Boston University Dance Team

Support the dancers of the BU Dance Team by coming out and watching us perform in Metcalf Hall this Wednesday at 7 p.m. as we help Tiina Lugus campaign for Pike's 2016 Dream Girl.  This event raises money for the Children's Glaucoma Foundation and Adaptive Sports New England!

More information on the Children's Glaucoma Foundation and Adaptive Sports New England can be found here:

 childrensglaucomafoundation.org

http://adaptivesportsne.org/

You won't want to miss this! This Thursday at 9 pm is BU's annual Terrier Madness. We're going to kick off the basketball season along with BU Athletics with a giant pep rally. This year's theme is #throwbackThursday! Come see the BU basketball teams dance to your favorite hits from the 90s! Of course, cheer and dance team will both be part of the performance with a guest appearance from our mascot, Rhett! Admission is free and there will be contests and giveaways as well. If you enjoy this blast from the past of a night, come join us afterwards in the dining hall for a pancake dinner. It's going to be a night to remember so be sure to make your way over to Case Gymnasium this Thursday.

As the new school year approaches BUDT is ecstatic to start the year off on such a high note! NDA Camp, held at BU each year, couldn't have gone any better. We walked away at the end of the week with a 1st place trophy in Division I Team Dance, 1st place overall Game Day, Most Spirited, Most Collegiate, and yes you guessed it, another FULL PAID gold bid to next year's NDA Collegiate Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida!! A special shoutout goes to our All American Winner Mackenzie Pena! We couldn't be more excited to continue the momentum this season, because after all, #TheWorkIsWorthIt!

For the first time in the program's history, the Boston University Dance Team is the 2016 Division I Team Performance National Champions. Completing their successful weekend, the team also secured a second place finish in the Division I Hip Hop category. This weekend was a huge achievement for the team, and it came after a full year of hard work and dedication. Attending Boston University first and foremost as scholars, the girls understand that it can be hard competing against teams who go to school solely for performing, yet it allows these achievements to have a much more rewarding feel for the girls.

This year has been a whirlwind of emotions and physical exertion. This is by far the strongest the team has ever been thanks to our new workout partner BMAX, yet the team also suffered a multitude of injuries. Between shoulder labral tears, ACL tears, countless sprained ankles and knees, bruises, and torn muscles, many girls suffered from some sort of injury. However, the team never lost its fight and drive to do well. Every girl this year truly understood the importance of taking care of their bodies, and supporting each other through hard times. It was beautiful to watch the girls' dedication and love for each other shine through even in the tough moments throughout the season.

Besides the obvious excitement of achieving such a high placement, another reason the weekend in Daytona Beach was so rewarding was that the team exceeded their goals they set for themselves at the beginning of the year. As senior Captain Megan Dacek reflects back on the exciting weekend, she says what made it most worthwhile was the fact that "it was four years in the making. I came onto this team with one goal in mind, first place in Team Dance." Dacek, who tore the labrum in her shoulder earlier this year knows more than anyone that "there were lots of hiccups along the way. I knew that each year our team was getting stronger and finally this year, our team was willing and ready to make that dream a reality."

One of the most remarkable aspects about this team is the strong support system the girls have. From alumni, to friends, and family, the support each and every year is overwhelming, and we owe a lot of our success to those who believed in us from the start. We'd like to thank everyone for their love, and we'd like to give a special thank you to our amazing head coach Kaitlyn Busconi, and our three dedicated assistant coaches Kate McCabe, Kate Stanton, and Taylor Cate. You can see NDA's coverage of our Team Performance here and our Hip Hop performance here! Stay tuned for information on try outs and camp updates! If you are interested in joining the BUDT family or have any questions, be sure to email us at budt@bu.edu!

We did it! Thanks to the overwhelming support from our friends and family, we had yet another successful Crowdfunding campaign raising over $18,000. We surpassed our goal and we are now able to get all of our girls down to Daytona Beach for nationals, April 5-10. Not only are we able to get there, but we have enough funds to pay for our costumes, choreography, and NDA Camp this August for a chance to compete at nationals in 2017! We couldn't have done it without you!