Simpson Dance

Simpson Dance

The Simpson College Dance Team is a competitive, and fun, team made up of hardworking and passionate individuals who share their love of the sport. The team performs at all home football and basketball games and competes at several competitions including the ISDTA Championships at Wells Fargo Arena, the American Rivers Conference Dance and Cheer Invitational and the NDA Collegiate Nationals in Daytona Beach, Fla. Throughout the school year, the team is involved in multiple activities such as Kids Dance Clinics, “Yell Like Hell” Pep Rally, an Annual Spring Show and a variety of community activities and fundraisers. At Simpson, the dance team is an extension of the athletic department – it’s exciting for team members to be involved in something they love at the collegiate level.


 
Simpson hosts A-R-C Cheer and Dance Championships

INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson College cheer and dance programs hosted the 2023 American Rivers Conference Competitive Cheer and Dance Championships on Sunday inside Cowles Fieldhouse.

The Storm dancers competed in all three divisions, earning second place in both pom and hip hop and fourth in jazz. Simpson's cheerleaders took third place in their only performance of the day, a 2.5 minute routine.

The A-R-C Dance Champion was decided by an average score from the pom and jazz routines, while the Cheer Champion was decided by the score of the 2.5 minute routine. Central was crowned the Dance Champion with an average score of 77.50, and Wartburg was the Dance Champion with a score of 70.97.

On the dance side of things, Simpson started with a pom routine which earned a total of 80.00 points. The Storm were narrowly edged by Nebraska Wesleyan in the division as the Prairie Wolves recorded a 80.17 to win.

The Storm next performed a hip hop routine and again came in second place with a score of 69.00. Simpson rounded out the day with a jazz routine and finished middle of the pack with a 61.17. Overall, the Storm's pom and hip hop average earned them third place with a 70.58.

Simpson cheer anchored the 2.5 minute routine division and scored a 36.70.

To view complete results, click here.

Simpson dance earns bronze at NDA Championships

DAYTONA, Fla. – The Simpson College dance team traveled south to compete at the 2022 NCA & NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championships last week. The Storm placed third in Division III Pom and fourth in Hip-Hop.

"This was the team's first time competing at the national level in-person," said head coach Lindsay Kline. "We went into the competition with the attitude of doing what we know how to do, leaving it all on the floor, and having fun with it - and the team did just that."

Simpson began competition on Thursday with a pom routine that successfully advanced to the finals on Friday afternoon. The Storm competed against Wisconsin-Oshkosh and American Rivers Conference foe Central in the finals and placed third with a score of 83.9.

Later that evening, Simpson performed a hip-hop routine. The Storm narrowly missed a shot at competing in the finals again, coming in fourth overall with a score of 83.5.

"I am so incredibly proud of the team for placing the top-3 in the nation in pom and fourth overall in hip-hop," said Kline. "We are excited to be able to represent Simpson Athletics and Simpson College at the national level."

To view full results from the NDA Championships, click HERE.

 
Storm earn two runner-up finishes at ISDTA State Championships

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Simpson College dance team brought home two runner-up trophies at the ISDTA State Championships at Wells Fargo Arena last Friday. The Storm placed second in pom and jazz, and finished fourth in hip-hop. 

"I am so proud of the team's accomplishments at state this year," said head coach Lindsay Kline. "We competed against a lot more teams than we have in the past and the competition was really strong so I am extremely proud that the team was able to secure the placements that we did. We are excited to take the judge's feedback and incorporate it as we get ready for our next competition in February."

In pom, the Storm competed against five fellow American Rivers Conference schools and placed second with an average score of 84.5. Central took first with an average score of 86.63 and Coe placed third with an 81.0 average score. Wartburg (80.63) and Buena Vista (78.4) rounded out the standings.

An average score of 83.0 led the Storm to their second runner-up finish of the competition, this time in the jazz category. Simpson outscored Upper Iowa (80.38), Coe (77.38) and Wartburg (75.13) with its routine. In hip-hop, Simpson just barely missed third place as Wartburg had an average score of 79.5 to edge the Storm's 79.25.

To view full results from the 2022 ISDTA State Championship, click here.

Simpson wins pom, hip-hop at NDA College Championships

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The momentum continued for the Simpson College dance team from the American Rivers Conference Championships as the squad won two disciplines at the National Dance Alliance College Championships on Saturday.

"I am beyond proud of what this team has accomplished this year," head coach Lindsay Taylor said. "The dancers worked so hard to get to this point and their hard work paid off. Earning not only one, but two national titles for the first time in school history is the ultimate reward for all of the time and effort they have put into such a challenging year."

The Storm competed in the virtual pom and hip-hop events after sending in their final videos to the judges on April 7. After the preliminary videos were sent in March 24, Simpson was first in both categories.

In the pom, Simpson had a score of 85.43 to clip second-place Carson-Newman University by two points. In the Storm's hip-hop performance, the squad secured a score of 83.80 to trim Keiser University by three points.

The NDA College Championships were cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19. This year, the organization added the virtual category for teams to still compete remotely and safely, without having to travel to the host site.

In addition to winning two events at the NDA College Championships, the Storm won pom and hip-hop at the American Rivers Conference Invitational and at the Iowa State Drill & Dance Team Association State Championships this year.

To view the full results from the NDA College Championships, click HERE.


