Add to your team order
Light-Up LED Pom Poms
Metallic streamers with LEDs built into the pom, a rechargeable pack, and one remote that changes the whole team’s color at once.
$145 USD per pair
For dancers preparing for college dance team tryouts: practice your pom routine with our light-up pom poms, 7 oz each, the same pom the Purdue Golduster Dance Team performs with. The LEDs are built into each pom, so a dim-room video shows every level. Get a practice pair on the product page.
How do you practice a pom routine for dance tryouts?
Learn it with poms in your hands, at full speed, and film every run. College programs put pom work into selection:
- Texas Tech Pom Squad asks for three separate combinations in its recruiting video, jazz, pom and hip-hop, each 30 to 45 seconds, plus a turn combination of at least three eight-counts (source: Texas Tech Pom Squad recruitment).
- Its fall 2026 clinics list pom lessons and pom choreography alongside technique and game-day material (source: Texas Tech Pom Squad clinics).
- UConn’s spring 2026 audition prep clinic taught pom technique, hip-hop and jazz (source: UConn Spirit).
A pom combination looks easy until the weight is in your hands. Practicing with real poms trains the stop at the end of every motion, and that stop is what makes a pom routine read as sharp from the front of the room.
What do college dance team tryouts ask for?
| Program | How selection works | Pom element | Other skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Tech Pom Squad | Recruiting-based: interest form, video, then clinics or recruiting events | A 30 to 45 second pom combination in the video; pom lessons at clinics | Pirouettes, à la seconde turns, jumps and leaps, flexibility, acro |
| UConn dance | Audition prep and recruitment clinic, $85 (April 11, 2026) | Pom technique taught at the clinic | Hip-hop and jazz technique |
| Bowling Green State dance team | Recruitment form due October 31 of the year before | Not listed on the page | Reverse and regular spotting turns, a quad on the right, toe touch; headspring, kip up, aerial and back handspring favored |
Sources: Texas Tech Pom Squad recruitment, Texas Tech Pom Squad clinics, UConn Spirit, BGSU Dance Team. Requirements change every cycle, so check each program’s own page before you film.
A four-week pom routine practice plan
| Week | Focus | Drill |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Placement | High V, low V, T, diagonals and punches: 8 counts each, hit and hold, filmed from the front |
| 2 | Levels and timing | Change levels every two counts to music at tempo; check that both poms land together |
| 3 | The combination | Learn a 30 to 45 second pom combination; five full runs, rest, five more |
| 4 | Performance | Face, projection and a clean finish; full runs with your turn combination before and after |
Practice in the shoes you will wear to the tryout, and rest a day before any clinic so your legs are fresh for the turns and leaps.
Pom technique that reads from the judges’ table
- Stop dead on the count. The streamers settle when your arm stops; a drifting arm keeps them moving.
- Lock the wrist. The pom is an extension of a straight arm, not a flick of the hand.
- Keep poms in front of the body on the big counts, where the front row can see them.
- Match levels between the two poms and with the dancer next to you.
- Clean the transitions. The fastest path between two motions is the sharpest one.
- Perform with your face the whole time, not only on the last eight-count.
For drills programs post during the season, see Technique Tuesday pom drills.
Practice poms with real weight
Our light-up pom poms weigh 7 oz each, about 14 inches across with metallic streamers on a short baton handle, so your arms build the strength a full routine takes. The LEDs are built into the pom itself, not one light in the handle, and the full metallic streamers work as a regular pom in daylight. Color changes by remote. They are rechargeable, with 3 to 4 hours per charge (white and rainbow modes drain faster).
They are the same poms a college dance line performs with: the Purdue Golduster Dance Team, the dance line of the Purdue “All-American” Marching Band, ordered 24 pairs in September 2026 and performed with them on the field; read the Purdue Goldusters story. At home, practice in a dim room: the lit poms trace every motion on your phone video, so you see at once whether both poms hit the same level. See the light-up pom poms page for a practice pair.
Add to your team order
Light-Up LED Pom Poms
Metallic streamers with LEDs built into the pom, a rechargeable pack, and one remote that changes the whole team’s color at once.
$145 USD per pair
Filming your pom combination
For the video you send, follow the program’s instructions to the letter. Texas Tech Pom Squad asks for an unlisted YouTube link, the required skills filmed continuously in one take, and black attire: a black sports bra or tank top with black shorts for women, all black for men (source: Texas Tech Pom Squad recruitment). Film in landscape with your whole body in frame, in even light, from the front. Keep the lit poms for your own review takes, where they show your levels most clearly.
Clinic dates to plan around
| When | What to lock in |
|---|---|
| October 18 and November 1, 2026 | Texas Tech Pom Squad clinics, 8:30 a.m. to noon, $110, grades 9 to 12 and above; spectators not permitted |
| October 31 | Bowling Green State dance team recruitment form due for the following year |
| November 1, 2026 to end of January 2027 | Texas Tech Pom Squad coaches may extend offers |
| September 1, 2027 | Texas Tech recruiting videos due for 2028 graduates and transfers |
Sources: Texas Tech Pom Squad clinics, Texas Tech Pom Squad recruitment, BGSU Dance Team. For more programs, see college dance team clinics and our guide to college recruitment clinics for cheer and dance. Once you make the team, your director can order matching poms at $120 a pair on 10 or more pairs; a team of 18 with two spares is 20 pairs, or $2,400. Directors planning the new team’s first order can start with dance team tryouts.
Add to your team order
LED Pom Poms — Team Order
Metallic streamers with LEDs built into the pom, a rechargeable pack, and one remote that changes the whole team’s color at once.
$120 USD per pair · 10-pair minimum
Frequently asked questions
How do you practice a pom routine at home?
With a pom in each hand, music at tempo and a phone on a stand. Drill placement first, then levels, then the full combination, and film every run.
Do college dance team tryouts include a pom routine?
Many do. Texas Tech Pom Squad’s recruiting video includes a 30 to 45 second pom combination, and UConn’s 2026 prep clinic taught pom technique.
What should I wear to dance team tryouts?
What the program lists. Texas Tech Pom Squad asks for a black sports bra or tank top with black shorts, and all black for men.
How much do your practice poms weigh?
7 oz per pom, with full metallic streamers and the LEDs built into the pom.
How long do the light-up poms run per charge?
3 to 4 hours per charge; white and rainbow modes drain faster. They are rechargeable.
Can my new team order the same poms?
Yes. Our team rate is $120 a pair on 10 or more pairs, in team colors, with one remote that changes the whole team’s color.
See also: college recruitment clinics for cheer and dance, cheer tryout tips for clinic season, college dance team clinics and dance team pom poms.
Sources: Texas Tech Pom Squad recruitment, Texas Tech Pom Squad clinics, UConn Spirit, BGSU Dance Team.
Texas Tech University, the University of Connecticut and Bowling Green State University are named for their published tryout and clinic information only. None is affiliated with Neon Cowboys.
Questions: info@neoncowboys.com.
