Harvard's cheerleading dance squad, the Crimson Dance Team, is preparing to compete at next month's National Collegiate Competition with the highest seed in the team's history.

The dance-off, held yearly by the National Dance Alliance in Daytona Beach, Fla., pits 70 collegiate teams against each other.

Each squad performs a lively, two-minute routine that incorporates three different styles of dance--jazz, pom and funk.

Harvard's own 12-member, all-female team enters the competition seeded third based on a short dance video they filmed for the competition this fall.

Since the group's founding in 1995, the dance team had never been ranked higher than the 12th seed before this year.

"We have been working really hard, and I think we have gotten a lot better over the course of this year," said Kimberlee R. Garris '01, the team's co-captain. "I am really confident about our chances."

The team has had to overcome unique obstacles.

"Most of the other teams have a lot more money and resources," Garris said. "We don't even have a coach."