Marlboro High Dance Team Places Fifth at National Hip Hop Championship
The Marlboro High School Dance Team snagged fifth in Large D1 Varsity Hip Hop at the Universal Dance Association National Dance Team Championship on Feb. 7 in Orlando, Florida. Twenty-two…
The Marlboro High School Dance Team snagged fifth in Large D1 Varsity Hip Hop at the Universal Dance Association National Dance Team Championship on Feb. 7 in Orlando, Florida. Twenty-two dancers took the floor.
This marks a huge jump. Last year, they finished 11th. The year before that, they didn't place at all.
The squad sat in eighth before their final performance at 8 p.m. Dancers spent the entire last day fixing mistakes and tweaking moves. Their final routine catapulted them up three spots.
"In the past our highest score was 11th in the nation, so we just knew if we got 10th, we were already going to make history," junior captain Alyssa Jacobson told the Asbury Park Press. "As they called each name we started looking at each other and that's when I would say the true magic happened. We all began to realize we are as good as we have worked to be."
Choreographers from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, helped build their hip-hop routine. The team learned the sequence in August, then drilled it until competition day arrived.
"This is the dance Super Bowl. It's just as special," Jacobson said.
Senior captain Juliana Marrone said the preparation made a difference this season.
"This team and this year felt really different," Marrone said.
Head coach Ally Parrino has guided the program to the UDA competition for five years. The dancers perform at football games and basketball games during the school year.
Three seniors took the floor: Samantha Ciaglia, Juliana Marrone, and Sophia Miccoli. Seven juniors competed — Claudia Bowman, Olivia Costa, Ashley Dantone, Sophia Felice, Julia Goldstein, Alyssa Jacobson, Sabrina Newman, and Sam Zottar.
Five sophomores joined the competition: Bella Ghviniashvili, Maya Greenberg, Scarlet Morelli, Michelle Rudikh, and Alex Sloan. Six freshmen rounded out the roster — Ella Bernstein, Victoria Borden, Jenna Dunne, Gabriella Fascio, Valentina Incognito, and Jean Morgantini. Stephanie Mullin serves as assistant coach.
