By: Emilie Jenson
Public Information Coordinator
The Iowa Central Dance Team came to the 2023 Iowa State Dance and Drill Team Association State Championships with a common goal in mind: bringing home another state championship.
Their mission was accomplished as the Tritons swept the community college divisions in jazz, hip hop and pom for the fourth year in a row.
The Tritons came out on top against seven other teams in pom and six in the hip hop and jazz divisions.
The Iowa State Dance and Drill Team Championships is a three-day event held at HyVee Hall and Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, bringing together hundreds of performances from Iowa high schools, community colleges, private colleges, and state universities. It is the largest state dance competition in the country. Iowa Central Dance Team Assistant Coach Stephanie Hood said that Iowa is unique in that the collegiate dance teams are separated into divisions, which guarantees each school will only compete against other schools similar in size.
"We placed really well in terms of scoring," said Hood. "This year was one of the bigger years at state in community college representation that we have seen in a long time."
The Triton Dance Team has been working together to perfect routines since moving in on campus in early August and began working with professional choreographer Cheryl Passalacqua in September, crafting their state routines in hip hop and pom.
"We attribute a lot of our creativity to Cheryl," said Hood. "She is one-of-a kind. The routines were very well-received by the judges at state. You don't see that level of choreography done in Iowa let alone in our division very often."
State competition begins the Tritons' road to the National Championships in Florida in the spring.
"We receive written and verbal feedback on what catches the judge's eye at state and we can take that to prepare and re-vamp our routines for nationals," said Hood.
While bringing home the hardware to Triton Nation is one of the team's biggest accomplishments, Hood said it is the hard work and dedication of the dancers that make it most meaningful.
"Bringing home a fourth state championship is like the dance equivalent of winning a conference athletic championship four years in a row," she said. "For Coach Cassidy and me, we couldn't be prouder of how these girls buy into the process and the dedication and the passion they have. Our leadership and team captains create a positive environment. We love working with these dancers; they are passionate not just about what they do on the floor but for each other. They are great people who are so deserving of this championship."