Over the weekend of Jan. 18 through 20, the Universal Dance Association (UDA) College Nationals were held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. The annual competition is held to celebrate collegiate dance teams for their preparation throughout their gameday and competition seasons.
The Division 1A (D1A) jazz and pom divisions saw a near repeat of last year’s competition. With the University of Minnesota and the Ohio State University dance teams coming in hot in the 2025 season, it was interesting to see a rematch of the 2024 UDA nationals.
Just like last year, Ohio State came out on top in the D1A Jazz Division, while the University of Minnesota held onto their D1A Pom Division national champions title. With both teams fighting for the first-place slots in both categories, it made for an interesting watch.
Last season, Ohio State held the dance world captivated with their contemporary jazz routine to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” That same season, Minnesota captured nationwide attention for the turn sequences featured in their jazz performance to Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” With a la secondes flawlessly cutting into an aerial and the turns picking right up where they left off, dancers all over were inspired.
When it came to this past season, Ohio State took on a more “out-there” piece, in contrast to their story-telling piece last year. Instead, Minnesota took on an emotionally evocative piece to Kate Bush’s “Woman’s Work.” After day one, it appeared that Minnesota would come out on top, but with the dance team dropping a lift on day two their score suffered. Ohio State ended up on top once again with an event score of 97.2857, which brought about discourse.
Stepping into the D1A Pom Division, Minnesota came out on top with an event score of 98.4762. Again, going head to head with Ohio State, it seems that the two schools are power houses in the dance world.
When it came to Hip Hop, it was quite a toss up, with the University of Nevada – Las Vegas winning the D1A Hip Hop Division title. In previous years, Louisiana State University has been the team to beat, but the team faced struggles with props this year which cost them heavily.
Overall, this year’s UDA nationals saw relatively similar outcomes to that of the 2023-24 season. The competition, as always, prompted many dancers to attempt the turn, leg and jump sequences seen throughout the routines, and breathed life into the sport once again.
