The UMass Dance Team Blog

Want to be a member of the 2011-2012 Umass Dance Team? Here’s your chance!

We are holding spring auditions for the 2011-2012 season:

When: Sunday, May 1st 2011 @ 2pm

Where: Curry Hicks Cage (Click here for a detailed map of campus)

During auditions you will have to show us a triple pirouette, fouettes, turns in second, side leap, toe touch, and a switch leap. We would also love to see any other advance skills that you may have such as a leg extension, a switch strattle, quarter fouettes, any gymnastic skills, etc. Keep in mind, the more advanced skills we see, the better. We will also be teaching you two combinations, therefore you do not need to come prepared with your own routine. Although we do have additional tryouts in the fall, we strongly encourage you to audition in the spring. The reason for this is that if you do not make it this time around you have a second chance to be apart of the 2011-2012 season team!

Being a member of this team requires hard work and commitment but it all pays off when we perform at UMass games and even more so when we travel to Daytona, Florida for NDA Nationals in Spring!

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions webpage for details about auditions.

If you have any other questions you can email our practice captain, Brigid: beeoh23@gmail.com

We have officially made UMass Amherst dance team history! Placing second in the NDA championships, we could not be more ecstatic. Although we are extremely proud of our accomplishment, there were, of course, some bumps in the road along the way. While dancing on the finals stage, about one a half minutes into our routine the music had shut off. Keeping the rules of performing in mind, every one of us kept dancing. The music was silenced and the crowd was screaming but we all focused our attention onto our captain yelling the counts, allowing us to stay in unison. Luckily we were allowed to perform our routine one more time. We caught our breathes and gave the routine all we had for a second time. Despite this mishap, we captured an innovative choreography award and second place overall for division 1 schools!

The UMass dance team has been attending NDA for a few years now and this is the best we have ever placed. Some teams in the past have recieved 3rd place but never pushed it to 2nd. We are growing stronger each year and have proven to be on the same competitive level as the top division 1 dance teams. Excitied and ready to work hard, we will return next year even more strong!

If you would like to check out our routine at finals, click here and search University of Massachusetts!

Check out our photo gallery page for more pictures from Daytona!

After a year of preparation, our annual national competition is only a couple of days away! Extremely ecstatic and full of nerves, we’ve worked harder than ever this semester and are ready to take home the trophy. Before we board the plane and fly off to Daytona Beach, FL, we still have one more performance, “The Exhibition.”  The Exhibition, better known as our Friends and Family event, is a chance for us to show off our hard work and perform our full nationals routine for those who won’t be with us in Florida. This event is not only for us but also for the UMass cheerleaders, as they will also be competing in Florida.

When: Sunday, April 5th 2009, 5pm-7pm

Where: The Curry Hicks Cage at UMass Amherst (Campus Map)

Photo: UMass Dance Team and UMass Cheerleaders in Daytona Beach, FL last year.

It will be an event you won’t want to miss!

This friday night, the UMass dance team will be holding a fundraiser at the Pub. We are leaving for Daytona for our National Competition in a few days and still need a little financial help. If you are 21 or older come out and join us at the pub for a fun time!

Haven’t seen us perform in awhile? Here’s your chance!

Come out and support us tonight at the festival of the arts! We will be performing part of our nationals routine in the Student Union at 9:30 PM. Other talented teams from UMass will be performing as well. It will be an exciting and entertaining night that you won’t want to miss!

We are back with the start of spring semester and also with our countdown to NDA nationals in Daytona FL.! With a new coach, new choreographers, new attitudes and a new year, you can say we are a new team. Ready and willing to work harder than ever, we are going for the gold!

Our next local performance is Wednesday, February 4th at the home UMass Men’s Basketball Game. Come out and support us!

