Woodbury sisters transition from rival college dance teams to a shared professional career
Two Woodbury, Minnesota, sisters competed for rival dance teams in college. Now, they're reuniting on the same team as professionals.
For the better part of the last decade, the University of Minnesota and the Ohio State University have been taking home the top two spots in jazz and pom at Universal Dance Association College Nationals.
But this rivalry was personal for Woodbury sisters Ava and Ellie Wagner.
"We grew up together, we went to school together, we did everything together, so I think it was really important for us to take our own paths and what was best for both of us," Ellie Wagner said.
Ellie Wagner competed for the Buckeyes for the last four years. Her younger sister, Ava Wagner has been a standout for the Gophers the last two years. They welcomed the intense competition each season.
"It just pushes each program to be so much better," Ellie Wagner said.
It put their parents in a unique position of rooting for both competitors. And they had fun with it, wearing split jerseys to nationals.
"I know they were loving it last year. They were sprinting from arena to arena," Ellie Wagner said.
Even though they're done competing, the Wagner sisters still have their mark on the competition. Ava Wagner choreographed her former team's jazz this year, which earned a third-place finish.
"I've never really got to watch all my best friends dance before because I'm always focused on myself to see if I hit all my stuff. So, just to be on that side and be able to watch it [and] just acknowledge everything they've worked so hard for, it was honestly just a blessing and I was really grateful to be there," Ava Wagner said.
The two are no longer rivals but teammates. They work as professional dancers, teaching kids of all ages at a dance convention that travels across the country.
"When we were at another convention when I was little, I was like, 'I want to do this when I'm older.' Now that we get to do it now, it's like a dream come true," Ava Wagner said.
"And we get to do it together. I said this is the most I've seen her in like five years," Ellie Wagner said.
