Since their 2022 hip hop championship dance to Like a Boy, the LSU Tiger Girls have finally been getting the attention their talent deserves. This past weekend, the team made history at the UDA National Championship after placing in the top three in both D1A jazz and hip-hop categories.

For their 2024 Smooth Criminal-themed hip-hop performance, coach Kandace Hale enlisted the help of Jaime Odom back in October to ensure their suits had superior sparkle.

“They had a good idea of what they wanted the costume to look like, using Michael Jackson’s outfit from the Smooth Criminal music video as inspiration,” Odom explains. “The biggest hurdle was figuring out what fabric to use because we wanted it to look like a nice suit, but they also had to be able to dance in it.”

Because Odom specializes in sparkles, she says that was the easy part. “They explained that they wanted something silver or black that would shine the best on stage, so I helped choose the specific rhinestones for the costume,” she says.

Throughout this process, Odom realized her passion for sparkles may have derived from her past experience as a dancer. “I can remember when I got my very first solo, and I was more excited about making the costume than the actual dance,” she says. “Because dance wasn’t my dream, this is my dream.”

Now, Odom is playing a shining part in the dancing dreams of the next generation while supporting her alma mater and community.

“When I first saw the dance, it blew me away. I’ve been watching it on repeat ever since,” she says. “This has been the coolest professional opportunity I’ve had to date, and I’m just so proud of our Tiger Girls!”