If you are a dancer who uses social media, you've almost certainly seen videos count to the 2025 “Dance Super Bowl”. For those of you who are not familiar, these videos refer to UDA nationals, a competition marking the end of the college seasons of Pom-Pom-Pom Girls and dancers. In recent years, thanks to multiple viral performances, the event has drawn the attention of dancers and non-scientists. Last year, the Ohio State Jazz Performance was emblematic enough to inspire several Halloween costumes.
In January 2022, Tiger Girls de LSU became viral with a crunchy and synchronized, Hip hop performance in first place for “”Boy“At UDA Nationals. Victory was a redemption per year, because LSU had forbidden the team to attend the competition in 2021. One of these rare dances which are almost impossible to divert the quality of quality.
Tiger Girl Senior Isabella Avila, a first -year student at the time, remembers the speed with which things changed for her team. “He broke out a whole new fans base for us. As soon as we won, we attracted a lot of attention from our school and brought in many more fans and ask for photos.”
The university has put aside more resources for Tiger girls after their victory. They had increased time with personal coaches and added recovery options. Now, a few days before their next appearance at UDA Nationals, Avila says that all the other videos on her Tiktok flow are a fan expressing excitement for the performance of Tiger Girls 2025.
Freshman Tiger Girl Alyx Gardner remembers looking at Boy As a high school. She had planned to specialize in dance during university rather than being part of a dance team, but after a projection of UDA nationals at her dance teacher, she changed her mind. “Especially how it is exploded in recent years, it really influenced me to consider a dance team.”
Since then, the Tiger Girls have won another national title in hip hop and ranked third in jazz in 2024. This year, their objective is to win two consecutive titles in the Hip Hop category, the medal in the jazz category, and to remove the mat with pride of their performances. “The program has not seen a consecutive victory. When we have the impression of losing motivation, that's a bit of what makes us move forward. We want to be able to bring another title for the program, “said Avila.
This year is the last UDA national in Avila, and Dance spirit Caught up with her and the first-time Gardner to discuss the competition of the two points of view.
The life of a tiger girl
Avila and Gardner train three or four times a week for about four hours, and recovery is available at any time. On weekends during the football season, the Tiger Girls occur at home. Once the basketball season is starting, they are also dancing the week's basketball matches. During the national season, which lasts from the week of the December finals to the nationals of the UDA, they train every day, followed about an hour of recovery. And don't forget, they are also full -time students.
Teammate
At the beginning of each year, the Tiger Girls were twinned with “sisters”, with a higher class and a subclass to a set. During the national season, while the dormitories are closed, these pairs of sisters live together while they stay on campus, training daily for competition. “You just have someone to go home and have this support at the end of the day,” says Gardner. And beyond their twinning, the team is incredibly close. Avila adds: “We love dance, of course, but what we remember most about the year are the memories we have made together.”
A fourth UDA national for Avila
A young dancer from Beaumont, in Texas, Avila has gone from learning the closets of collegial dance herself (coming from a studio, she had not yet known the level of precision of the spacing and movement necessary to be part of the team) to inaugurate new members of the team. His advice to dancers auditioning for university teams? “Use your resources. Hand your hand to dancers from different teams and do a lot of research to find the best fit. ” She may take her own advice as soon as she continues to follow her dance dreams after graduating, as a dancer for the NBA or the NFL. “Growing up, I will always be involved in the dance, whether it is a studio or something else. Dance will always be part of my life. ”
The first time to Gardner on the carpet
“It will be very surreal for me, because I was looking at” like a boy “when I was a second year student in high school and now I can be part of the team and dance with them,” explains Gardner during his coming beginnings on the UDA stage. Before the competition, she says that she feels a mixture of nerves and excitement. “I abandoned a lot to come to Louisiana from Illinois. I just want to make everyone – our coaches and teammates, our choreographers, our elders and my family – Proud. ” What made her so confident in LSU? Gardner has done a tour of the campus, and when she met the coaches and her future teammates, she knew that it would be her people for the next four years. Indeed, the teammates of the Gardner upper class strongly shaped his experience this first semester. “They really teach us the true sense of culture of tiger girls and what it means to be a tiger girl. In addition to being our leaders and models, these are our friends. ”
Fast questions
Dance bag Estais?: Tiger Girls need their headphones to enter the area. Although their musical tastes vary considerably, they can always agree on Drake.
Preshow rituals?: Spit for good luck And For good turns. These dancers spit on the floor and rub their jazz shoes in friction!
Current favorite warm -up music?: Everything related to WickedOf course
What teams are the most excited to look at?: Avila says that she is ready to look at the Ohio State, the University of Minnesota and the state of Washington. Gardner will pay attention to the Florida State University, the University of Arkansas and the University of Michigan.
Favorite thing to be a tiger girl?: These are teammates. Avila and Gardner agree that the friendships they have established will last a lifetime.
