Bergen Co. Dancing Angels Spread Their Wings

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Year after year, this Bergen County school's dance program proves a source of pride for the school, and justifiably so, as the group has danced its way to five national titles in seven years.

"The secret to our success lies in the dancers' love for each other, love for the program, and love for dance," said Jenny Sweet, head dance coach at the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest.

Since Sweet established the team 13 years ago, varsity has claimed five national titles in small varsity hip-hop (2016 through 2021), and pulled off sweeps at multiple statewide competitions, according to a spokesperson for the private, all-girls school.

The Angels' success continued into a recent campaign at the New Jersey Cheerleading and Dance Association's Feb. 25 event in Lincroft, where the dancers earned six state titles against nine of the state's best squads, a news release said.

AHA's varsity, junior varsity and middle school teams each brought home two titles for their pom and hip-hop performances. The varsity team also received multiple perfect scores in communication and projection, creativity and overall impression.

Bolstering their ranks, the dancers also, for the first time, had all routines make it through the preliminary and semifinal rounds to compete in the finals at Nationals.

"As I sat back and really took in their performances, I felt so proud of our school and our program seeing so many Angels in blue," AHA Head Dance Coach Jenny Sweet said, adding that she sat in the stands this year, instead of in the designated coach area.

In early February, the school competed at the Universal Dance Association’s national high school event in Florida. AHA’s varsity team earned a silver medal (second of 46 teams) in small varsity hip-hop, and finished fifth out of 60 in pom. JV finished third out of 14 in hip-hop, and third out of 16 in pom. The middle school dancers were rated fifth in the nation in hip-hop and sixth in pom.

Over the past few years, several Angels have gone on to sign with collegiate dance teams that include Vanderbilt, Villanova, The Ohio State University, Rutgers University, University of Mississippi, University of Central Florida, and Penn State.

Coach Sweet launched AHA’s dance program with just 14 dancers. Currently, the Academy’s three teams include more than 40 members.