Colleen Carriker is in her fourth season as the head coach of the Lion Line dance team. In her first three seasons, she has led Lindenwood to three straight national championships in the Hip Hop Division at the Universal Dance Association National Championship.
Prior to 2008, Lindenwood had never finished higher than fourth in the Hip Hop competition at nationals, but Carriker helped the Lion Line defeat 20 other programs for the first title in the dance program’s history. In 2009, Lindenwood repeated its title after recording a score of 736.5 out of 800, easily winning the title by 22 points. Lion Line scored 645 points out of a possible 700 in 2010 to capture the program’s third consecutive title.
Over the last three years, Lindenwood has also finished high in the Open Dance competition, coming in fourth in 2008 and third in 2009 and 2010.
Prior to being named head coach, Carriker was a member, captain, and assistant coach of the Line Lion. The team has consistently ranked in the top -four at the UDA College Nationals in the Open Division for the past seven years. During her time at Lindenwood, the dance squad, along with the university’s cheerleaders, has been crowned the Heart of America Athletic Association (HAAC) Spirit Squad Champions in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010.
Carriker has 25 years of dance experience, with over 10 years of teaching experience. She has trained in all genres of dance, as well as with numerous choreographers throughout the country.
Carriker was a member, and captain of the award-winning Pattonville High School Drill Team, formerly under the direction of Dianne Guittar. During her senior year as captain, the squad was named National Champions in the Small Prop Division at the Universal Dance Association’s National Dance Team Championships, held in Orlando, FL.
She was also a part of the Universal Dance Association (UDA) Summer Camp Instructional Staff for three years, where she traveled the Midwest and worked with numerous high school dance teams. She has also judged many state and local high school championships, including the National Dance Team Championships, as a veteran judge. She also has worked with various local high schools working on technique as well as choreographed award winning routines. Many of her former dancers have also gone on to coach and choreograph for nationally-ranked teams.
Carriker also works in Undergraduate Admissions at Lindenwood. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in Non-Profit Administration from Lindenwood.
