Jacque Genung-Koch

GCU Dance coach Jacque Genung-Koch said it was “pretty exciting and super humbling” when her team won the Division I Game Day competition Friday in the Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships at Orlando, Fla. “We got the chance to do what we do at home, on a national stage. It was exciting to bring what we are, who we are at GCU, for other teams to see and for a judging panel,” she said. The team also finished second in the jazz competition.

The GCU Spirit team’s ability to fire up the crowd will be the key to the Game Day competition in the Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships, which begin Friday in Orlando, Fla. The Dance team also will compete in a traditional favorite, the Jazz event, and the Cheer team will show its athleticism in the small Co-ed Division I event. Also, Thunder and the drum line are participating in a demonstration of spirited and rhythmic collaboration.

The GCU dance team gained the respect of peer teams, via the Spirit Award, while learning 38 new dances and serving as ambassadors for each other and God. Eight members of the team took part in the United Spirit Association (USA) camp in Las Vegas and all 32 dancers participated in the United Dance Association (UDA) camp at the University of California-Santa Barbara. “We want to be ambassadors of our school, ambassadors of our faith, ambassadors of one another,” said Dance Coach Jacque Genung-Koch. “This is something I am most proud about. We built relationships. The instructors told me that our dancers inspired others. It was encouraging to be is shining for everyone else.”

  By Theresa Smith GCU News Bureau Just for a moment, forget about winning the top award in every category and focus on the outcome that does not appear in the official results. After days of driving the Grand Canyon University Cheer team, including consecutive mornings of listening to their daily devotionals, witnessing their approach to each other, and seeing their evident love amid catching each other with sure hands and an authentic smile, the bus driver was profoundly affected. GCU Cheer coach Emily Stephens, who began the program 11 years ago, was brought to tears when Dean, the bus driver, took her aside and told her that he was thinking about returning to church, and the deciding factor was his observations of her 49-member cheer team, plus Thunder and Thunder’s friends. “It was the most exciting thing for us,’’ she said upon returning from the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) camp at the University of California-Santa Barbara. “He said he felt a spirit coming up from the front of the bus. The fact that the group could show him that love and that spirit and represent Christ is remarkable. For him to feel that and make that decision after being […]

Grand Canyon University Dance team coach Jacque Genung-Koch is the driving force behind the phenomenal success of the program, which integrates with the Cheer team, Thunder, the Havocs and the band for a highly charged atmosphere at athletic contests and campus and community events. She says there’s more anticipation than ever for this year.