The St. Agnes Tiger Girls Make School History

“Hit! Hit! Up, up, seven, eight!” yell 12 of the St. Agnes Tiger Girls through the speaker of a bright pink iPhone as they rewatch their Finals performance anxiously. The girls huddle around Coach Kaylee Hoffner’s screen, instinctually marking the movement and counting through the music under their breath. Out of the corner of the video, the blue sleeve of Alicia Halphen—co-captain Natalie Halphen’s mom—pumps through the air when Natalie sticks her a la secondes.

The enticing smell of Wetzel’s Pretzels that would typically draw the team’s attention drifts through the air; they stay clustered together, tensely tracking how they move into different formations across the stage.

“Come on!” Mr. John Beasant, St. Agnes’ Director of Dance, exclaims from behind the camera, and Coach Kaylee’s sequined, tiger-print top catches the light, cheering when Captain Phoenix Chen hits her needle. When the video ends, the team looks at each other, afraid to let their hopes up—not knowing they would walk away later that night with a National Championship Title.

Last month, the St. Agnes’ Tiger Girls flew to Florida for their first UDA (Universal Dance Association) Nationals at ESPN Wide World of Sports—the pinnacle event of their season. From starting competition preparation in August with pom routine choreography from University of Wisconsin Dance Team alumnus Sami Deakin to jazz routine choreography a month later with Bri Sanford, the dancers spent every 6:15-7:40 am before school practicing and cleaning their competition routines under Kaylee Hoffner’s coaching.

Though the early mornings proved hard at times, they were clearly worth the effort when the Tiger Girls brought home, on back-to-back weekends, a TAPPS State Title and two UDA Regional 1sts for both dances where they qualified for nationals. And almost two weeks later, they arrived at Hobby Airport, bright and early at 7 am, ready to take on their first UDA Nationals.

Tiger Girls Coach Kaylee with the National 1st and 2nd place trophies.

In Florida, the Tiger Girls began their Nationals week at Disney World. They spent a day exploring the parks and riding rollercoasters in Magic Kingdom before finishing off with a team dinner at 50’s Prime Time Café. The next day was competition day. Coach Kaylee, Mr. McAllister, Mr. Beasant, the parent chaperones, and the Tiger Girls hopped on a bus to ESPN, their jazz costumes zipped up under competition jackets, garment bags in tow.

They competed in the Jazz Semi-Finals Round and Pom Preliminary Round that first night, advancing in both. The next day, they woke to a 5 am wake-up call to perform in the Pom Semi-Finals Round—where they earned a spot in the Finals Round. After breaking for lunch and an afternoon break, the Tiger Girls returned to ESPN with renewed vigor and fire. 

They danced both routines one last time. The Tiger Girls earned 2nd place in Jazz and 1st place in Pom, becoming UDA’s Varsity Intermediate Pom Champions and bringing home their first National Championship in St. Agnes’ history.