Dance Makes History at NDA Nationals 2022

FAU DANCE MAKES HISTORY AT NDA NATIONALS 2022
May 5, 2022
By: Janae Billings

At the end of every season, an extraordinary division of student athletes, represent their universities in a three-day competition for a chance to win a national colligate title. These athletes in particular also spend most of their academic semesters in season as they shake their poms and tear up the turf. Florida Atlantic University is home to many athletes with great talents and accolades. Despite the challenging circumstances this group faced, the 2022 Dance Nationals

FAU dance team, better known as the FAU Flygirls, has managed to maintain collegiate title as a D1 program for a number of years.

This year, the team of talented individuals were led by coaches Claudia Soto and Maddie Terry. With the encouragement and guidance of her veteran teammates, two-year FAU Dance captain, Trinity Kuether says that leading the team has been an unforgettable experience.

"As the captain, it was my role to be a positive leader and bridge between my teammates and my coaches. I am so thankful that I had this experience and feel as though it prepared me so much for life after college."

While Kuether's time at Florida Atlantic comes to an end, she and her senior teammates hope to leave a legacy behind that maintains the standards of what it means to represent the university. With their mantra, Out for Blood, We Are One, FAU dance continues to practice what it means to have the opportunity to compete.

"We actually talked a lot about what OFBWAO meant to us this year. FAU made this cheer years ago when they came back to NDA hungry [for a national title] and we have kept it," said Jessica Rigg. "Every time I say it, I just think about how we are just as hungry and ready to fight as a team!"

In past years, FAU Dance has competed in the D1A Team Performance category in which they compete a two-minute routine that showcases three different genres of performance. This year, in efforts to continue to uphold the difficulty of the program, FAU dance competed in two divisions: D1A Team Performance and D1A Team Hip Hop. With a season filled with challenges and unexpected changes, everyone's role within the team was crucial to the success of the bigger picture. With two choreography weekends set to learn, clean and experiment with new ideas, the need for all teammates was a necessity. Alternates played a vital role in this process as well by being the extra support that was much needed. Some team members also battled with injuries that prevented them from competing. Their roles were no less important than their teammates added 2nd year team member, Caroline Ferris, who fell victim to a knee injury. Dance Nationals 2

"Being an alternate that didn't really know if I would get a chance to dance was really tough, [but] I chose to support my teammates in any way that I could," said Ferris. "Whether it was having icy hot or tiger bomb on deck or being their makeup/hairstylist, they always made sure to make me feel as included as possible and I can't thank them enough for it."

"There is for sure a lot of work that goes into preparing for nationals," said Annalise Calvert. "We learn our routines in December, sometimes January, and spend three months cleaning and perfecting them."

The resilience of the FAU Dance program is also a crucial part of the experience. Having the mental strength as well as the physical strength to make it through two completely different and challenging routines does not come easy, but the memories shared and made in Daytona make the work worth it. First year rookie, Alex Texidor-Abel, shares the importance of the impact of her teammates within her first season.

"As a first year, I really focused on absorbing everything around me…every single one [her senior teammates] of them have inspired me to keep on with my passion. Although I've only known them for not even a year, the memories we've made will last a lifetime."

With a dedication to a sport that supports other athletes through their athletic seasons and accolades all while representing the university at various events, NDA Nationals is the golden prize. Having experienced several seasons of unforeseen circumstances due to COVID, student athletes who started as freshman within the program were able to experience their final nationals in a more familiar way. Placing 7th in Division 1A Team Performance and 5th in Division 1A Team Hip Hop (in their second year competing), FAU dance is strongly making themselves known to others.

"This nationals was pretty close to the one I went to my rookie year in 2019. The difference was that I got to experience it for the last time and really take everything in, which I didn't do the first time. This year was so great and I'm happy I got to experience it one last time with my girls," concluded Rigg.

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Players Mentioned

Janae Billings

Annalise Calvert

Caroline Ferris

Trinity Kuether

Jessica Rigg

Alex Texidor-Abel

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Florida Atlantic University Athletics