Meet Cait:

1. What is your nickname?
Cait or fierce #1 or c-style

2. What is your guilty pleasure?
Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby

3. What is your favorite place on campus and why?
The southwest basketball courts in the summer when all the guy have no shirts on…and the cage obviously

4. What are your favorite tv shows?
So you think you can dance & The Office

5. Who is your favorite dancer or choreographer?
Billy Griffin and LUAM!!!! workkkk

6. Who is your celebrity crush?
Beyonceee…and Will Smith

7. What are your aspirations?
To be a back up dancer for Beyonce..then to be her best friend…then I want a really good job & a handsome perfect husband and 4 really cute kids.

8. What is your favorite dance team moment?
Welcoming…and the first time we did Christine’s band dance. haha.

9. Do you have any special talents?
Well, I’m really good at painting nails…and I’m also good at making practice really fun as well as all other dance team events.

10. How would your friends describe you?
Funny, sarcastic, fierce, loud, loving

11.What do you love about UMass?
Dance team, all the people, the huge campus, and that I have all my classes with Caitlyn Melia, who I’m better than at Bubble Breaker..and always will be.

12.When is your birthday?
September 26th

13. Do your have any habits?
Painting my nails way too much and picking my split ends…and THUMBS which I consider a good habit, but some people don’t like it.

14. What is your major?
Psychology

15. What is your favorite style of dance?
Hip hop & contemporary

16. What are your favorite foods?
pasta, ice cream, & freeze-pops

17. What is your favorite holiday and why?
Halloween!!! Because I can wear whatever I want and no one can say anything.

18.Why do you love to dance?
Because it makes you forget about anything else going on in your life… Me and Ren usually like to have really deep convos about this

19.What would people be surprised to know about you?
That I can actually get really serious and focused. I don’t joke allll the time.

20. What is your hometown?
Norwich, CT

On Monday, November 24th we debuted our first two basketball game performances of the 08-09 season! We did both a jazz and a hip-hop routine. If you unfortunately missed our dances, click here to see a video of our hip-hop dance!

Here are some pictures of us from the game:

Missed our first performances?… no worries, you can catch us at the next game on this upcoming Saturday, December 6th, as well as the remaining home basketball games!

Whether you are interested in joining the team or just want to dance, come participate in our dance workshop!

Sunday, December 7th, we will be holding a dance workshop. You will get a chance to participate in a warm-up lead by our coach Jodi Leigh Allen, followed by a Jazz class and a hip-hop class taught by one of our very own. For just the low price of $30 you can come take class and have fun. The workshop will be held from 12-4 with a half hour break at the Curry Hicks Cage. All are welcome!

If you are interested in trying out for the team we strongly suggest you come!

If you have any questions you can email Kelly Pinola at kpinola@student.umass.edu

Meet Ashley:

1. What is your nickname?
Akon

2. What is your guilty pleasure?
bubble baths

3. What is your favorite place on campus and why?
the lawn up in Orchard Hill because it’s always so quiet and beautiful

4. What are your favorite movies?
Made of Honor and White Christmas (even when it’s not around the holidays)

5. Who is your favorite dancer or choreographer?
Alicia Monaco and Katy Spreadbury

6. Who is your idol?
my mom

7. What is your favorite style of dance?
tap

8. Why do you love to dance?
because dancing just feels good. I can forget about everything else and just have fun

9.What is the name of your old studio?
Diane Kelley Dance Studios

10. What is your favorite book?
With No One As Witness by Elizabeth George

11. What is your favorite place in the world?
York Beach, Maine

12.What are your aspirations?
to be some kind of teacher

13. What is your favorite dance team moment?
Midnight Madness/Tip Off Party. I had no idea what to expect and it turned out to be so much fun.

14. How would your friends describe you?
nice, sarcastic, reliable, and fun

15. What do you love most about UMass?
all the people, and the campus is so beautiful

16. When is your birthday?
August 29th

17. What is your favorite quote?
“Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels.”

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas because I love all the snow, lights, and music. I also love to see all of my family.

19. What would people be surprised to know about you?
I like to go to New England Dragway in the summers

20. What is your hometown?
Jefferson, MA