Paramus Catholic Dance Team Takes Top Awards At Nationals

PARAMUS, NJ - The Paramus Catholic Dance team came out on top this past weekend during the Dance Team Union National Championship competition.

The team, which was one of thousands to compete in the competition in Orlando, Fl., earned two top prizes. On Saturday, both JV Variety and Varsity Hip Hop teams competed in the preliminary competition in which only a select number of teams advanced to finals on Sunday. Their outstanding performances earned them a spot in the final competition.

Ultimately, Varsity Hip Hop won 3rd place out of 20 teams and JV Variety defended their National Championship title, winning it for a second year in a row.

The Varsity Hip Hop team brought an intense hip hop routine choreographed by Jackie Koegel/Choreo-Connect, and the JV Variety team came prepared with a Beyonce themed Variety routine choreographed by Jillian Zagorski. The program is coached by Caitlin Ritchie, Michelle Jaworski and Idania Algieri.

Overall, the Paramus Catholic Dance Team and their coaches Caitlin Ritchie, Michelle Jaworski & Idania Algieri , were extremely grateful to have left the national competition with these successes and the chance to grow as a team. They are all very excited to see where their next dance season takes them and looking forward to participating in the Dance Team Union National Championship in 2021 .

Paramus Catholic Dance Team dancers

JV: Tiaris Lantigua, Nayevska Mejia, Natalie Diaz, Gianna Liggio, Morgan Pounder, Shea Lulla, MarleyFranklyn, Claudia Martinez, Gabrielle Macre, Lindsay Danganan

Varsity: Jada Oddo, Delaney Liberty, Sophie Lubin, Marilyn Zepeda, Karelyn Gomez, Gabriella Puso, Olivia Puzio, Samantha Marques, Jessica Cichino, Antonio de Leon, Selina Kagume, Tiaris Lantigua , Nayevska Mejia, Shea Lulla, Marley Franklyn, Victoria Piszel