The SNHU dance team participated at the United Spirit Association Collegiate Nationals on February 25-26 in Anaheim, CA. The team finished fifth in scoring.
Graduate student Jackie Allen (‘23), a member of the dance team, spoke on what it was like to compete at nationals and the impact the experience had on her and the team.
“Walking into nationals was surreal….There were teams there from all over the world that we got to watch which was really cool,” said Allen.
She spoke on the experience and what it meant to members, acknowledging the nerves.
“The last time the SNHU dance team went to nationals was [in] 2019. Nobody on our current team had ever competed at a collegiate nationals, so it was definitely intimidating at first….We definitely knew we had to work extremely [hard] and stick together as a team,” said Allen.
While the competition proved to be intense for the team, that did not take away from the fun they had while competing.
“The competition itself was so fun. We got to compete two times; the first was prelims and then the last day was finals. We worked so hard throughout the year to make it to that stage, and it was the best feeling,” said Allen.
To get to nationals, the team knew they needed a special season and needed to connect as a unit, rather than focus on individual performance. A captain of the dance team, Chloe Duchesneau (‘24), spoke on the experience.
“The chemistry on the team is absolutely insane. In California, we were constantly laughing, and morale was always wicked high. We all work so well together, and you can see it when we dance,” said Duchesneau.
She noted that while they earned their place at the competition, SNHU dance was one of the smaller teams.
“Walking into the Anaheim Conference Center as a tiny team of nine and walking by teams of like twenty to thirty dancers was definitely intimidating,” said Duchesneau. “We walked in with our heads held high and just worked hard to hold our own.”
Duchesneau discussed what it feels like to be ranked among the best in the nation, and how rewarding that is to the entire team.
“The feeling of being nationally ranked is an absolute dream….I am so proud of my team as one of [the] captains, and I can’t wait to see what we do next year,” said Duchesneau.
