Over the previous decade, collegiate dance has exploded in reputation with competitions like UDA and NDA Nationals breaking into mainstream popular culture and gaining consideration on social media. School dance groups have gotten more and more aggressive, with steep technical necessities and a prerequisite of standout showmanship.
But regardless of this progress, dance groups typically lack sources in terms of recruitment. Many school coaches pay for recruitment bills, like journey and lodging, out of pocket. Carsen Rowe, founder and CEO of TRIBE 99, sought an answer by connecting aspiring collegiate dancers and coaches by means of a single nationwide recruiting occasion. Now approaching its tenth anniversary, TRIBE 99’s THE DANCE COMBINE has turn out to be a fixture of the school dance scene.
Dance Spirit spoke with Rowe about creating TRIBE 99, the world of collegiate dance, and methods to get recruited.
Getting the Ball Rolling
The daughter of a dance studio proprietor, Rowe grew up in Richland, Washington, steeped in dance crew tradition. She educated and competed with an all-star dance crew all through her childhood, and by 16 had begun choreographing for different native groups. By 18, she was working with nationally ranked groups at the highschool and school ranges. Rowe took these abilities together with her to the College of Cincinnati, the place, as a member of the dance crew, she created dances for video games and competitions.
In Might 2016, whereas persevering with to choreograph and train for school dance groups, Rowe started TRIBE 99 as a choreography firm, which rapidly grew into an company. She’d observed a shift in school dance—away from auditions and towards a recruitment mannequin—beginning with the nation’s prime applications. In 2017, TRIBE 99 held its first recruitment occasion. There was no blueprint for its mannequin; measurements in school sports activities (factors, scores, yards) typically don’t translate to bounce. So Rowe carved out an area for herself, gathering enter from school coaches and adapting as wanted. “It’s terrifying, but additionally thrilling, that I don’t have a path to comply with,” she says.
Since then, TRIBE 99’s presence in school dance has ballooned, with a whole bunch of dancers attending the flagship THE DANCE COMBINE in Dallas, Texas, and regional COMBINEs, yearly. Many of the current UDA Nationals–successful groups now embrace former COMBINE attendees, and Rowe says that the 2024 occasion granted roughly $827,000 in scholarships and awards. “It’s loopy to observe these dancers get the popularity that they don’t get wherever and stroll away with subsequent alternatives of their lives,” she says.
Contained in the DANCE COMBINE
Rowe designed the COMBINE to offer highschool dancers most publicity to collegiate dance crew coaches over the course of 1 weekend. Attendees take grasp lessons, carry out combos for coaches, meet with head coaches or program scouts, and community with present crew members. Dancers additionally obtain a TRIBE 99 COMBINE rating, a measurable knowledge level indicating the place they stand of their recruitment class.
Rayna Reid, an incoming College of Minnesota first-year and rookie dance crew member, says that attending the occasion and assembly fellow dancers impressed her to work more durable towards her objective of constructing a crew. “It pushed me to consider that I can succeed within the school dance world,” she says.
Savannah Vigevani, a second-year kinesiology main and dance crew member at Texas Tech College, appreciates how the COMBINE confirmed her how she stacked up towards different recruits. “Being in a room full of individuals the place everyone seems to be gifted actually helped me self-assess,” she says. Vigevani provides that analyzing her COMBINE rating helped her perceive the place to enhance. “I used to be the number-one dancer for jazz, however for hip hop you noticed me quite a bit decrease.” Vigevani spent the months after coaching in hip hop and different kinds to turn out to be a higher-profile recruit.
Rowe additionally prioritizes creating alternatives for dancers at each ability stage. “Each child that attends our occasion can dance in school,” says Rowe. “It may not be the varsity that they suppose it will likely be. However there are alternatives.” Reid says the COMBINE allowed her to totally contemplate her choices. “If Minnesota wasn’t my path, I received to fulfill all of those different coaches,” she says.
Recommendation for Excessive College Dancers
Rowe stresses that prime college dancers hoping to land a spot on a university crew ought to, together with creating wonderful method, refine their motion high quality and broaden their versatility. She suggests coaching in as many various kinds as doable: “To be a top-level collegiate dancer, it’s important to be extraordinarily versatile,” she says.
Rowe provides that dance crew hopefuls ought to develop their communication abilities, like talking with confidence, making eye contact, and having the ability to maintain a dialog. “It’s laborious to search out the youngsters that may come up and be super-confident, and be themselves,” she says. Vigevani says that persevering with to construct connections with coaches after in-person occasions makes a giant distinction within the recruitment course of. “Maintaining along with your communication and exhibiting these school coaches that you simply’re is vital.”
What’s Subsequent for TRIBE 99?
Wanting ahead, Rowe desires to proceed maximizing alternatives for highschool dancers and legitimizing the school dance crew recruitment area. She plans to make use of experimentation and adaptation to her benefit as TRIBE 99 continues to develop. “It’s a transferring goal,” she says, “and that’s what retains it thrilling.”
