The US National Hip Hop, Jazz, and Pom Teams are comprised of the most talented dancers in America.
USA Hip Hop, Jazz, and Pom are selected dance teams chosen to represent the United States in international competition within the Hip Hop, Jazz, or Pom Performance Cheer Divisions. Teams may represent the United States in multiple divisions depending on the year. 

2026 US NATIONAL TEAM LOCATIONS

2025 ICU WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

2026 DANCE STAFF

DANCE DIRECTOR • STACY SHELTON

Stacy Shelton grew up dancing from a young age and has trained in ballet, jazz/contemporary, hip hop, modern and pom. Stacy graduated from the University of Memphis where she was captain of the 16x National Champion Memphis Pom Squad, winning a hip-hop national championship during her tenure. She also represented the USA and received a silver medal on the US National Hip Hop Team in 2012. She has instructed coaches and dancers across the world; USA, South America, Europe, Aisa, and Australia. Stacy has been with Varsity Spirit for fifteen years in various roles and is currently the Varsity Spirit Dance Director where she oversees all of the company’s dance legacy brands on the scholastic side. In fall of 2016, Stacy was appointed Director of Dance for USACheer, a role in which she still holds today, helping provide choreography, technique, and training for some of the top programs in the nation while leading them to compete on the international stage. Stacy has had various experiences as a choreographer as well as a judge from high school/college tryouts, regionals, and international judging. Stacy resides in her home state of Sweet Home Alabama.

ASSISTANT DANCE DIRECTOR • LIZZY HOWARD

Over the last 10 years, Lizzy has coached, choreographed and adjudicated in many different facets within the dance industry. While still in Idaho she founded Eminence, a competitive hip hop program at her local studio. Currently, Lizzy is the Program Director for the National Dance Alliance. Along with NDA, Lizzy continues to choreograph many all-star, high school and college programs representing at state, national and collegiate championships. In 2023, Lizzy accepted the position of Assistant Dance Director for USA Cheer to coach the US National Dance Teams. She is beyond grateful to continue her dance journey coaching, choreographing, adjudicating and speaking at coaches conferences across the nation!

ASSISTANT DANCE DIRECTOR • G SANDOVAL

G Sandoval has nine years of experience with Varsity Spirit, he has served as a Core Staff Member, Curriculum Team Contributor, and Head Instructor for both the high school and college circuits under the UDA brand, and currently holds the position of Northwest State Director for Varsity Dance brands (UDA, NDA & USA). His choreography has received national recognition, contributing to titles such as the UDA All Star Nationals Senior Large Hip Hop National Championship and the Tennessee State Hip Hop Championship. Gerardo also consults for high school and collegiate teams. In addition to his leadership and judging experience, G has professional dance experience within the Entertainment industry in Las Vegas. Some of his credits include Disney’s feature film Stargirl. Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, he now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he continues to teach, choreograph, and inspire dancers while continuing his own training.

HIP HOP HEAD COACH • COURTNEY DANG

Courtney Dang, originally from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, attended the University of Cincinnati where she studied Information Technology. Courtney danced for five years and served as captain for two of those seasons. While at UC, she earned three D1A hip hop national championships and five ICU World Championships representing the U.S. National Team.

Courtney Dang has been consulting the University of Cincinnati’s national’s routines since 2016 along with local studios and high school and college dance teams. She’s also won an innovative choreography award and first place finish at the 2022 NDA High School Nationals in the Medium Varsity Game Day division.

After graduation, she coached local high school teams and became an assistant coach for the University of Cincinnati Dance Team. In 2024, she took on the role of head coach, continuing to inspire and connect with dancers across the country.

HIP HOP ASSISTANT COACH • STEPHANIE ROGERS

Stephanie, who considers Cincinnati her hometown, brings over 20 years of coaching experience to the University of Cincinnati’s dance team. As a former dancer for the University of Louisville Ladybirds, she is a two-time national champion and two-time All American.

Stephanie’s background includes serving as an instructor for the Universal Dance Association (UDA). She holds an undergraduate degree in exercise physiology and a master’s in sports behavior and performance. Stephanie coached Miami University’s dance team for 14 seasons and helped the team improve from an 18th-place finish to a top-three ranking at the National Dance Alliance during her tenure.

