Even collegiate dancers know not many people are aware of collegiate dance. Now, people on social media are attempting the latest trend — the “University of Minnesota Dance Team turns,” inspired by the University’s dance team. 

The collegiate dance spotlight was placed directly on the team the weekend of Jan. 12 as they won their 22nd national championship in the Universal Dance Association (UDA) College Nationals competition held in Orlando, Florida. 

Viral jazz routine honors the 20th anniversary of championship-winning 2004 team 

Apart from taking home a national championship, the team also took home some newfound fame as word of their jazz routine honoring the 2004 team with a rendition of “Dream On” by Aerosmith circulated social media. 

“This dance is so special to our legacy because it was the 20th anniversary of the team doing ‘Dream On,’ so we wanted it to be extra special,” said Taryn Pfeifenberger, a junior on the team.

Since social media put a spotlight on the team, many people are feeling inspired by what they do, according to Emily Jeffcoat, a sophomore on the team. 

“It’s been super cool to see how many people in dance, [both] boys and girls, are just inspired by our routine, and all of the hard work that we put into the season really showed on the stage,” Jeffcoat said. “All the hard practices, all the hard work, all the extra hours, it was just worth it in the end.” 

Matthew Greco, a sophomore on the team, said they went through extensive training to prepare for UDA College Nationals, which is a four- to five-month process.

As the team prepared for nationals, they practiced twice a week by doing an hour-long morning lifting session starting at 6:30 a.m. before practicing again at 5 p.m., leaving most of the day to go to classes and do other things, according to Greco. 

“Nobody realizes how difficult it is to do what we do, especially at the collegiate level,” Greco said. “We don’t even need the recognition, we don’t need money, we don’t need anything like that. It’s just this overarching theme of being able to say, ‘Wow, that’s really hard.’” 

As if training was not hard enough for the team, they faced an additional challenge in self-choreographing their viral jazz routine, despite it not being the first time the team has come up with their own choreography, according to Amanda Gaines, head coach of the team.

“It was a challenge that we were excited to take on,” Gaines said. “We knew we wanted to do something different than what we did last year, and when we looked at the makeup of the team and the skill set they had, we knew that they were capable of it.” 

Gaines’ trust in the team motivated the team to make the routine even more special, according to Pfeifenberger. 

“Our coach came to us around this time last year and said, ‘I trust you guys to make this routine,’” Pfeifenberger said. “That was just the magic touch, us choreographing it ourselves.” 

Jeffcoat said the team nitpicked certain sections of the routine and gave each other choreography ideas. 

“Everyone had implemented their ideas into the routine, which also made it really special because it was our dance and we got to show that on the stage,” Jeffcoat said. 

Social media pushed collegiate dance into the spotlight

As videos of the dance team’s jazz routine made their rounds on social media, both dancers and non-dancers liked and commented on their spins and synchronized movements. 

Tia Tumbleson, the team’s assistant coach, said they had faced some of the pressure of being a great team and self-choreographing a routine, so going viral on social media was rewarding. 

“It’s just great for them to see how receptive the world has been to it,” Tumbleson said. “We were not expecting that it would get noticed; we deleted TikTok not knowing it was blowing up as it was happening.” 

For much of the team, it was the first time they experienced a lot of attention on social media, which Pfeifenberger said has its pros and cons. 

“There was a lot of people supporting us, but there was also a lot of people against us and we tuned that out,” Pfeifenberger said. “We tuned out the negative [comments] and we really just focused in on the positive but didn’t let that affect us.” 

For freshman Mia Tassani, having her first season end in a national championship and with tons of outside recognition was surreal. 

“I’ve never done a UDA competition before, but it was incredible knowing that our hard work paid off and [having] people recognizing that and getting to celebrate with the team,” Tassani said. 

Being recognized for their efforts on social media meant a lot for a team that is typically never showcased and a sport that does not get a lot of recognition, according to Greco. ESPN featured a video of their jazz routine on their social media pages and the team got a social media shoutout from Aerosmith. 

“People view us as the pretty people that stand on the side and shake some pompoms,” Greco said. “To have the work that we put in broadcasted really means a lot to us because nobody sees the behind-the-scenes of what we really do.” 

For Jeffcoat, the social media fame has shown how humble the team can be. 

“There’s that sense of confidence rather than cockiness, and I think throughout all of this, we’ve all just been super humble about it,” Jeffcoat said. “It’s rewarding to see so many people support us through that and making it a trend by doing the turns.” 

Greco is used to the fame that comes with being the only male on the team. Prior to this season, he said there would be at least two people every semester who would recognize and talk to him but now this attention has increased. 

“Walking around and being on campus, I catch glimpses of people side-eying me. I’ve had a few people come up to me [and] be like ‘You’re so amazing,’” Greco said. “I even had somebody ask to take a picture with me.”

He added he hopes the rest of the team gets recognized amid the heightened social media buzz. 

“You could walk around and be able to pick out a few of the football players if you knew their names,” Greco said. “It would be cool if people were like, ‘Oh, that’s whoever from the dance team.’”

More than a championship

Dance is not formally recognized as a sport under the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), but Greco said the team is making an impact on the younger generation of dancers due to the heightened social media buzz. 

“It’s crazy to think that the whole team is paving the way for college dance and pushing the boundaries of what we thought it could be,” Greco said. “A lot of social media outlets are starting to recognize dance as a sport.” 

Greco, the first-ever male member of the dance team, said he has seen a lot of younger male dancers trying out for dance and participating in the dance team’s clinics. 

“It’s so surreal being the first male ever on the team, it’s a proud accomplishment to be able to say that and have a large impact on the younger dance community, which is what I’ve always wanted to do,” Greco said. 

Being from New Jersey, Greco’s parents did not want him to go to college far away in Minnesota, but growing up watching the dance team at UDA Nationals was a big reason why he chose the University. 

For Tassani, being able to keep working and improving is a big lesson she has learned from her first year in collegiate dance. 

“It’s definitely been a love-hate relationship because it’s easy to get really frustrated,” Tassani said. “My sophomore year of high school I had hip surgery and I got to be away from dance for a while. It showed me how important it was to me and how I want to keep doing it.” 

Gaines hopes the University community will continue to recognize and appreciate the team for all their hard work. 

“I hope that the University continues to see the value that [the team] brings to the University and the reach that we can have and that there is a huge support system out there that appreciates what we’re doing,” Gaines said. 

Jeffcoat hopes the team inspires others to do what they love through the product they put on the dance floor. 

“At the end of the day, we’re showing what we love to do, and I want people to continue to be inspired and maybe potentially wanting to dance in college someday,” Jeffcoat said. “Everyone can dance in college, there’s always a place for everyone.” 

Despite the social media spotlight, the team continues to stay humble through it all. The team will now host spring clinics and recruitment events before concluding their season by performing at Gophers basketball games, according to Gaines. 

“We’re still real people and we just take our lives day-to-day,” Pfeifenberger said. “We don’t linger in this fame. We just want to be ourselves and keep pushing ourselves, which we hope to do in the near future.”