Marana High School’s dance team became the first in school history to win a national championship in Division 1 hip-hop at the Universal Dance Association National Dance Team Championship in Orlando, Florida.
The team, known for its high-energy performances at football games, won the Division 1 Intermediate Hip Hop title at the competition in early February. Marana also ranked fourth in the pom division, placing it among the top dance programs in the nation.
“This season we set our goals really high. We wanted to come back with a national championship,” said Head Coach Maya Alexander.
Marana nearly achieved the title in recent years, placing fourth in 2024 and second in 2023.
The squad is made up of 22 girls, 10 of them rookies. The team is also coached by assistants Ava Bustamante and Camryn Dillard.
The National Dance Team Championship took place from Jan. 31-Feb. 2 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. Over 300 teams travel annually to compete at the “most prestigious high school national championship in the country,” according to the association’s website.
“The thing that impressed me most about working with Marana is their resilience,” said Kristi Lopez, who has choreographed the team’s nationals routines for the last four years. “What I saw with each ‘almost’ was that it created a hunger in them to get better.”
The team’s hip-hop routine began with an elevator ding and a voice saying “going up.”
“We used that as motivation all year to push ourselves and keep getting better every single day,” Alexander said.
Once football season ends, “we really lock into competition season,” Alexander said. The team meets after school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, practicing about 10 hours a week. Over winter break, the team’s practice schedule intensifies, with alumni stepping in to help the routine become stage-ready.
“This year was really special because we had almost every alum since I’ve been coaching come to practices to help clean the routine before competing at nationals,” Alexander said.
Lopez pushed herself as a choreographer to be more creative than ever.
“The team’s work ethic was the strongest it’s ever been,” Lopez added. “They wanted this championship like never before.”
Marana’s dance team isn’t just about technical skill. It’s a program built on raw talent and potential.
“At Marana, we have dancers who take their first dance class in high school and find a passion for it,” Alexander said. “The team works hard to make sure they have their skills so that they can be competitive with other teams.”
This year’s routine featured a team standing headspring — a skill some dancers couldn’t perform when they first joined but later executed on the national floor.
“Our main goal this year was to make every performance better than the last,” Alexander added.
Lopez credits Alexander for the team’s chemistry.
“Maya has done a stellar job creating a strong culture,” Lopez said. “They were so much fun to work with. I truly got to know the girls, and I enjoyed every second spent in the Marana dance room.”
“We (Marana High) are known for a lot of things — we are known for history and traditions — but most recently, we are starting to build some new history and traditions with our competitive athletics, our strong fine arts program, and our strong academic programs,” said Marana Principal Caitlyn Kauffman.
Marana wasn’t the only Southern Arizona school at the Florida competition. Tucson High placed fifth in the Division 1 intermediate jazz category, becoming the first team in their school history to qualify and compete nationally.
Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.
