The 2025 UDA Nationals was an unforgettable event, showcasing the best of competitive collegiate dance. Every year, teams from across the nation come together to compete in this high-stakes event, and 2025 was no different. This year, the competition took place from January 17-19 at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The Universal Dance Association once again hosted what was promised to be an exhilarating weekend of intense competition, camaraderie, and entertainment.
The national college dance competition initially rose to popularity for viewers outside of the dance world in 2024, after teams from Ohio State University (Ohio State), the University of Minnesota, and Louisiana State University (LSU) gained traction on social media, specifically TikTok. Even with the high expectations for these groups, they did not disappoint this year. Dancers and non-dancers alike gathered to stream this exciting event and see their favorite teams perform.
“I don’t know too much about it because I’m not a dancer, but I know people who dance that are more interested in it and excited about it so I’m excited for them!,” states Northeastern University Sophomore Sarah Murphy. “I also love watching all of the dances afterwards on social media.”
NDB Senior Adrienne Maass agrees and thinks that as a dancer, it is very exciting to witness these performances every year.
“I am so excited for the competition this year and to see all the routines for teams like Ohio State, Minnesota, UCSB, and LSU,” explains Maass. “Mostly, I find the competition extremely entertaining and I love how dedicated all the dancers are to their teams.”
This year, the highly anticipated Ohio State University’s jazz routine featured dynamic, intense choreography to the closing credits song from “Moulin Rouge!”. The team’s main competitor, the University of Minnesota, delivered an emotional, powerful performance mainly featuring Sophomore member Ava Wagner and Junior Matthew Greco. Minnesota’s routine, choreographed to “This Woman’s Work” by Kate Bush, was a fan favorite all weekend. Other memorable performances from the weekend include The University of Tennessee’s jazz and pom routines, LSU’s hip-hop, the University of Minnesota’s pom, and San Diego State University’s (SDSU) hip-hop.
Overall, the results were impressive with many favored teams and routines coming out on top. The winner of the D1A jazz category was the Ohio State University, with the University of Minnesota as the runner up and the University of Michigan coming in third place. For pom, the University of Minnesota took first with Ohio State in second and the University of Tennessee in third. Finally, for the highly anticipated hip-hop, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas came up on top, followed by SDSU and then University of Central Florida.
The 2025 UDA Nationals were a thrilling showcase of talent, spirit, energy and passion. With breathtaking performances across jazz, pom, hip-hop and more categories, the weekend proved to be a major success, leaving fans excited to see what is to come next year.
