Team Spotlight: Hofstra University Dance Team

About the Team:

Hofstra University Dance Team is a program like no other! Being ranked 7x national champions and World Champions takes more than just dedication and hard work. Hofstra University Dance Team is composed of individuals that eat, sleep, and breath dance team. Being a part of this team requires being fully committed to achieving success. With a demanding schedule including workouts, practices, dietitian meetings, working with a sports psychologist, community service events, Hofstra events, and games, proves that this team achieves nothing short of greatness!

Important Team Values:

HUDT has values that are important for all team members to possess, the first one being trust. We trust one another in and out of practice and on and off the floor. We trust our coaches to lead us to success and to push us into becoming the best version of ourselves that we can be. HUDT is made up of supportive members that carry the value of strength through constant challenges. There are challenges we face in and out of practice, but we do not give each other the option to give up. During tiring practices, we always say to dance for the person next to us and to be strong! Another value that we pride ourselves on is confidence! Being confident in yourself, teammates, and coaches allows for great accomplishments and produces team unity.

Coaches: 

HUDT would not be where it is today without the amazing leaders that are driven to produce high quality dancers and individuals. The head coach, Kelly Olsen-Leon and two assistant coaches April Hamner and Kristen Olsen, are the masterminds behind this teams amazing achievements. Their constant attention to detail, team unity, and commitment is truly amazing. They only want us to be the best version of ourselves and push ourselves outside of our comfort zones, as head coach Kelly always says, “Your body is capable of more than you think”.

Love for the PRIDE:

We love to promote school spirit and our love for the PRIDE! We are an extremely competitive team, but we always show strength and care for each other and Hofstra! We love Hofstra, and our passion for dance team is a result of Hofstra and the Hofstra community! The Hofstra Dance Team is more than skill; we have hearts, and this radiates outward as authentic school spirit!

Traditions:

HUDT has many traditions that are kept and continue each and every year! One tradition is our team phrase for each year. Coach Kelly loves quotes, so she usually finds one that is extremely meaningful and often is demonstrated throughout the season! Last year’s phrase was “I will, I can” and this year’s phrase is “Show Up”. We have one specific phrase that has always been a part of the team, “Dance as One”.  Another tradition is our team circle! Right before we compete, we have a very brief huddle circle and pump each other up! We usually end this circle with our “GO HOFSTRA” chant which contains words from dances or phrases dating back from a few years ago to present! We just keep adding to it! The last important tradition is CONFIDENCE! Before we do a full out run through in practice, we all huddle together in a circle, put one arm in and yell CONFIDENCE!

-UDA Fran