Flawless: Dancers Earn Two Titles

There’s nothing like the glitter of gold. Ask the Academy of the Holy Angels Varsity and JV dance teams, the nation’s newly-crowned 2024 pom champions. AHA’s dancers were the darlings of the Universal Dance Association’s National High School Championships, where the varsity Angels earned their team’s first national pom title, and JV brought home its second pom championship.

“This is a real ‘pinch me’ moment,” AHA Head Dance Coach Jenny Sweet shared, calling 2024 a year for the history books. “Pom is either right or it is wrong. It is all about execution and looking like ONE while dancing at a fast tempo. There is little room for error and our dancers were flawless! Coming home from Orlando with two national titles shows how far our program has come and also how connected these dancers are.”

The varsity dancers confidently surpassed 65 competitors in the small varsity pom bracket to win their title. The Angels twirled and leapt, executing each move with precision, athleticism, energy, and grace. The judges awarded AHA the top score, which was 1.2 points ahead of their nearest competitor.

Watch their performance here

The varsity team also earned a third place finish (out of 51 teams) in hip-hop.

“We have been in the top three in the nationals for the past 11 years in the hip-hop division, earning five national championships, four silver medals, and two bronze medals. This is the longest podium run of any program in the competition,” Sweet noted.

Her varsity dancers are Karis Cho of Harrington Park; Juliet Gelineau and Kate Rifon of New Milford; Caelyn Lindsay of Englewood; Gianna Pasquale of Blauvelt, New York; Maggie Yu and Samantha Zeccardi of Tenafly; Mackenzie Crimmins of Mahwah; Emily Figueroa of River Vale; Ava McAdams of Emerson; Stella Chung and Quinn Reicherz of Cresskill; Auden Cho of Alpine; Madeline Lee of Demarest; and Julia Struhs of Englewood Cliffs.

The varsity team was also chosen to represent the USA Federation as the US National Team and will compete for (another) gold medal in April.

AHA’s JV competitors matched their skills against 18 teams to earn their second championship (2021, 2024). JV also earned a third place medal in hip-hop, bypassing 13 other teams. The JV dancers are Samari Wynn of Englewood; Olivia Leys of Tappan, New York; Alexandra Nicholas of Emerson; Katherine Bing of Hasbrouck Heights; Caroline Kartman of Edgewater; Chloe Kwon of Northvale; Evelyn Chia of Stony Point, New York; Mia Cubillas of Lyndhurst; Alexis David and Emily Kho of Cresskill; Lyla Dove and Cyia Sabathia of Alpine; Marleyana Cross of Closter; Isabella DeLeon of Teaneck; Maddie Krol of North Bergen; Harlow Lowenthal of Saddle River; Anastasia Mysliwiec of Cliffside Park; Emma Pada of Tenafly; and Anna Urzi of New City, New York. Alyssa Aponte Mecca (AHA ’12) and Daniella Macri (AHA ’19) are AHA’s JV coaches.

The up-and-coming middle school team, which is coached by Stephanie Yonkovich and Julia Creange (AHA ’19) competed against 13 teams to earn a solid fourth place victory in hip-hop and seventh place in pom. Team members include Ava Cifelli, Sophia Garzon, Cristyn Lindsay, Vivianne Van Ost, Emma Chang, Hunter Ferguson, Olivia Casella, Ahreum Kang, and Charlotte Saglimbene.

Sweet shared that AHA is now creating a Junior Angels Training and Performing Program for dancers in Grades 2 – 5. For details, contact Coach Sweet at [email protected].