Dance Spirit

We have a passion for all styles of dance, including ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary, lyrical, ballroom, and musical theater! Dance Spirit is your go-to source for the latest news and trends in the dance world. Brought to you by DanceMedia.

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Why Dancers Are Prone to Impostor Syndrome

1 week ago | dancespirit.com | Sophie Bress

Jenn Edwards has crafted a multifaceted career: She performs with Le Patin Libre, a contemporary skating company, dances, teaches, and choreographs for gymnasts and dancers, and plays in a band. Though her breadth of work is impressive, she’s also struggled with periods of self-doubt, questioning whether she truly belonged in any of her chosen fields.
What to Know About This Weekend’s NDA College Nationals

2 weeks ago | dancespirit.com | Hana Le

With the excitement of January’s Universal Dance Association (UDA) College Nationals dying down, dancers won’t have to wait long for their next obsession: National Dance Alliance (NDA) College Nationals are just around the corner. This year they’ll take place April 9–13 in Daytona, FL. Ever wonder what separates these two collegiate national championships, or what you should be looking out for in Daytona? Dance Spirit has got you covered. What separates UDA from NDA?
Meet Radha Varadan, the Kathak Dancer Reinterpreting Classic Ballet Variations

3 weeks ago | dancespirit.com | Sarah McKenna Barry

Radha Varadan’s ingenious reimaginings of some of ballet’s most famous variations using kathak, a form of Indian classical dance, have earned her serious traction online. Based in India and the U.S., Varadan trained in both ballet and kathak growing up. She later studied postmodern dance (and molecular biology) at George Washington University, and today she dances with the Abhinava Dance Company in Bengaluru, India.
6 Trends Competition Judges Are Tired of Seeing in Routines

1 month ago | dancespirit.com | Haley Hilton

Competition dance trends become popular for a reason, but even the most exciting fads eventually run their course. Four competition judges discuss the dance trends they believe it’s time to leave behind, and offer suggestions on how to refocus routines on clarity, safety, and individual artistry. While a well-executed tumbling or gymnastic element can add excitement to a routine, according to 24 Seven Dance Convention judge Madi Hicks, choreography sometimes overindulges in them.
Maycee Steele on Dancing Backup for Tate McRae and Showing Up as Her Best Self

1 month ago | dancespirit.com | Hana Le

Maycee Steele is never far from the for-you page. From her creation of the mega-popular “Cuff It”dance challenge with Kaitlyn Hardy in 2022 to her presence as a backup dancer in Tate McRae’s always-trending tour choreography, she has a knack for moving in a way that’s both joyful and power-packed. A Kansas City native who has been dancing since the age of 3, Steele got her start in the competitive-dance circuit.
How to Learn From Rejection and Prepare for the Next Audition

1 month ago | dancespirit.com | Stav Ziv

The first time Jessica Tong auditioned for Hubbard Street’s second company, she made it to the end of the call but didn’t get the job. The next time she auditioned, six months later, she also didn’t get the job, but she did get a note from then-artistic director Julie Nakagawa telling her to keep in touch. Tong eventually joined Hubbard Street 2, moved to the main company, and became rehearsal director and associate artistic director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.
Viral TikTok Duo The Gardiner Brothers Push the Boundaries of Traditional Irish Dancing

2 months ago | dancespirit.com | Hollie Geraghty

When it comes to choreographing their viral Irish dance routines, the rules merely exist to be broken for The Gardiner Brothers. Professional dancers and content creators, Michael and Matthew Gardiner, 29 and 26, hold five world championship titles between them and have both performed the principal role in Riverdance, but they can just as easily incorporate disco arms into an Irish jig as they can perform traditional steps with a poker-straight posture.
Real-Deal Advice on Convention Scholarships

2 months ago | dancespirit.com | Haley Hilton

Many competitive dancers are eager to land coveted convention scholarships. But why are these awards so sought-after? How can dancers increase their odds of winning them—and who might they not be right for? One of the largest benefits to convention scholarships is perhaps the most obvious: financial relief. Attending conventions can be expensive—for some dancers, prohibitively so. Scholarships typically allow awardees to attend many or all of a convention’s events for free.
Why You Should Consider Festival-Affiliated Summer Programs

Jan 22, 2025 | dancespirit.com | Jennifer Heimlich

Choreographer David Dorfman, a professor at Connecticut College, says students who attend summer dance festival intensives return to campus with something in common: They’ve gone through an artistic growth spurt. “You won’t realize what you learn until weeks afterward, but it has sunk into your cells,” says Dorfman, who attended American Dance Festival’s intensive as a grad student himself in the 1980s and has since taught there as a faculty member.
Here are the Winners of the 2025 UDA National Championships

Jan 21, 2025 | dancespirit.com | Hana Le

January 17–19, college dance teams from around the country gathered in Orlando, Florida, to attend the Universal Dance Association 2025 College National Championships. Teams competed in three divisions (D1A, D1, and Open, based on the size of their university and its NCAA status) and in three dance categories (Jazz, Pom, Hip Hop).