As a twirly 3-year-old, Madi Hicks says, she didn’t choose dance, but dance chose her. “Everyone in the studio called me the ‘Ding’ girl,” Hicks remembers. “We were doing this dance where you play a keyboard and then hit a ‘ding.’ I was front and center and screamed ‘Ding!’ to the whole auditorium. To this day, they still call me that.” Growing up in Dallas, Hicks attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts before earning her BFA in dance from Juilliard. After performing with L.A. Dance Project, her passion for choreography led her to California […]
TRIBE 99’s DANCE COMBINE Is Pushing College Dance Team Recruitment Forward
Over the past decade, collegiate dance has exploded in popularity with competitions like UDA and NDA Nationals breaking into mainstream pop culture and gaining attention on social media. College dance teams are becoming increasingly competitive, with steep technical requirements and a prerequisite of standout showmanship. Yet despite this growth, dance teams often lack resources when it comes to recruitment. Many college coaches pay for recruitment expenses, like travel and lodging, out of pocket. Carsen Rowe, founder and CEO of TRIBE 99, sought a solution by connecting aspiring collegiate dancers and coaches through a single national recruiting event. Now approaching its […]
3 Pros on How Teaching at Conventions Has Shaped Their Careers
Teaching on the convention circuit can mean lots of travel, busy weekends, and a steady stream of new students. For some faculty, it’s also become a place to build a professional network, expand artistically, and find stability in a freelance world. Three teachers, ranging from new teacher to seasoned pro, share how they got started—and what the work has offered in return. Tiffany Maher, Tremaine Dance Conventions & Competitions How she got her start: “I grew up at Tremaine. I was Teen Dancer of the Year at age 12, and I traveled with the Tremaine Performance Company. When I graduated from […]
Meet the Savannah Bananas’ Secret Weapon: Choreographer Maceo Harrison
By now, we’ve all experienced it: You’re scrolling Instagram or TikTok, and suddenly you see a group of baseball players, clad in bright yellow uniforms, grooving in unison. For a second you might wonder if it’s AI-generated, because it looks like too much fun. But it’s not AI. It is, in fact, the Savannah Bananas—the dancing baseball team that has become such a viral phenomenon it led to the creation of a whole new entertainment-forward baseball league, Banana Ball. The choreographer turning America’s pastime into viral dance moments is Maceo Harrison. Since joining the team in 2018, Harrison has brought […]