By Jennifer Davis
The Cougarettes stole the show again on Feb. 6, 2006, in Las Vegas as they walked away with a second consecutive USA National title.
'It''s definetly a feeling of accomplishment,' said Erin Richardson, dance captain from South Jordan. 'We work really hard throughout the year, so to be able to win something as a team makes us feel unified, like we''ve accomplished a goal.'
The USA National title is a dance competition including many universities from the west. Although it is competitive, it is not a nationwide competition. The National Dance Alliance competition in April, which the Cougarettes placed first in last year, is the nationwide competition the team prepares for.
'The USA National is not quite as competitive as the NDA,' said Maddie Horsley, team president. 'We do it for preparation.'
The more the Cougarettes win, the more difficult it gets to keep winning.
'When you''re on top, it''s always hard to top yourself,' said Jodi Maxfield, the artistic director for the past 15 years.
The success of the Cougarettes is due to the talented dancers who try out every year and the great choreographers who come to help and give ideas, Maxfield said. The success of the Cougarettes has given BYU a reputation for having a great dance program.
'I picked the best college for dancing,' Richardson said.
Although the Cougarettes may feel pressure to be the best, they do not allow that pressure to change their dance style to the modern, sensual trend of dance teams.
'That''s one of the things we really pride ourselves in,' Maxfield said. 'We still win without being sensational. We focus more on the technical aspect of the dance and the athletics of the dancers.'
The Cougarette''s more technical style was what the judges were looking for last year in the NDA competition, said Horsley, junior from Salt Lake. Horsely said she is hoping the judges in this coming April 2006 competition will be the same.
'We definitely feel more pressure this year,' Horsley said. 'The year before we took fifth place, so people weren''t really looking at us as much. But this year we know we have to defend our title. We know people will be watching us.'
The dance team also represents BYU by getting special permission so that the team does not have to compete on Sunday.