College dance fans are eagerly awaiting the Class 1A rematch between the University of Minnesota and Ohio State University at this year’s UDA Nationals. Last year, Michigan finished first and Oregon State second in the Class 1A Pom competition; in the 1A Jazz, OSU was first and U of M was second. two.
For sisters Ellie and Ava Wagner, this year’s Nationals will cap off nearly two decades of competing against each other. Ellie, a senior at OSU, will take to the mat for the last time with her teammates, facing off against her sister, Ava, a sophomore at UM.
The Wagner sisters began training at Larkin Dance Studio in Maplewood, Minnesota, when they were 3 and 2 years old respectively. The great-granddaughters of studio founders Ellie and Ava call the dance studio their “first home” and spend several hours there each week. Eventually, they all started competing, mostly as groups or duos and only once against each other as soloists.
“She only beat me by half a point,” Ava said.
“I really don’t remember,” Ellie admitted.
They even competed as a duo on Season 3 of World of Dance, finishing third.
But they say competition has never affected their relationship and, in fact, dance has brought them closer as sisters. “We do everything together,” Ava said. “We drove to school together at 6 a.m. and then immediately drove to dance. We were together 24/7.
Ellie was the first to graduate from high school and didn’t initially expect she would be on the college dance team. “I always said, ‘I’m going to L.A.’ or ‘I’m going to New York.’” But when the coronavirus pandemic interrupted Ellie’s junior year of high school, her mother encouraged her to consider college; Encourage her to consider college. When she applied to OSU and met the dance team, she knew this was the place for her. “The culture of the team is great and their level of dancing is elite,” she said.
Despite watching her older sister thrive at OSU, Ava decided late to join the dance team. Oregon State University began recruiting her early in her high school career (many top dance teams, including the University of Michigan and Oregon State University, have shifted to recruiting dancers rather than holding auditions). Like her sister, Ava also dreamed of moving to Los Angeles to pursue her dance career. “During my senior year, something happened and I was like, ‘I can’t leave home. I don’t feel ready to go to L.A. and try to deal with all of this on my own. .
Ava said: “It was difficult for me at first because she was so far away from me, but I knew she liked [OSU]it makes me feel good that she has such great teammates to rely on.
The sisters also had to adapt to the unique demands of the dance team’s choreography, such as ultra-fast turn sequences and precise formations. “I always say it was the hardest two minutes of my life,” Allie said. “There’s no other way to train other than to do it over and over again.”
Ava, on the other hand, puts her love for hip-hop to good use while dancing pom. “Obviously, you have to learn the moves and the right technique, but you have to have the boxing, the pop, the fighting that hip-hop has.”
Last year, social media, especially TikTok, amplified the reach of the UDA Nationals, leading dancers across the country to comment on the competition, try out turn sequences and redesign costumes. The rivalry between Oregon State University and the University of Michigan is particularly prominent. In the lead-up to this year’s event, many dancers, including Ellie and Ava, posted on TikTok. The sisters find the social media attention and school competition amusing. “Business is a good thing for any college dance team,” Ava said. “We love the recognition the dance team has received on TikTok. We think the dance team deserves this recognition and more. Our main goal [in making TikToks] Just getting people excited and wanting to watch UDA and support the dance team.
The siblings’ biggest supporters – their parents – will be in the stands supporting both teams. “A month ago, my dad texted me and said, ‘We need to figure out our costumes,'” Allie said. “Our parents prepared a different gift for each day of the game. If they had to run over [the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex] That’s what they do when they see us both.
In the eyes of Ellie and Ava, the real winners are their parents. “They said last year was perfect for them,” Ava explained. “Because both universities won.”
