Bennies compete in Orlando for Nationals

After over a year of no in-person national competitions, the CSB dance team had their chance to shine.

The dance team performed both their jazz and pom routines at the Universal Dance Association National Championships last weekend in Orlando and recorded two top-seven finishes.

This comes after last competing nationally in the 2019-2020 season and having to submit a virtual submission in the 2020-21 season due to COVID.

The CSB team has been performing throughout the school year already, with performances at halftime of football games and previous showcases prior to nationals.

Throughout their season, the dancers have had their eyes on the prize, vying for a finalist position in both dance styles.

“I think a huge motivator was not being able to attend the competition in-person last year,” senior co-captain Brenna Cliff said. “Sending in a virtual routine is nowhere near the same of feeling of being in the environment of nationals with the teams and fans all over the country.”

CSB dance has been working tirelessly to improve both routines throughout their season.

“Working on technique is always a priority with our team, and adding more difficult technical aspects to our routine year over year is something we try to do,” head coach Anne Sumangil said. “We have very talented dancers on our team this year and were able to exhibit more difficulty in our routines.”

With other competitions this season, the CSB dance team let other teams know that they were finalist material.

The team took first in Open Jazz and second in Open Pom at the UDA Spirit of America Competition on Jan. 8.

They beat out rival St. Cloud State for first place in the Open Jazz category.

“Getting second place in pom and first place in jazz really built our confidence, especially since the majority of our team [first-years and sophomores] had not been to nationals,” Sumangil said.

The dance team also performed at U of M Best of the Best the day before, on Jan. 7, which was a showcase of teams from all over Minnesota, including performances from CSB, SCSU, the University of Minnesota, and MSU-Mankato.

For the final national competition, spirits were high and the team was motivated to do their very best.

“Our team clicked right away, and the love we shared translated in everything we did, which contributed to our success this year,” junior co-captain Bree Whittaker said.

Cliff shared in Whittaker’s enthusiasm.

“We wanted to take it all in, there was nothing to lose. Being at the competition, it is hard not to be inspired by all the teams around you,” Cliff said.

The UDA competition is formatted into two rounds, where the top 10 performances in Open Jazz and Open Pom continue on into the second day to perform again.

During the first day of competition, the CSB team placed 5th in Open Pom and 7th in Open Jazz, earning a spot in the finals for both dances.

“We knew we had a chance to increase our score from semifinals to finals, so it was important to the team to attack both routines and leave it all out on the floor,” Sumangil said. “Our goal this year was to leave the season with no regrets, knowing that we did all in our power to make our last routine our personal best.”

The dance team ended their competition season with a 7th place finish in Open Pom and a 5th place finish in the Open Jazz category.

“We really had nothing to lose, so we were making sure to leave the floor for the last time with no regrets,” Whittaker said.

Cliff acknowledges the tough competition they were up against.

“Our competitors are also talented, but our team managed to jump three places from prelims to finals which is an incredible accomplishment,” Cliff said.

Cliff also emphasized what an honor it was to showcase the College of St. Benedict to the national dance community.

“I think our team left with pride in how far we have come and a fire to continue to improve,” Cliff said.