Goldrush Wins National Championship for Hip Hop

Georgia Tech Goldrush, the official dance team of the Institute, was recently awarded the National Dance Association’s (NDA) national championship in the virtual D1 hip hop division.  With a performance score of 91.86, Goldrush beat out four other schools from across the country in two rounds of competition. Goldrush also was awarded third place in the D1A jazz division.

Goldrush has competed in the event since 2018, but this is their first time taking home the top prize. The road to nationals began back in the fall, when the team started learning the routines and earned a bid to compete in the championship. As the months went on, the 30 dancers continued refining their moves. Team members described the Goldrush belief that every performance is a chance to prepare a bit more for nationals and to use every game and appearance as an opportunity to improve.

“Everyone has been so flexible, patient, and understanding as things were constantly changing and restrictions were being placed,” said Sarah Rohlfsen, a fourth-year environmental engineering major and member of Goldrush. “To win a national championship, especially in a year where we could have easily given up and tried again when things were more ‘normal,’ has been such a gratifying experience.”

The hip hop routine, available to watch here, holds a special place in the dancers’ hearts, as it has been in the works for nearly two years. The team first learned the choreography in the fall of 2019 in anticipation of being able to compete in the spring 2020 nationals competition. But the coronavirus pandemic forced the event’s cancellation. The 2020-21 squad saw this as an opportunity to perfect the routine, updating some of the music and choreography with their eyes set on the 2021 competition.

“Most of our season typically consists of cheering on and supporting various athletic teams, while the work we do to prepare for our own competition really is all happening in the background,” added coaches Claudia Cole and Taylor Edwards. “It's great not only seeing the team’s hard work rewarded, but also being able to share that with supporters near and far.”

Outside of their competitions, Goldrush can be seen performing at every home football and men's and women's basketball game. See more from them on their Instagram.