The Cornell University Dance Team made history at the Universal Dance Association College Nationals in January 2024, when Cornell became the first Ivy League university dance team to qualify for finals. But, before the team could perform a dazzling show in Orlando, it had to overcome a series of institutional and financial hurdles — as a relatively new club sport fighting for funding and recognition.
Starting From Scratch
The team was founded in 2017 as a registered student organization at Cornell. Since its inception, the group has performed for athletic events on campus. Former head coach Amanda Hernandez ’21 said that within a few short years, the club evolved into a competitive team that immersed its members in pom, hiphop and jazz technique.
For many of its members, like Savannah Jeffries ’24, joining CUDT wasn’t just an activity — it was about continuing a lifelong passion.
Jeffries started dancing at three years old and described her experience with dance as “synonymous with living.” She knew that when she started college, continuing to dance was “non-negotiable.”
When Jeffries was accepted to Cornell in the spring of 2020, the country was in the midst of a global pandemic. Despite a socially distanced start to her college experience, the team quickly became a keystone part of her transition to Cornell.
“It was a very transformative part of my Cornell experience to have the team and to have people that I could get to know during the pandemic,” Jeffries said. “The coaches would put us in team families, and we could spend a lot of time together. Unknowingly, we built a lot of unity and chemistry.”
While the team wasn’t competing that year, Jeffries said that competitions, specifically Nationals, were on the mind of her and her teammates. But, the biggest challenge between the team getting to Nationals wasn’t exactly the teams they would go up against, but funding.
“A lot of people don't realize how expensive everything in the dance world is, and because we were registered as a club at that time, we got club funding, which is super helpful for all of the normal operations that a club needs to operate on campus,” Jeffries said. “But that's not the type of money that's going to get a team to Florida.”
As the former treasurer for the team, she detailed some of the costs the team would have to cover, including transportation, hotel rooms, renting a studio to practice in leading up to the competition day, costumes and rights to the music used.
“I saw the numbers and realized it wasn’t possible for us to go to Nationals unless everyone on the team pays a crazy fee,” Jeffries said. “One of my main goals was … [making sure there is not] anyone who is not able to be on this team because of financial reasons.”
A Goal of Nationals and Recognition
So, the team got to work, taking fundraising efforts into their own hands. While juggling their full academic course loads, members of CUDT organized fundraising campaigns, and still found time to rehearse. The team also started working with Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi and Dean of Students Marla Love to find more sustainable ways to fundraise — including being recognized by Cornell Athletics as a Division I team.
“My first introduction to the dance team was in February 2020 (just before Covid and the move to virtual instruction in March) when they performed for an SCL event, where I was impressed by their effort and energy,” Lombardi wrote in an email statement to The Sun. “Soon afterwards I began meeting with them as they requested support to grow their relatively new organization, which has blossomed over the years.”
One of their major fundraising successes came during the pandemic, when the team launched a care package program for students — where parents could send items like school supplies or food directly to their students door. With travel restrictions in place and parents unable to visit, CUDT saw an opportunity to help both students and families feel a bit more connected.
The team continues to do many of its own fundraising efforts — including continuing the care packages, participating in Giving Day, crowdfunding and more.
“We would have meetings with Lombardi and Love where we would update them on our progress and they helped us find extra sources of funding wherever possible,” Jeffries said. “They connected us with Laken Kelly in athletics and we really started to have discussions about what CUDT could add to athletics.”
Jeffries explained that the team had to “prove itself” and demonstrate that it deserved funding and recognition from Cornell Athletics. After a successful Nationals competition, CUDT started to gain “traction” with Athletics. In the summer of 2024, the team became a registered varsity sport at Cornell.
Hernandez also explained that the group worked with Lombardi and athletics to help unite the dance, cheer, band and mascot organizations together into a Spirit Program that could help boost morale around athletics.
“That unification lifted our presence on campus,” Hernandez said. “I wish I could say it was easy, but it certainly was not. It required a lot of persistence in order to get our team to the forefront. For me, every second was worth the time and dedication.”
Hernandez was involved in these efforts while also attending the University of Michigan’s medical school.
“This group is a shining example of student leadership and what can be done when organizations are willing to put in the effort and form collaborative relationships across the institution,” Lombardi wrote in an email statement to The Sun. “I’m thrilled to see their continued success. I can’t say enough about the dedication, perseverance, and commitment they demonstrated week after week as they expanded.”
For Jeffries, the impact that she made with other members of the executive board, along with Hernandez — who Lombardi said was “instrumental” for the team’s success — was a “full-circle” moment for her, and one she said wouldn’t have been possible without the contributions and support of the rest of her team around her.
“As someone who’s danced all my life, that moment was full-circle,” Jeffries said. “To step onto that Nationals stage with my team, knowing everything we had overcome to get there, it meant everything.”
A New Era for CUDT
Currently, the team benefits from being a part of athletics, according to Gameday Captain Daj'zha Tucker ’26.
“The increase in funding and exposure that we got has been critical to the improvement of the team,” Tucker explained. “We have access to athletic apparel, and it takes the burden off of our dancers. We are so grateful to the school.”
Additionally, CUDT hired a head coach for the team, Ravyn Schriewer, who helps teach routines and organize team logistics. Schriewer is also employed by Cornell as a physical education instructor.
CUDT can be found on the sidelines of all home football and basketball games. Fans can see them perform this weekend for Cornell’s first home game against Colgate University to kick off homecoming week at 2 p.m. Additionally, the team is currently working on bringing two routines to nationals for the first time ever in January 2026.
“It’s always been a dream to be recognized as an athletic sport by Cornell. Dance teams across the country strive for this recognition given the athleticism, precision, skill, dedication and strength dance requires,” Hernandez said. “To have this acknowledgment rewards our journey and sets us apart from other dance groups.”
Zeinab Faraj is a member of the class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is the features editor on the 143rd Editorial Board and was the assistant sports editor of the 143rd Editorial Board. You can reach her at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
