Tapas Das in Blogs

What to Know About This Weekend’s NDA College Nationals

With the excitement of January’s Universal Dance Association (UDA) College Nationals dying down, dancers won’t have to wait long for their next obsession: National Dance Alliance (NDA) College Nationals are just around the corner. This year they’ll take place April 9–13 in Daytona, FL.

Ever wonder what separates these two collegiate national championships, or what you should be looking out for in Daytona? Dance Spirit has got you covered.

UDA vs NDA

What separates UDA from NDA? For starters, while teams compete each dance style separately at UDA (think Hip Hop, Jazz, and Pom events), NDA is known for its Team Performance Division. This routine combines all three styles, giving teams a chance to show off their versatility. The Jazz, Pom, and Hip Hop divisions still exist on their own, along with this Team Performance Division.

Top Teams

Who should you be keeping an eye out for? D1A Hip Hop is likely to be an exciting race this year. The 20-time national champion University of Louisville Ladybirds is a strong contender, and a win this year would be the team’s first since 2018. And Boise State, having medaled for the past two years, would love to take home its first D1A Hip Hop National Title.

NDA Tradition

At NDA College Nationals, it’s customary for winning teams to run straight into the ocean in full hair, makeup, and costume while holding their trophies.

Exciting News

This year, a new feature of NDA College Nationals will debut. It’s called the Dance Grand Championship, and it consists of division winners competing in a final battle for the Grand Champion title in their respective styles.

The post What to Know About This Weekend’s NDA College Nationals appeared first on Dance Spirit.

Next Read: Contemporary dancer, Shruti Maria Datar’s ‘C. Tactile’ is all about the power of touch »

Tapas Das: Tapas Das, a young entrepreneur of our times started TWIST N TURNS in 2005. A person who is kind, generous, creative and down to earth wanted to start his own one of a kind dance academy. According to him, Dance is a language of movements that involves space, time and the human body. He was born and grew up in Kolkata, the cultural hub of India. Being appreciated in the field of dance all his life, he is extremely talented. He has been dancing since the age of four. Once he finished his high school, he learned jazz/modern and contemporary dance. His horizons were broadened even more when he started dancing Bollywood with Beat Busters for 4 years, which then was the most upcoming dance crew in Kolkata. After that exposure, he studied how to be a dance teacher, which later started helping him impart his knowledge about dance. Thus, in 2005, with the help of family and friends, he started TWIST N TURNS. Starting with a mere number of 40 students, today TWIST N TURNS currently has over 500 students. Over the time Tapas has taught and performed all over the country. He has performed in cities such as Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Jhansi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur etc. He has been an active participant in the Salsa India Congress in the cities of Bangalore and Bombay, and he has also visited various International Salsa Congresses in Europe, namely in Berlin ,Singapore, Hong Kong,Dubai. He is been also trained recently at Broadway Dance Center (New York), Alvin Alley (New York) and Steps on Broadway (New York). He is not only a dancer or teacher. He is a successful choreographer and has coordinated various shows without difficulty in our country. His leadership skills are exceptional, thus he is where he stands today. His aim in life would be to become a dance educator. He wants to share his tremendous knowledge in the right way to the right people. He is also, simultaneously running other brands like Zumba Kolkata, Bollywood Studio ArtistWala.com and India International Dance Institute.