UC alumna joins Cincinnati Ben-Gals

Growing up she dabbled in soccer and gymnastics but it was the dance that really captivated the Fishers, Indiana, native. She enjoyed performing at the Dance Magic Performing Arts Center in Noblesville, Indiana in high school. 

The center offers tap, ballet, pointe, jazz, hip-hop, vocal, piano, musical theatre and other classes to the pre-school student through professional level. And when it came time to pick a college, the attraction of UC was undeniable in large part because of the dance.

“I was in high school and once I started to research dance teams I realized that Cincinnati was one of the top schools in the country for dance teams,” says Atwood. 

With several national and world titles, the UC Dance Team is a nationally recognized group. Atwood was part of the team her entire four years. Among her highlights was helping the UC Dance Team win the gold medal representing the United States in the Premier Hip Hop division at the 2026 International Cheer Union (ICU) World Championships. 

Atwood recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in middle childhood education from UC and has snagged a spot on the Ben-Gals: the official dance and cheerleading squad for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Atwood’s local newspaper, Current Publishing, featured her journey in dance with a recent article.

“I am not ready to give up dancing yet, I’ve got a couple more years in me,” explains Atwood. “For dance and cheerleading you can’t get drafted into an NFL or NBA scenario. I knew I wanted to dance after college and I don’t know where that would take me. I was open to any city or NFL team.”

“After researching lots of different teams I took a step back and realized I absolutely loved living in Cincinnati and I have the opportunity to start my teaching career as well. I decided to focus on the Cincinnati Ben-Gals and that process started in February with prep classes and auditions were in April.”

So far Atwood has been practicing two to three days weekly prepping for the Cincinnati Bengals game day.

“I am very excited about this,” adds Atwood. “We did a meet the team performance advertised on social media and it was so family, friends and fans could come and meet us for the first time and we did a few dances and showcased our abilities.

“That was a full circle moment for me because the Ben-Gals is considered a professional organization and it was the next step after college performance,” says Atwood.

When it came time to pick a college, UC had stiff competition for Atwood’s attention.

Most of her friends were planning on attending college at Indiana University, Purdue or Ball State. She was one of only five considering Cincinnati and Atwood was pretty hesitant about her NEXT.

“I was lucky enough to have a built in 30-plus group of friends with the Dance Team.  If I came into college not having a group to hang in or be with I would say, say yes to everything. You got to put yourself out there.”

She would now recommend UC one thousand percent.

“The number of friends I made here and the relationships I can look to for support, all of them I am very grateful to UC,” explains Atwood.