The FSU Golden Girls are most known for cheering on athletes at our games, events, and other on-campus activities, but they’re also a team of skilled and dedicated dancers, with their own national athletic competition that happens yearly right here in Florida.
On Jan. 16, the Universal Dance Association (UDA) College Nationals began, giving college dancers a platform to display their hard work and dedication to their craft with three different artistic routines.
UDA College Nationals is considered the dance world’s annual “Super Bowl,” with teams that prep multiple routines to compete on the biggest stage at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. This year, our own dancers had a little more at stake with their hip hop dance routine. After speaking with Golden Girl Kayla Fain, she gave Her Campus at FSU more insight into what these routines meant to them.
Additionally, in July 2024, former Golden Girl Captain, FSU Alumni, and pediatric chief resident Dr. Barbara Friedes passed tragically. Barbara was a part of FSU and a part of the Golden Girls Legacy.
“Legacy is one of the most important parts of our team, so to hear of her tragic passing… deeply impacted us and alumni around the world,” said Fain. The team decided to wear sunflower keychains and pins to honor her memory with something Friedes loved so deeply.
When looking for a song and concept for their hip hop routine this year, a dancer saw the album cover to Flower Boy by Tyler, The Creator, covered in sunflowers, and the team took this as a sign to dedicate their routine to Friedes and those who experienced grief and loss. They chose the song “See You Again” from this album.
The D1A category is typically a hard-hitting, traditional hip-hop genre of dance, and the Golden Girls chose a style of music that’s considered more indie, creating a challenge for them. On top of this, their choreographers, Nathan Cherry and Geovanna Bortoleto, wanted to use blindfolds to symbolize blinding grief, “not being able to see life quite the same,” as Fain described it. These were all challenges the dancers were willing to face.
Dancing with almost no vision in a coordinated routine with other people is incredibly difficult, so to prepare themselves for the competition, the team stayed in Tallahassee over break and practiced endlessly. They put in so much work, and at some points, really doubted if this routine would be possible. “But we knew this routine meant something bigger than our fears, and we learned what it meant to trust your team,” said Fain.
On Saturday, Jan. 17, at 7:51 p.m., they finally took the stage to show off their hard work in the hip-hop semifinals. This routine took over the niche Internet dance world, and people are still talking about it. Unfortunately, they didn’t move forward, finishing 15th in hip-hop. However, they did make a lasting impact on the viewers and achieved their goal of making a legacy last.
Fain had more to say about the feeling of this experience. “To be able to perform this tribute to Barbara and to all those who have experienced loss on the UDA stage means so much to this program and to our legacy. We’re so deeply honored to see the impact this routine has had on so many people around the world, and we couldn’t be more grateful to represent FSU each year.”
For those who weren’t aware of the UDA College Nationals or haven’t had our dancers in their khakis pop up on your TikTok feed, no worries. Fain was sure to let us know you still have an opportunity to catch their performance at their annual showcase this April. “Until then, you can find us cheering on our Seminoles at Men’s and Women’s Basketball and other athletic events. As always, Go Noles!” said Fain.
Look out for our Golden Girls around campus at events, and if you feel a little more interested in college-level competitive dance, do some research and mark your calendar for UDA College Nationals next January. Also, if you’ve never heard it before, listen to the song that allowed the FSU Golden Girls to build that legacy.
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