Boston University Dance Team

As we look back at our Nationals experience this year we are so proud of everything we have accomplished. The Boston University Dance Team placed third in both the Division I Team Performance and in Division I Hip Hop competitions. The team continues to place highly and the girls are so excited to have brought such a high level of execution to both their routines on what was a very competitive stage. The week’s achievements stem from a full year of hard work and dedication. Attending Boston University first and foremost as students, the girls understand that it can be difficult competing against teams who go to their school to focus on dance. Yet, it allows the team’s continued position as one of the top Division I dance teams in the country to have a deeper sense of reward as they have balanced so much on their plate to get there.

Every year is a roller-coaster: both physically and mentally the girls push their limits with performing their best at nationals as their end goal. This year the BU Dance Team incorporated a morning workout schedule. Thanks to our trainer Isaac Soares, from Marathon Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine, this is the most conditioned the team has ever been. The girls woke up for workouts at 6:30 AM to work with their trainer before classes twice a week. Not only does this demonstrate their enormous dedication to the team, it was also a bonding experience to push one another in a program the team had not used before.

Cydney Scott Photography

The conditioning exercises were tailored to the skills required of the girls for their nationals routines, built strength and mobility, and focused on injury prevention. Every girl knew the importance of preventing injury and took their strength and conditioning seriously. We look forward to working with Isaac again this coming year!

As hard as practices and workouts may get, the overwhelming love and commitment the girls have to each other is both beautiful and inspiring to witness. Nationals is by far the best example of this camaraderie and is particularly evident in how much the girls improve in the few short days they have in Daytona Beach, FL. Our Team Performance routine was intended to showcase the strength of our dancers and they struggled with getting their performance quality to the next level after they had mastered the execution of the routine. Their prelims performance was good but they knew that they could break through a wall and perform better on the finals floor. With the encouragement of their coaches and alumni the girls brought an unforgettable finals performance to the audience.

Cydney Scott Photography

By encouraging each other to let go, talking to each other on the floor, and most importantly going out there with the understanding that they believed in one another unconditionally, they were able to achieve their personal goals. Rising senior and co-captain of next year’s team Nina Maroudas looks back on that performance: “I will never forget how I felt during that routine. The energy was explosive and I felt a push from everyone around me that I had never felt before. Our placement didn’t matter to me or anyone else when we came off that stage, we were only overwhelmed with pride for bringing by far our best performance of that routine to the audience that day.” The following day the girls had so much fun performing their Hip Hop routine and left their Nationals experience feeling grateful for another amazing season.

Not only do the girls support one another, they feel so honored to have a huge support system ranging from alumni, to friends, to family who truly help make all of their success possible each year. We couldn’t be more grateful for all the love and encouragement and would like to specifically thank our dedicated head coach Kaitlyn Barba, and our wonderful assistant coaches Kate Stanton and Taylor Cate for everything they do! We were also lucky enough to have photographer Cydney Scott follow the team throughout the year with her camera as she worked on an article to feature the team in BU Today. If you want to see what it takes to be a member of the BU Dance Team and all the work that goes into competing at NDA Nationals you can read the features here. If you are interested in joining the BUDT family or have any questions, be sure to email us at budt@bu.edu!