Weber State University dance team took home the Universal Dance Association (UDA) Division 1 Hip Hop national championship on Jan. 24.
Taking place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida, the Wildcats finished with a score of 94.1167 for the gold medal. They won convincingly over second-place St. John’s University with a score of 92.5333 and third-place Utah Valley University with 91.4333.
This is their fourth national title in the past six years and their sixth overall in Hip Hop.
They also performed well in the Jazz finals, placing third with a score of 93.1667. Grand Canyon University placed first with a score of 95.8667, followed by California State University, Fullerton with a score of 94.0833.
Last year, they won the National Dance Association (NDA) Division 1 Jazz national title with a score of 98 and the Grand National title with a score of 97.6571.
After competing in the NDA for the past few seasons, the Wildcats decided to compete in the UDA, widely regarded as the “Super Bowl of Dance.”
“We wanted to show the world what Weber is made of,” dance Coach Erica Jordan said. “Our motto was ‘We have nothing to prove, everything to show.’”
Jordan’s younger brother, Carter Williams, returned to the team after serving on the dance troupe for “Dancing with the Stars”.
“He is our head captain, so when you lose a head captain for a minute, it is just tough,” Jordan said. “He just brings such a light and an energy, and he really makes a difference in the studio, as well as outside.”
“This whole entire season has been so unconventional, but one of the best years of my life,” Williams said. “Being able to not only live out my dreams professionally, but then being able to come back on a collegiate level and then achieving one of my dreams out on that UDA floor, it was indescribable.”