Simpson wins pom, hip-hop divisions at A-R-C Invite

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- The Simpson College dance team collected two first-place finishes and a runner-up result at the American Rivers Conference Cheer and Dance Invitational on Sunday, hosted at Loras College.

The Storm totaled 263 points in pom and 261 in hip-hop to capture gold, while collecting 241 points in jazz for second. This is the second-straight year Simpson has won pom at the A-R-C Invitational.

Simpson was the only dance team to compete in all three dance divisions and won by an average of 21.5 points. The Storm clipped Wartburg in pom and held off Buena Vista in hip-hop. Central prevailed in jazz.

Simpson repeated its performance from the Iowa State Drill & Dance Team Association State Championships in December by winning the same two events.

To view the full results and release from the American Rivers Conference, click HERE.


Simpson dance collects two first-place finishes

DES MOINES, Iowa -- For the first time in program history, the Simpson dance team captured two first-place finishes at the Iowa State Drill & Dance Team Association State Championships. The Storm also collected a second-place performance as the awards were announced Saturday, Dec. 5.

"I could not be prouder of the team's performances at the ISDTA competition," said head coach Lindsay Taylor. "It's been a challenging semester, but the dancers persevered and worked so hard to get here. I have a very talented and dedicated group of dancers and I'm excited to see what else they can accomplish this year." 

Simpson tallied gold in the hip-hop and pom divisions, and was just shy of earning another top honor in jazz. In hip-hop, the Storm ended with an average score of 84 to clip Buena Vista and tallied an 85.33 in pom to trim Central's 84.67. In jazz, the team received an average score of 91.5, which is 10 points higher than last year's performance.

The ISDTA State Championships were originally held on Nov. 19 with Simpson sending in video recordings of all three of its routines. The judges then scored the performances and announced the results during a virtual awards banquet on Saturday.

"Due to practice restrictions, we only had a little over a month of in-person full team practices to prepare for this competition, so for them to pull off two first-place titles and a second-place finish is something we are extremely proud of," Taylor said.

Simpson showed improvement from last year's championships after securing two second-place and one third-place finish in 2019. The Storm scored two points higher this year in hip-hop to earn the first gold in the discipline. A year after earning second in pom, Simpson rebounded to tally first.

To view the ISDTA State Championship full results, click HERE.


ISDTA State Championships on schedule for Simpson dance

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The Simpson dance team is set to take part in the ISDTA State Championships this Thursday inside Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines for the team's only event this fall.

The Storm will compete in three disciplines: hip-hop, jazz and pom. Simpson will start its day at 8:49 a.m. in hip-hop, then return to the floor at 9:52 a.m. for jazz and finish the day with pom at 11:16 a.m.

"We are extremely grateful to have the opportunity to compete this year despite the pandemic," said head coach Lindsay Taylor. "No matter what has been thrown our way this semester, the team has worked extremely hard to get to this point and I'm excited to see their hard work pay off."

Spectators are able to view the competition in-person or virtually, for more information on how to purchase tickets or access the live video feed, click HERE. In-person spectators will be required to wear a mask and follow social distancing guidelines.

ISDTA State Championship awards will be announced virtually on Saturday, Dec. 5.


Storm tally first place in pom at A-R-C Invitational

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- At the American Rivers Conference Cheer and Dance Invitational on Sunday, the Simpson dance team won the pom competition and finished second in hip-hop and jazz.

“During the competition, the team not only represented Simpson by earning top titles, but they also demonstrated amazing character by supporting the other teams competing,” said head coach Lindsay Taylor. “As a coach, it made me proud to see them act as such great competitors both on and off the floor.”

The Storm avenged their silver performance from a year ago in pom with a score of 279 to narrowly clip Nebraska Wesleyan’s 276. Simpson came close to back-to-back first-place showings in hip-hop with a score of 279, but lost by one to the Prairie Wolves. The Storm tallied 261 points in jazz to be edged by Nebraska Wesleyan once again.

"The team has worked so hard this past month preparing for the competition by putting in countless hours of work, both during practice and on their own time, and I'm happy to see their hard work pay off,” Taylor said. “It's evident that this team is passionate about what they do and they are willing to work hard to reach their goals.”

Simpson will have it’s Spring Show on Sunday, March 8 inside Cowles Fieldhouse at 3 p.m. The Storm will showcase various routines from throughout the year and will also have special guests from around the area perform. Admission is $3 for students and $5 for the general public.

To view the full results and release from the American Rivers Conference, click here.


Storm receive top-five finishes in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- The Simpson dance team competed in the Dance Team Union College Classic in Las Vegas over the weekend and earned fourth place in the pom division and fifth in hip-hop, both the highest placements in school history.

“The team has had these routines all year and had previously competed with them at state and conference,” said head coach Paige Ahrens. “However, they really took the challenge of raising our difficulty level for nationals and bringing the routines to an entirely new level.”

The Storm competed against schools from the NCAA Division II and III, Junior College and NAIA at the two-day event. After the first day of competition on Friday, April 12, Simpson was fourth in pom and sixth in hip-hop.

“I think the biggest thing we took away from this competition is that we can be competitive outside of our normal conference and division,” Ahrens stated.

The Storm showed success earlier in the year after receiving first in the hip-hop and jazz divisions at the American Rivers Conference Cheer and Dance Invitational on Feb. 10.


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Competition Routine Styles
Pom, jazz, hip-hop 

If you have questions or want further information, contact:
Lindsay Taylor, head dance coach