Jacque Genung-Koch

Jacque Genung-Koch grew up in basketball gyms and, as the daughter and granddaughter of teachers and coaches, she didn’t see herself following the same path for her career. Twenty-one years later and Genung-Koch has had an impressive run as a dance coach, eight of those years at GCU, where the Dance team recently brought home another national title. She is a finalist for the National Dance Coaches Association College Coach of the Year. “You do it because you love it and because you love the kids and you love the progress … You have to really choose it with your heart,” she said.

By Lana Sweeten-Shults GCU News Bureau It’s a three-peat. For the third year in a row, Grand Canyon University’s Dance team brought home a national title. The team won the Game Day category in Division 1 of the Universal Dance Association College Dance Team National Championship, which wrapped up Wednesday at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The team emerged triumphant even in a year when a global pandemic limited or halted athletic events and the crowds that attend them. It was one of two wins for GCU at the two-day event. The University’s Cheer team took first place in the Small Coed category in Division 1 of the Universal Cheerleaders Association College Cheerleading National Championship. “This is our third time winning our division,” said Dance team coach Jacque Genung-Koch. “This is a big deal. It’s just back-to-back-to-back.” Game Day competition puts the spotlight on the sideline traditions teams perform every weekend at home. Judges evaluate the teams on their ability to lead the crowd, the execution of their skills, motion technique and overall routine. During the performance, judges can call for a fight song, game situation chant or timeout routine. The competing teams must be ready to perform any […]

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.