Fans of college dance teams are eagerly anticipating the rematch in Division 1A between the University of Minnesota and Ohio State University at this year’s UDA Nationals. Last year, U of M took first in Division 1A Pom and OSU took second; and in Division 1A Jazz, OSU took first and U of M placed second.
For sisters Ellie and Ava Wagner, this year’s Nationals will cap off nearly two decades of competing both with and against each other. Ellie, a senior at OSU, will take the mat for the last time with her teammates and against her sister, Ava, a sophomore at U of M.
The Wagner sisters began their training at the ages of 3 and 2, respectively, at Larkin Dance Studio in Maplewood, Minnesota. The great-granddaughters of the studio’s founder, Ellie and Ava called the dance studio their “first home,” and spent hours there each week. Eventually, they both began competing, mostly together in groups or duets, and only once against each other as soloists.
“She beat me, by only half a point,” Ava says.
“I literally don’t even remember that,” Ellie admits.
They even competed as a duo on the third season of “World of Dance,” where they placed third.
But competitiveness never factored into their relationship, they say, and, in fact, dance brought them closer as sisters. “We did everything together,” Ava says. “We would drive to school at 6 am together, drive to dance right after. We were together 24/7.”
The first to graduate high school, Ellie didn’t see herself joining a college dance team at first. “I was always like, ‘I’m gonna go to L.A.’ or ‘I’m gonna go to New York.’” But when the COVID pandemic interrupted Ellie’s junior year of high school, her mom encouraged her to consider college while the entertainment industry was on pause. Once she applied to OSU and met the dance team, she knew it was the place for her. “The team’s culture was awesome, and they were dancing at such an elite level,” she says.
Despite watching her sister thrive at OSU, Ava was also late to decide on joining a dance team. OSU started to recruit her early in her high school career (many top dance teams, including U of M and OSU, have transitioned to recruiting dancers rather than hosting auditions). Like her sister, Ava also dreamed of moving to Los Angeles to pursue her dance career. “All of a sudden in my senior year, something switched and I was like, ‘I can’t leave home. I don’t feel ready to go to L.A. to try to navigate all this stuff by myself.’” She was recruited by both U of M and OSU and ultimately chose U of M, which left her and Ellie on rival dance teams for the first time in their lives.
“It was a hard time for me at first, her being so far away,” says Ava, “but I knew that she loved [OSU], and what made me feel so good is that she had such great teammates to lean on.”
The sisters also had to adjust to the unique demands of dance-team choreography, like the extra-fast turn sequences and precise formations. “I always say it’s the hardest two minutes of my life,” Ellie says. “And there’s no way to train for it besides just doing it, again and again.”
Ava, on the other hand, draws on her love of hip hop when dancing pom. “Obviously, you have to learn the motions and the right technique, but you have to have that punch, that pop, and that fight that hip hop has.”
Last year, social media, particularly TikTok, amplified UDA Nationals and resulted in dancers all over the country commenting on the competition, trying the turn sequences, and re-creating the costumes. The perceived rivalry between OSU and U of M was especially highlighted. In the lead-up to this year’s event, many dancers, including Ellie and Ava, have been posting on TikTok. The sisters see the social media attention and the school rivalry as being in good fun. “The buzz is such a good thing for all college dance teams,” Ava says. “We love how much recognition dance teams get on TikTok. We think that dance teams should be getting this recognition and more. Our main goal [in making TikToks] is to make people excited and want to watch UDA and support dance teams.”
The siblings’ biggest supporters—their parents—will be there in the stands to support both teams. “My dad was texting a month ago, saying ‘We need to figure out our outfits,’” says Ellie. “Our parents have a different one for each day of the competition. And if they have to run across [the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex] to see us both, that’s what they’ll do.”
In Ellie and Ava’s eyes, the real winners are their parents. “They said last year went perfectly for them,” Ava explains. “Because both universities won.”