She is also a certified judge for Varsity Brands. Stephanie’s extensive experience and dedication to dance make her a valuable addition to the University of Cincinnati’s dance team.

HIP HOP ASSISTANT COACH • RACHEL REESE

Rachel Reese has been dancing, competing and choreographing for over twenty years. In college, Rachel danced on the nationally ranked Saint Joseph’s University Dance Team where she won three collegiate national championships and was the head coach of the Division I dance team for eight seasons. During that time, she led the team to a national championship in Division I Pom in 2023.

Aside from coaching, her passion lies in choreography. Rachel has been on staff for Dance Team Central’s College Convention, Beyond the Stars Convention, and has recently choreographed for professional teams including the Philadelphia 76ers Dancers, and Philadelphia Wings Dancers. Rachel was also the choreographer for the US National Team’s Junior Hip-Hop program, where the team brought home the Gold medal at the ICU Junior World Performance Cheer Championships in 2023.

POM HEAD COACH • ERIN ALVARADO

Erin Alvarado is in her 14th season as Dance Team Coach at Texas Tech University, leading one of the nation’s premier collegiate programs. Under her direction, the team earned its first NDA Division IA Jazz National Championship in 2017 and has since claimed six national titles: IA Jazz (2017, 2018, 2021) and IA Pom (2018, 2019, 2021). In 2022, her team represented the United States at the ICU World Championships, winning Gold in Jazz.

Her teams have performed at the Shanghai Tourism Festival and alongside the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Alumni have gone on to dance professionally for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and Disney.

A graduate of West Virginia University with a degree in exercise physiology and a minor in dance, Erin is a respected adjudicator for Varsity Brands, Stage 8 Brands, USASF/IASF, PrimeTime Dance, and Showbiz Talent, with international judging experience in Japan and Australia. She serves as the Contemporary/Lyrical Category Director for USASF/IASF, contributed online content for CLI Studios, and is an Adjunct Dance Faculty member at Texas Tech, teaching Jazz, Tap, and Anatomy for Dance. In 2019, she was named the inaugural National Collegiate Dance Coach of the Year by the National Dance Coaches Association.

POM ASSISTANT COACH • LAUREN JACKSON

Lauren Jackson is proudly serving her third season as Assistant Coach at Texas Tech University, where she is passionate about mentoring collegiate dancers. As a former four-year team member, she now gives back to the same program that helped shape her into the athlete and leader she is today. She is incredibly proud to be part of such a successful and driven program.

Lauren, originally from Enid, Oklahoma, began dancing at just two years old and has been dedicated to the sport ever since. During her time at Texas Tech, she helped lead the team to two Division IA National Championships in Jazz and Pom at NDA. She also earned an ICU World Championship title in 2022 as a member of the U.S. National Jazz Team. Her competitive experience continues to influence her coaching style and passion for the art of dance.

POM ASSISTANT COACH • JORIE KNYSZ

Jorie Knysz began dancing at the age of two in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. She trained extensively at Dance Xplosion and Soul2Sole Dance Inc., studying ballet, pointe, contemporary, hip hop, lyrical, jazz, and musical theater. In high school, Jorie was a four-year member of the Adlai E. Stevenson Varsity Patriette Dance Team, where she served on the choreography team for three years and was captain her senior year. During her time on the team, she helped choreograph multiple national- and state-winning routines and earned additional Illinois awards. In 2020, she won Dance Team Union Nationals with her self-choreographed solo.

Jorie is a graduate of Texas Tech University, where she was a four-year member of the Texas Tech Pom Squad. During her collegiate career, she earned two NDA National Championships in Division IA Pom and Jazz, as well as an ICU Worlds gold medal in the Jazz category. She received numerous honors, including Veteran of the Year, Game-Day Rookie, Game-Day Vet, and academic awards. Jorie has also performed with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in the 2022 Christmas Halftime Show, attended ProAction Dance, and assisted Erin Alvarado at NDCA. She currently serves as an assistant coach for the Texas Tech Pom Squad and as a choreographer for the Revolution Elite Dance competitive team.