What you didn’t know about the University of Louisville Ladybirds

The Louisville Ladybirds are unlike any college dance team in the country. Maybe I’m partially biased because it’s my fourth and final year on this amazing team, but there is a reason I’ve wanted to be a Ladybird since I was six years old.

You see college dance teams on the sidelines of games all year round, but most people never understand the work done behind the scenes. These teams don’t just show up on game day magically prepared with routines for the crowd. The time it takes to teach and learn this material can take up to months worth of practices. But this doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the amount of work the Louisville Ladybirds take on every year.

If you’re a Louisville fan, you may have heard the famous “11 time National Champion” title introducing the Ladybirds before every performance. That title has much more meaning behind it than just the number eleven. Yes, the Louisville Ladybirds Dance Team has won eleven national championships over the years (many back-to-back). But these championship performances are never viewed by the fans (unlike other college sports). Because the National Dance Alliance (NDA) Collegiate Championship takes place in April, it’s difficult to showcase our finalized routines at football or basketball games. Most of the fans have only heard about our championships, though the talent still shows through regular-season performances.

This national competition is televised on ESPN each year, and the videos are posted online, but unless you’re an avid dance/cheer fan you might not ever see these. Either way, no one sees the amount of work put in at practices over four months in order to prepare. The national competition showcases some of the most elite spirit programs across the country, and “Division 1A Team Performance” along with “D1A Hip Hop” are the two most competitive divisions of the entire championship. The Ladybirds place in the top 3 of each every year.

Most people do not realize how much work is put in to earn that national championship; late night practices, sometimes twice or more a day, over the course of four months, all for a two minute performance. It takes an unbelievable amount of effort and commitment, but the championship title is always worth it.

The 11 national titles make Louisville one of the most elite dance programs in the country, but this doesn’t make us different. What makes us different is the other kind of work we put in – throughout the community. Of all the college dance and cheer teams in the country, the Louisville Ladybirds take part in the most community outreach events each year. On a monthly basis, we will appear at anything between five and twenty-five different events in the city of Louisville (or elsewhere). That’s over 200 appearances every year. These events may be anything from university functions, to children’s birthday parties, to charity fundraisers. My personal favorites are the annual Holiday Shopping Spree with underprivileged kids and delivering gifts to Kosair Children’s Hospital patients.

Despite the amount of events, practices, and performances, we are 11 time national champions and still have twenty-five out of forty-six girls on the AD Honor Roll list. The Ladybirds are ultimately so successful because of the coaches running the program (Todd Sharp and Sheryl Knight) and the special individuals that make up the team.

I am proud to call myself a Louisville Ladybird. It is a legacy that will continue to live on for years to come. For anyone that’s never witnessed a Ladybird Nationals routine, here is a video of one of my favorites – Nationals Team Performance 2012.