Props to these youngsters for the immense amount of time and effort expended in perfecting this routine, recorded at the Universal Dance Association College Nationals in Florida this past weekend.
The team competed in two dance categories, winning its 22nd national championship for its pom performance, a style that involves holding pompoms. But it was the jazz routine choreographed to Aerosmith's "Dream On" that went viral over the weekend. Videos ricocheted around YouTube and TikTok.A sequence in the choreography took the dancers through a long series of one-legged spins, ending with all 20 dancers flipping an aerial turn in unison."That's a hard skill to get on, with 20 people on the floor," Tumbleson said. The dancers and coaches initially planned that only a few dancers would execute the aerial, but the team decided to choreograph the routine with all the dancers making the flying turns.
For a long time, Tumbleson said, dance did not get the same recognition as other sports. Social media is changing that, especially through moments of virality like the team just experienced.
The flying turns are executed between the 1:30 and 1:40 timepoints in the embedded video. Embedded above is the jazz routine. The championship pom routine is here.
Very impressive routine. I hope I'm not the only one who read "pom" as "porn" in your post. That would be quite a different performance!
ReplyDeleteWhat differentiates that dance (and the pom) routine from a cheer leader / marching band routine? Other than there being no marching band on stage? And a stage floor rather than artificial turf?
ReplyDeleteI wonder why those dancers are in college, I mean what are they studying? They obviously spend a heap of time on dance, I'd guess as much time as sports teams.
ReplyDeletexoxoxoBruce
I'm no expert on the American college system but don't they offer dance and drama classes? And if American TV has taught me anything it's that you can finish college while holding down three part-time jobs while being a single parent.
DeleteI've been kinda obsessed with Atarashii Gakko's "Tokyo Calling" video, which prompted YT to recommend Avantgardey, the Japan/America's Got Talent winner/quarter-finalist. Well worth looking up their AGT performances. They wuz robbed at the finals.
ReplyDeleteI mean the college routine was fine, but there's so much better out there.
And to the guy asking about marching bands, Kyoto's Tachibana High School marching band videos reliably cheered me up during lockdown. (In a wholesome way, deviants.) The mid 2010s stuff is where they seemed to really grab people's attention.