All eyes were on the University of Cincinnati dance team last week, following its electric hip-hop routine at the 2026 college cheerleading and dance team national championship.
The Bearcats pulled out all the stops, from difficult dance moves, a music mashup and, most importantly, the team’s jaw-dropping light-up shirts (which partially led to the team’s virality). TikTok users were left in awe, wondering how the colors and lights on Cincinnati’s shirts changed so quickly.
“The formations!! The tricks, the DANCE moves, the difficulty, the shirts changing colors, the music/mix, 10/10. A first place routine if you ask me,” a TikTok user commented.
“This is not getting the love it deserves on social media…this was INSANE,” another TikTok user commented.
Multiple videos of the team had over 1 million views.
The trick to the viral shirts? An LED strip taped onto them, which the dancers could turn on and off with a button on their wrist.
Cincinnati’s electrifying performance led the team to a third-place finish behind LSU, which went viral in 2022 for its hip-hop performance to Ciara’s “Like a Boy.” The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, claimed the first-place title.
Although UC finished in third, the dance team is no stranger to national titles. Cincinnati held three consecutive national titles in hip-hop from 2004-2006. It won the title back in 2009 and again in 2014, 2015 and 2017.
Last year, the team placed fifth in the hip-hop category.
See viral videos, reactions to UC dance team’s hip-hop performance
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC dance team goes TikTok viral for electrifying championship routine
Reporting by Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
