HAMDEN, CT -- The Quinnipiac Dance Team keeps dancing their way to victory.
In January, the team competed at the Universal Dance Association (UDA) College Nationals in Orlando. For the first time in their short history, they placed fourth in the D1 Pom category against other schools in the nation, earning the highest score they have ever received.
“We have 22 girls,” said Dance Team President and Co-Captain Julia Targove. “We dance at all home mens and women’s basketball games… QThon, on-campus events, and acrobatics and tumbling [meets].”
Targove’s roles allow her to lead the group in two different functions. The first is the administrative end, where she focuses on how the team would go about paying to compete in the competition. Like many other organizations on-campus, the group is no stranger in needing to secure funding. The team charges dues and holds fundraisers on top of them. The second role is that of the captain, which involves being a supportive role model and a cheerleader for the team.
Targove has been dancing from a young age. One might be surprised to hear, however, that the group’s President was not planning to continue dancing in college.
“Once I came to school, I decided that I wasn’t going to dance originally,” Targove admitted. “Just because senior year [of high school], I didn’t get the chance to do that much because of COVID.”
But coming into Quinnipiac, Targove personally knew someone who was on the team who encouraged her to try out. That moment rekindled Targove’s love for dancing once again.
During her sophomore year, the team started to really work on competing at nationals. To her surprise, Targove was starting to prepare to compete once again.
“I was like, ‘Wow, this is really getting real for me.’ I didn’t think I was gonna compete again.”
That same year, the team started performing at home basketball games for the first time since the pandemic, allowing more visibility for the group, and with that, support from newfound fans. Targove ran for president towards the end of her sophomore year.
The preparation for the Orlando competition began way before the fall semester started. In July, the team went to UDA Camp at the University of Scranton. This allowed the team to not only grow closer together, but to improve their skills and techniques before they returned to Hamden.
Julia Targove
Early into the season, the Dance Team competed at a regional competition. Although the competition was not required to earn a spot in the national competition, the pros of competing were clear.
“There were only a few teams there,” said Targove, “but it’s just to get some performance practice, see how we’re ranking against other teams in our category.”
Competing at nationals is fairly new to the Dance Team, which is only in its fifth season and third year performing on a national stage. Having placed against other top teams across the country, Targove admits, “was a great accomplishment.”
In Orlando, the team competed in three different division 1 categories: gameday, jazz, and pom.
“In each of those categories, there’s about twenty to thirty other schools competing.” It was only Quinnipiac second year competing in the pom category.
The competition would not start until a Friday, but the team made sure to get to Orlando earlier. They traveled on a Wednesday, and were able to practice on the backstage mats on Thursday.
It was not long until Friday came. The stakes were high – unlike regionals, the national competition has an elimination stage. In order to advance, teams need to place in the preliminary or semifinal rounds. The teams are then ranked, and only the top 50% of teams at each stage move on.
Gameday was the first category the team competed in. The team performed at 8am on Friday morning, and proceeded to compete in the final round that afternoon. Quinnipiac took seventh place in the category. Immediately after, the preliminary round for the jazz competition took place that evening, where the Bobcats qualified for the next round.
On Saturday, Quinnipiac competed in the semifinal round for the jazz category. They did not advance to the final stage.
“We were so close,” said Targove. The team placed 11th in the category, while the top ten moved on.
Then, it came time to announce the teams for pom finals. “We first didn’t think we made it. We were all sitting in the audience, all upset because they were announcing all these amazing teams.”
The moment Quinnipiac was announced is a fresh memory to Targove.
“You could see the defeat on all our faces. We thought we did so good. And then they announced our name… and we’re like ‘oh my gosh, we did that.’”
The awards then took place on Sunday. The anticipation was building up once again, as the announcer proceeded to read up the ranks. When they got to the sixth place winner, the previous year’s champions were announced.
Quinnipiac took home fourth place in the pom category – an amazing accomplishment, and a record for the group. As soon as Quinnipiac was heard over the loudspeaker, the celebration began. Targove reflects on it as being “the best feeling in the world.”
“These girls are literally my second family. We’re always hanging out. We’re always doing stuff together. At practice, it’s such a good environment. It’s a place where I feel like we can all escape if we have a lot going on. They have changed my life. They’re the best teammates, the best friends, and I wouldn’t want to share this experience with anyone else.”
Although Targove’s time in the team is coming to an end – along with the rest of its first graduating class – she hopes that the group continues to grow.
“Joining the dance team probably is the highlight of my time here at Quinnipiac. It’s made me so many new friendships. We made history in Quinnipiac, which is so fun. And it’s nice to say that I was part of the first team that ever went to nationals from Quinnipiac. We’re the first team that got the highest score and placed in the top five. So, that’s definitely special for me.”
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