The story behind the University of Minnesota dance team's viral 'Dream On' performance
A video of a University of Minnesota Dance Team routine that went viral earlier this month started as a simple tribute to a former squad.
The road to glory started months ago in July, when the team's coaches presented the idea -- a performance to Aerosmith's "Dream On" -- to seven seniors on the team.
Despite the song's widespread popularity, the choice was not random: It was an homage to the university's 2004 team, whose "iconic" routine to the very same song brought home Minnesota's first back-to-back jazz routine win at the UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship that year, and made them the first Minnesota team to win a double national championship -- winning first place in both the Jazz and Pom divisions, according to senior Sophia Hedlund.
"We kind of did it this year to create a love letter to the legacy and those past alumni," said Hedlund.
With excitement building around the routine, the team started choreography in September.
Hedlund said that despite the obvious pressure, "the coaches had full faith in the team."
She added that the coaching staff exercised patience during the process, letting ideas flow to the team organically in a way that saw the self-choreographed piece develop "slower than usual."
The team spent the first semester perfecting the routine ahead of the UDA national championship in Orlando in January.
She said before the event, several alumni came to observe the routine, and their positive response gave the team the encouragement they needed to travel to Orlando with confidence.
After three performances before heading to the tournament, Hedlund said the team had a grasp on the routine and felt prepared for nationals.
Once at the event, the team was allotted time to practice the routine the night before and shortly before taking the stage for competition.
After excelling past the preliminary and semifinal rounds for both the Jazz and Pom categories, the team felt well adjusted and ready to put on the final show, a jazz show performance.
Unbeknownst to the dancers at the time, their stunning routine would be seen across social media by more than 1 million people.
A video of the team's performance -- which ultimately earned them a second place finish -- posted to their TikTok account has garnered over 1 million views and counting. Another video of the team's performance in the preliminary rounds, posted by the account @rouse_photos, garnered over 3 million views.
In addition to their second place Jazz category win, the team also won first place title for their Pom routine.
Hedlund said the reaction to the "Dream On" routine has been shocking.
"It's cool to see the outside dance world reacting and appreciating this sport, because it's bringing so much attention to dancing, [which it doesn't usually receive]," said Hedlund.
She said some University of Minnesota professors have even played the videos for their students in class, while other classmates have shown new interest in the dance team.
Even Aerosmith caught wind of their song being used in the team's performance and offered support online, posting a video featuring the routine, along with several TikTok reactions to the performance, with the caption, "DANCE On @uofmdanceteam."
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also paid tribute to the team.
"This is badass," he wrote in a post on X.
As for the dancers themselves, the routine and its song will forever hold a special place in their memories, Hedlund said.
"We knew we could create something special to this song. And we were able to call it ours forever," she added.
