Loyola Dance Takes on Daytona 

The Loyola Dance Team competed in the preliminary round of the Division I Jazz and Division I Pom Dance Nationals April 10 in Daytona, Fla. 

Ocean Center Hall hosted the National Dance Alliance April 10-11, with the competition consisting of preliminaries and a final round where qualifying schools had a chance to polish their routines and address any mistakes.  

With an attendance of 5,935 dancers representing 374 teams across 36 different states, attending teams competed with routines in the Pom, Jazz, Hip Hop, High Kick, Game Day and Game Day Live categories. 

The Loyola Dance team sent a video of their routine to judges in order to qualify for Nationals. It was unorthodox, as most teams go to a summer camp to earn a bid, but since the Ramblers started later in the summer they qualified through a video, according to Varsity. 

On a 100-point scoring scale, the jazz routine earned them a score of 86.4571, placing them in 23rd out of 24 teams. The pom routine finished with a score of 85.2571, placing them in 15th out of 19 teams. 

Neither of the routines qualified for finals, which took place the next day. 

In Loyola’s respective competitions, Weber State University took first place with a score of 98 for their jazz routine, while Stephen F. Austin State University’s pom routine won first with a score of 95.1429.

Fourth-year finance and information systems major Jessica Tuquero — in her final competition with the team — said she values the community the Loyola dance team brought to her life. 

“The community of the Loyola Dance team allows young women entering college a safe place to grow not only as dancers and students, but as human beings,” Tuquero said. “It excites me to know that the Loyola Dance Team has a very bright future ahead, and that many girls after me will be able to experience all that the dance team has to offer.”

Replays of the performances are available on Varsity TV.