Anaheim, CA:  The Arizona Christian University Dance Team competed at the USA Collegiate Championships February 25-26, 2023, in Anaheim, CA.
The team took home second place in Division 2/3 Jazz with a routine choreographed by Faith Lorimer and Maya Lorimer.
This is the team's fourth season under the direction of Head Coach Tracy Sandon and the team's second year competing on the national stage. In 2022 they took fifth in Division 2/3 Jazz. According to Coach Sandon, this only fueled them to come back and crack the top three in 2023. Coach Sandon said, "I am so amazed by the talent and determination of these dancers. They made a goal and accomplished it in only one year."
First-year team member, Gypsy Patnude said, "earning the second-place title this weekend was so surreal. All of the sore muscles, and long practices that we endured were worth it in that moment. It all paid off in the end and I couldn't be prouder of this jazz team."
The team also brought home 8^th place in Division 1 hip-hop with a routine choreographed by Ayanna Conway.
Coach Sandon was proud of how hard the dancers pushed themselves to learn and clean their hip-hop routine in only six weeks. "It was a grueling process and unfortunate that they had to compete it in Division 1, but the dancers improved so much from the preliminary round to the finals and their final performance felt incredible."
Coach Sandon is hopeful for the future of the program and has high hopes for next year's competition. She said, "now we go back to work and back to the ballet barre to continue to grow as technicians. Besides technique, we also plan to continue working on cardio so that the dancers can nail the last minute of their hip-hop routine in 2024 with more energy and precision. Coach Sandon is also planning to recruit heavily. "God has picked out dancers to join our program and we're looking to find them."
Congratulations, Coach Sandon and ACU Dance Team. Roll Storm.