnesota State Mankato took the title for open Pom, with a final score of 95.1884. The link to that performance can be found here. University of Minnesota-Duluth took home the title under the open Jazz category, with a final score of 94.4203. The link to their performance can be found here. The state of Minnesota may be used to defeat when it comes to the big 5 sports, but Minnesota dance teams have taken it upon themselves to bring glory to the state with a plethora of dance championships. 

The University dance team has 6 seniors. The team also welcomed the first male member to the dance team ever, Mathew Greco. In a CBS article about the dance team, Greco said “It feels a little cool to be the first guy, I won’t lie,” (CBS News). Men on dance teams have been growing more popular within the last 20 years, so it will be very interesting to see how more men on dance teams will pan out, and if men will someday have their own category for dance too. 

One University of Minnesota student, Karly Lamareaux, had to say this about the Dance team’s success “I loved watching the Minnesota dance team perform their Jazz routine at nationals. Kendrick Lamar’s song, “Mr. Morale,” is an intense song with quick beats, and big flow changes and their dance aligned with it beautifully and made it look effortless.” It is easy to see how the dance team can build off of this energy for the years to come.

University dance teams have grown more popular as time goes on, and it will be very exciting to see what championships this University and state can bring home. The path to success seems to be laid down by former dance team members who are now the coaches. Just remember, if you are still upset about the Minnesota Vikings crushing defeat, we always will have successful dance teams to cheer us up with success.