Competing at the UDA National Dance Team Championships in Orlando, Florida, Gretna High claimed the national spotlight after earning the Division II Small Varsity Game Day National Championship, a milestone that reflected not only their skill but their unity. Gretna East High School also competed and won the Division II Large Varsity Game Day National Championship. Both schools received their awards Sunday night, Feb. 1.
Before competing, the Dragons enjoyed a day at Disney, a chance to relax, soak in the magic together and celebrate each other and the work they’ve put in over the last year. Little did they know what else they would soon be celebrating: white jackets. UDA white jackets, only given to champions.
“I honestly, I can’t really tell you what happened because I don’t really remember it,” sophomore Aubriana Hurt said. “But I can say that I just felt so loved by the whole community, like, in that moment. I felt so loved by everybody, my team, my family, the Gretna family. Like, the people at home who were watching the live stream, crying for us. The people we called afterwards, talking to us, saying, ‘You deserved it more than anyone.’ Like, that was going through my head. I was, like, we deserved it so much because of the people behind us.”
Under the guidance of coaches Marlando Sparks, Joscelyn Vincent and Brynn Woodward, the dancers endured grueling practices this year, including six-hour sessions and early mornings that began at 5:45 a.m. Team huddles and check-ins became routine, with all of the girls supporting one another through the challenges and celebrating each small victory along the way.
“In my mind, all I could think about was we finally did it,” senior Brooke Hamele said. “Like, all I kept saying afterwards was we did it, we did it, we did it, because it was our goal since forever. Forever. We wanted to win.”
This objective had been at the forefront of their minds for months, but it wasn’t until the girls were backstage together, waiting to enter the national stage, that they were reminded of another goal.
“I think that’s, honestly, why we ended up winning this, because we weren’t so locked in that we were nervous. We were so locked in because we were so excited, and all of us were just talking about how we wanted to dance,” Hurt said. “We were all, like, okay, wanting to win is great, and we want to win. But, like, backstage, we’re all, like, okay, we don’t care about winning anymore. We just want to have fun. We want to dance. Like, let’s dance.”
This moment also served as a full-circle moment in a lot of ways for the seniors, putting an exclamation point on the years they’ve dedicated to the GHS dance team. Hamele celebrated this and herself throughout her time in Orlando, even on the warm-up mats with junior Madison Rausch, embracing their younger selves, playing tag and just enjoying the moments.
“I walked on the team as a little freshman, as an alternate, for all three of the dances, and I finished being in all four dances with a national championship,” Hamele said. “So it kind of just reflects on my entire life up to this point. My entire high school career.”
Preparation for nationals demanded more than skill; it required mental toughness. Hurt explained how the team trained themselves not just physically but mentally to handle the pressures of competition.
“The night you make the team, you are already thinking about nationals. You’re thinking about how we’re going to get there, how are we going to push ourselves,” Hurt said. “Like, the mental toughness of being a dancer is crazy insane. I don’t think that’s something anyone will be able to understand unless they are. Like, you are so mentally tough. You have to be able to self-talk. It’s not about the things you say. It’s the way you say it.”
Even with the intensity, the team’s culture encouraged fun and lightheartedness. They laughed, they cried, but, no matter what, they lifted each other up in every practice. That balance of dedication and joy proved to be crucial when the moment of truth arrived on the national stage.
“I really had no idea where we were going to place,” freshman Kara Schroeder said. “I think I blacked out when they announced third place because it was, like, there’s no way. We’re like, okay, well, I guess we’re either second or first, and it was just a crazy feeling. And it was just the feeling of relief, all season. And it’s just all in this title that we’ve earned, and it’s just really amazing and really fun.”
Dancers across the nation spent weeks perfecting their choreography and connecting as a team ahead of preliminaries and finals in front of judges trained to evaluate execution, creativity and precision. Teams at UDA Nationals often spend dedicated practice time on the competition floor before taking the stage, and advancing through preliminaries and semis builds both tension and excitement leading into the final performances.
“Gretna Dance has shaped my work ethic, my personality, my confidence, basically everything,” Hamele said. “It has uplifted me. It’s given me the best of friends. It has just given me so many good things in my life, and I will forever be grateful for the Gretna Dance Team. It’ll always be my memories, and I’ll miss all my girls.”
The national title for Gretna Dance Team is a recognition of the dedication, unity and passion that defined their season, and it also reflects the countless dancers who travel from across the country to compete and share their work on one of the biggest stages in high school dance.
“Some people don’t even have the opportunity to get this, and so to have the title of a champion is just a dream,” Schroeder said. “Like, you watch it on TV, and then now you’re here, and it’s just great.”
