AHA Dancers Earn Five First Place Trophies at Competition in Virginia

Strong performances at the action-packed regional competition in Arlington, Virginia, netted five first place trophies for the Academy of the Holy Angels Dance Team. The December 10 United Dance Association DC Regional event was held at Bishop O’Connell High School, and drew multiple teams.

The Academy’s varsity dancers, who are five-time national champs in small varsity hip-hop, earned first place and Best Crowd Appeal for their debut jazz performance. JV earned first place finishes in hip-hop and pom, and the JV pom routine received Best Choreography honors. AHA Middle School dancers finished first in both pom and hip-hop.

“We debuted a new routine category. In addition to pom and hip-hop, our varsity team is competing in the jazz division,” Head

Coach Jenny Sweet reported. “Out of six veteran schools in the varsity jazz division, the AHA dancers were awarded first place. Our goal is to show that our dancers are well-rounded and can perform at the highest level in every genre. Our program continues to grow and so does the work ethic of these dancers! This is only the beginning.”

Sweet organized the Holy Angels team 12 years ago with just 14 dancers. This year, Sweet, JV Coach Alyssa Aponte (AHA ’12), and Middle School Coach Kristen DePeri (AHA ’09) are overseeing the largest team in the program’s history.
 
Captains for 2022-23 are Varsity — Katie Fragola and Noelle Wacker, 
JV — Isabella McMahon and Alexandra Nicholas, and MS — Bella de Leon, Emily Kho, and Maddie Krol.
 
The varsity roster includes Katie Fragola, Noelle Wacker, Jordyn Wynn, Karis Cho, Juliet Gelineau, Maggie Yu, Mackenzie Crimmins, Emily Figueroa, Milena Hiza, Ava McAdams, Quinn Reicherz, Auden Cho, Julia Struhs, and Samantha Zeccardi.

JV dancers are Isabella McMahon, Maggie Danahy, Alexandra Nicholas, Caelyn Lindsay, Olivia Leys, Gianna Pasquale, Kat Bing, Caroline Kartman, Chloe Kwon, Stella Chung, Alexis David, Lyla Dove, Madeline Lee, Kate Rifon, Cyia Sabathia, Leyla Ziemba, Evelyn Chia, and Trinity Savage.

Members of the AHA Middle School Team are Annabella de Leon, Emily Kho, Maddie Krol, Kayleigh McGee, Ava Cifelli, Sophia Garzon, Cristyn Lindsay, Isa Rodriguez, Viv Van Ost, and Camilla Martinez.
 
This past summer, six Angels were named All-Americans and received an invitation to participate in the 2023 London New Year’s Day Parade. AHA’s honorees are Katie Fragola, Jordyn Wynn, Isabella McMahon, Maddie Krol, Emily Kho, and Annabella de Leon.
 
Founded by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1879, the Academy of the Holy Angels is the oldest private girls’ school in Bergen County. The Academy’s current leaders continue to further the SSND mission to provide each student with the tools she needs to reach the fullness of her potential—spiritually, intellectually, socially, and physically, by offering a first-rate education in a nurturing environment where equal importance is placed on academic excellence, character development, moral integrity, and service to others.